The students of UCLA came to this institution to take classes and learn from them. With too many professors researching or publishing, students here often get short shrift when it comes to the classroom experience.
A committee at Harvard University seems to have found the same problem there, according to a report it released Wednesday.
The Harvard report suggested five major efforts:
“¢bull; Encourage collaboration among teaching staff to develop teaching methods
“¢bull; Support and fund innovative instruction practices
“¢bull; Track the effectiveness of both new and old teaching methods
“¢bull; Link salaries and career advancement to teaching
“¢bull; Publicize successes
“For decades, universities have been criticized for paying too little attention to the quality of teaching,” said interim Harvard President Derek Bok in a statement.
Harvard seems to want to recognize its responsibility to their students, and we think it’s about time UCLA did too.
Some critics argue it’s impossible to assess teaching quality. It may be difficult and often subjective, but for an institution which is focused on teaching, it should be a priority. Harvard’s suggestions include professor peer-reviews, student ratings and professor self-evaluations.
UCLA should start by investigating how Harvard’s findings relate to our campus. Then UCLA should get down to teaching.