Empowering Teaching Through Contextualized Student Feedback: Fostering Faculty Agency, Student Belonging, and Evolving Evaluation Practices

Abstract

Student Evaluations of Teaching (SETs) are a ubiquitous institutional tool for capturing student feedback, yet they often function as tokenistic, end-of-course mechanisms that fail to support meaningful pedagogical development. This paper shares a critical reflection of the traditional SET model and proposes a new approach to a time-old tradition. Grounded in the Students as Partners (SaP) framework, we propose a reimagining of SETs centered on four interdependent principles: respect, reciprocity, responsibility, and reflection. This proposed model also positions feedback as an ongoing, dialogic process that enhances learning for students, educators, and institutions. This model, the Continual Feedback Loop (CFL), is a cyclical framework that embeds feedback before, during, and after a course, ensuring responsiveness to context, learner-centered engagement, and capacity-building for all. The CFL transforms SETs from static, summative evaluations into dynamic tools for co-created learning environments, supporting educator autonomy while amplifying student voices. This approach also addresses systemic barriers in SET practices, including power imbalances, metric limitations, and the marginalization of educators. By shifting the purpose and structure of SETs, our model has the potential to cultivate an inclusive, intentional feedback culture that fosters mutual accountability, empowers both students and educators, and aligns with institutional goals for teaching effectiveness. We conclude with actionable strategies for implementing the CFL at both the educator and institutional levels, demonstrating its practical relevance and potential to transform SETs from a compliance-driven exercise into a powerful instrument of reflective, collaborative educational change.