Date of Award
Spring 5-7-2026
Document Type
Dissertation (799 registration)
Degree Name
Doctor of Education in Educational Leadership
Department
Graduate Studies
Committee Chair
Jitendra Singh
Keywords
nursing education, student evaluations of teaching, nursing faculty retention, tenure, culturally responsive teaching, Maslow's hierarchy of needs
Abstract
For over 100 years, higher education institutions in the United States of America have been using student evaluations of teaching (SET) to evaluate course effectiveness and teaching quality. SETs are used to inform faculty about areas where course improvements are needed, if course objectives have been met, and the strength of their teaching ability. Even with the longstanding integration of SETs in higher education their reliability and validity have been questioned. Various factors negatively influence student ranking of faculty including class size, faculty appearance, ethnicity, and gender. SETs also impact faculty’s ability to earn tenure and promotion, which raises concerns about potential biases against faculty from marginalized groups. This qualitative study aimed to understand nursing faculty’s perception of SET feedback and estimated retention in nursing education.
The feedback students provide along with the institutional weight of SETs on tenure, may negatively affect job security, faculty morale and retention, self-esteem, and a sense of belonging in nursing education. This qualitative study analyzed participant statements through Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs framework. This study was conducted using a random sample of nursing faculty from public institutions that are a part of the MinnState system. Participants were sent an email with a request to participate, if they chose to participate, an interview date was scheduled, and a consent form and demographic survey were provided. After the interview participants were provided a copy of the transcript with the opportunity to exclude or add content. The transcripts were then analyzed, coded, and themed.
Faculty lacked culturally responsive teaching training stating they were mostly self-trained though they desired more formal training with application practice. There was a lack of faculty diversity, but a lot of student diversity identified by participants in their nursing program. It is recommended to add this training to both 2-year and 4-year institutions so faculty may be more aware, and better educators, to a growing culturally diverse student population.
While there wasn’t a direct correlation between SET feedback and retention in nursing education there was an indirect correlation. Faculty stated that they had positive morale with a good support system in place when negative feedback came. There were three faculty who had low morale, low support from peers, questioned staying in nursing education, and stated SETs played some role in their desire to leave. All faculty stated SET feedback should have a limited role in determining tenure and/or promotion due to student bias, lack of usable constructive feedback, and students not understanding faculty’s job. It is recommended that faculty have a strong mentor when first starting in nursing education and that administration thoroughly understands the limits with student feedback.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.
Recommended Citation
Wolff, Melissa, "The Intersection of Faculty Perceptions of Student Evaluations of Teaching and Nursing Retention: The Challenges of Undergraduate Nursing Programs in Higher Education Institutions" (2026). Dissertations, Theses, and Projects. 1091.
https://red.mnstate.edu/thesis/1091