Strategies to Mitigate Bias in Course Evaluations and Create Equitable Feedback Systems

Student feedback is the foundation for improving academic life, as one single comment provided through course evaluations can influence your institution’s decisions on faculty performance, tenure, and curriculum development.  

However, assessments are not immune to human biases. The result can distort collected feedback and impact teaching effectiveness over time. This is why your institution must work to address bias and create a safe environment for staff. 

Earlier this year, Explorance sponsored a panel discussion on understanding the nuances of maintaining a feedback culture. Read this blog to discover practical strategies to mitigate implicit bias in course evaluations, with insights from higher education experts:  

• Dr. Julie Schell, University of Texas at Austin  

• Dr. Veronica Womack, Northwestern University  

• Dr. Joyce Chen, The Ohio State University  

• Pete Baccile  

Recognize Bias in Course Evaluations for Immediate Action 

Bias in course evaluations often shows up in responses reflecting stereotypes related to gender, race, age, and more. Research has shown that specific groups, like women and faculty of color, are more likely to receive critical comments on their appearance or demeanor than their teaching effectiveness.  

In the discussion, Dr. Schell emphasizes that evaluation bias is only sometimes obvious. Subtle, implicit biases can influence how students rate instructors. For example, societal norms often expect women to be nurturing and approachable, which leads students to penalize “assertive” female instructors. Faculty with accents or with non-Western perspectives may also face criticism.  

Dr. Womack adds that systemic inequities intensify these biases. When institutions fail to acknowledge these dynamics, they inadvertently reinforce them, which creates an uneven playing field for faculty.  

By addressing these biases, your faculty will be in a position to thrive and cultivate progress in a fair and constructive feedback space.  

Implement a Feedback Culture that Addresses Implicit Bias  

One of the panel’s main themes is cultivating a constructive feedback culture that minimizes bias and promotes actionable insights.  

Dr. Chen imagines a good feedback culture and mentions strategies that involve establishing clear expectations and guidelines for course evaluations. Stakeholders who take the time to explain the purpose of assessments to students with clear instructions help them give specific, constructive feedback and improve the quality of their responses. 

Key Steps to Building a Feedback Culture  

1. Educate Your Students: Take the time to educate students about implicit bias and how it can affect their evaluations. Increase awareness with introductory videos accompanying evaluation forms.  
2. Set Clear Criteria: Focus your evaluation forms on specific teaching behaviors and learning outcomes. Avoid vague questions about rating the instructor’s effectiveness, which can invite bias. Instead, ask targeted questions to encourage clearer, more objective feedback.  
3. Use Open-Ended Questions Thoughtfully: Encourage students to provide detailed feedback by asking targeted questions like, “Which elements of this course helped you learn effectively?”  
4. Regularly Review and Revise: You should periodically review evaluation processes to identify patterns of bias and refine your questions or scoring methods accordingly.  

Dr. Chen highlights an example from her institution, where evaluations now emphasize the alignment between teaching methods and course objectives rather than subjective perceptions of the instructor.  

To adopt a similar approach, review your institution’s evaluation forms to identify questions that may encourage subjective judgments. Replace them with elements that assess specific teaching practices and their impact on learning objectives. By doing so, your feedback focuses on measurable outcomes rather than personal biases. 

Understand the Role of Institutional Policies  

Continuing the conversation, Dr. Womack highlights how institutions are essential in mitigating bias because they can directly tackle systemic issues. By taking a proactive approach, you can identify these issues and implement changes to create fairer evaluation processes.  

But what course evaluation strategies can your institution use to focus on equity?  

Institutional Strategies that Promote Equity  

1. Weight Evaluations Appropriately: Course evaluations should not be your sole metric for assessing teaching effectiveness. Combining them with peer reviews, teaching portfolios, and student learning outcomes provides a more holistic view.  
2. Analyze Feedback for Bias: Regularly analyze evaluation data for trends indicating bias. For instance, feedback across gender, race, and age can be compared to identify disparities.  
3. Support your Faculty: Provide professional development opportunities to help faculty interpret evaluations constructively and respond to feedback without feeling demoralized.  
4. Adjust Processes: Implement structural changes, such as anonymizing feedback, to reduce biases on preconceived notions about the instructor’s identity.  

In the panel, Dr. Schell points out that some institutions now use a calibrated weighting system, where evaluations are considered alongside other evidence of teaching performance, such as classroom observations and curriculum design. 

If you want to enhance your institution’s evaluation process, implement strategies that provide a more balanced and comprehensive assessment of your staff’s teaching effectiveness.  

Embrace Technology to Drive Change 

The panel’s four guests acknowledged the growing role of technology in addressing bias. Tools like AI-driven evaluation platforms can analyze feedback patterns and flag potential biases.  

Explorance MLY offers feedback analytics solutions that analyze student comments, providing faculty with actionable insights while reducing the influence of biased language. 

Key Benefits of Using Technology to Analyze Student Comments  

• Data-Driven Insights: Advanced analytics, combined with technology like Explorance MLY, can identify trends and correlations in student data, enabling your institution to pinpoint areas for improvement.  

• Customizable Forms: With solutions like Explorance Blue, you can enable instructors to create tailored evaluation forms that align with their priorities and minimize biased language.  

• Training Modules: Integrated training features can educate students and faculty on recognizing and addressing bias.  

Dr. Chen notes that while technology is not a cure-all, it is a powerful tool combined with institutional commitment and thoughtful implementation.  

Learn How Explorance MLY Processes over 38,000 Student Comments Under a Minute at LMJU  

Hear Your Faculty’s Perspective  

Bias in course evaluations impacts not only institutional decisions but also faculty morale. Negative or biased feedback can erode confidence, particularly among early-career instructors.  

Dr. Womack shares that creating a safe environment for faculty to discuss evaluations is essential. Faculty members are more likely to engage constructively with the feedback when they feel supported by management.  

Your institution can foster staff support by:  

• Providing Context: Help faculty interpret feedback by providing context with average ratings across similar courses.  

• Offering Counseling: Offer professional development programs or one-on-one counseling sessions to help faculty address recurring themes in their evaluations.  

• Recognizing Excellence: Celebrate your staff’s achievements and highlight positive feedback to balance criticism and ensure they feel appreciated.  

Dr. Schell emphasizes that mentoring relationships also play a crucial role in helping faculty understand the complexities of course evaluations.  

To support your teams, you can implement a mentoring program that pairs experienced instructors with early-career faculty. Your staff can guide each other in interpreting feedback and ensure institutional growth. 

Improve Your Academic Experience by Mitigating Bias in Course Evaluations 

The panel discussion concludes with a call to action for institutions: Take a proactive stance in mitigating bias.  

Dr. Chen summarizes the webinar’s key takeaways, adding that addressing bias is not only an operational challenge but a moral imperative. By fostering equity in course evaluations, your institution can create an environment where all faculty, regardless of their identity, have the opportunity to thrive.  

Key Takeaways to Start Your Own Mitigating Bias Journey 

• Bias in course evaluations is a systemic issue that requires individual and institutional efforts. You need to address it if your institution wants to evolve.  

• Cultivating a feedback culture and leveraging technology are practical steps toward reducing bias.  

• Your institution must prioritize equity by implementing policies that support faculty and promote holistic evaluation methods.  

Mitigating bias in course evaluations is a journey, not a destination. It requires ongoing effort, reflection, and collaboration across all levels of your institution. By recognizing the negative impact of implicit bias and committing to equitable evaluation practices, you can ensure that your assessments serve their intended purpose: to improve teaching and learning while fostering an inclusive academic environment.  

As higher education evolves, so too must its evaluation systems. The insights shared by Drs. Schell, Womack, and Chen offer a roadmap for institutions ready to take on this challenge. From now on, you can build a future where feedback reflects not bias but a genuine appreciation for the art of teaching. 

Watch the Full Panel Discussion and Create a Successful Feedback Culture