Feedback for faculty

Our faculty all have the potential to benefit from feedback from graduate students on a wide variety of topics. There are a variety of different avenues for providing feedback, depending on the aspect of a professor’s work you’d like to provide feedback on. Those avenues are summarized here, with appropriate types of feedback bolded. If you’re not sure which avenue makes the most sense for your situation, meet with the DGS for advice.

• Teaching evaluation forms
  Grad students are provided with anonymous teaching evaluation forms for their instructors in all of their graduate courses. This is the most appropriate venue for lodging feedback – positive and negative – about an instructor’s curriculum, work load, classroom management, and professionalism. Because there is already an administrative process that incorporates course evaluations into professors’ promotion cases, this option has built-in accountability.
• A conversation with the DGS
  The Director of Graduate Studies is generally expected to hold regular Office Hours, but any graduate student can also schedule a private appointment with the DGS if they want to. Because of the DGS’s responsibilities, this is a particularly appropriate venue for concerns about course workload or TA management. But graduate students should feel free to approach the DGS about any problem with faculty if they feel comfortable doing so.
• A conversation with the Chair
  The Chair is generally expected to hold regular Office Hours, but any department member can also schedule a private appointment with the chair if they want to. This is a good venue for providing feedback about faculty members for students who would like to get someone else involved; because of the Chair’s responsibilities, this is a particularly appropriate venue for concerns about climate issues or professionalism. But graduate students should feel free to approach the Chair about any problem with faculty if they feel comfortable doing so. 
• The department Personnel Incident Report
  The Incident Report process is intended to be used to report any act or behavior that contributes to an unprofessional or hostile work environment that doesn’t meet the threshold of sexual harassment (which falls under the UCLA Title IX Mandatory Reporting requirement, and must be reported to the UCLA Title IX office) or violence or threat of violence (which should be reported to campus or local law enforcement).
• Verbal reports at GLC meetings
  When faculty go up for review, the GLC President is asked to orally report the graduate students’ evaluations of that faculty member in the relevant meeting of the faculty or the Merit Review Committee. In order to inform this report, GLC Presidents usually hold a GLC meeting to elicit student opinions of the faculty member. Since this is an opportunity for anonymous feedback that potentially impacts promotion and tenure, it is a particularly good avenue for feedback about advising and departmental citizenship. The downside of this option is that reviews only come around every few years or so, so it is not an efficient method of providing feedback.
• A conversation with the DGS
  The Director of Graduate Studies is generally expected to hold regular Office Hours, but any graduate student can also schedule a private appointment with the DGS if they want to. Because of the DGS’s responsibilities, this is a particularly appropriate venue for concerns about course workload or TA management. But graduate students should feel free to approach the DGS about any problem with faculty if they feel comfortable doing so.
• Written letters for promotion cases
  When faculty go up for major promotions, that faculty member’s students are often asked to submit letters for their promotion case. These letters are anonymous to the faculty undergoing promotion, but are not anonymized to the other members of the faculty (or the administration), who are deciding on the promotion. They typically review the faculty member’s performance in advising, lab managing, administrating (if appropriate), and departmental citizenship. The downside of this option is that promotions only come around every few years or so, so it is not an efficient method of providing feedback.