IDEA

IDEA (Individual Development Educational Assessment) is FDU’s student evaluation system. Implemented university-wide in Fall 2014, IDEA student ratings of instruction are used to evaluate all courses at FDU, whether those courses are in-person, online, or hybrid.

IDEA is used at over 300 universities in the US and has been the subject of dozens of validation studies. FDU uses IDEA for three purposes:

Student feedback on teaching effectiveness. Information gathered from IDEA student evaluations can be used as part of how faculty teaching is evaluated. It must be stressed that student feedback is only one part of a multiple-input review process that emphasizes various kinds of evidence, including peer observations, chair observations, samples of student work, samples of assignments, syllabi, and statements of teaching philosophy.

Developmental Feedback for Faculty. IDEA evaluation results are designed to be used by faculty for self-improvement and course refinement. Deans, department heads, chairs, senior faculty, and personnel review committees can also use this information to help mentor faculty. IDEA results provide developmental feedback as well as links to resources that help strengthen teaching effectiveness in specific areas.

Programmatic Data. Aggregated IDEA information can be used at a departmental, curricular, or programmatic level in order to improve curricula and provide data for accreditation bodies.

Learn about IDEA

IDEA Student Ratings of Instruction (website)

A Quick Tour of the Student Ratings of Instruction (YouTube video 3:26 min.)

IDEA Paper Series

Research about IDEA

NOTE

This FDU IDEA website has been designed to provide students, faculty, chairs, directors, deans, and review committees with information about IDEA and guidance about how to use it. Many of the resources on this site have been taken from the FDU IDEA WordPress site, which was developed and maintained by Professor Scott Behson to disseminate IDEA information during the pilot, implementation, and early phases of IDEA at FDU. That site remains as an excellent archive of material.