Identifying potential biasing variables in student evaluation of teaching in a newly accredited business program in the UAE

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effect of many factors on student evaluation of teaching. Design/methodology/approach - The study analyzed 3,185 student evaluations of faculty from a newly accredited business program at the United Arab Emirates University using univariate and multi-analysis of variance (ANOVA and MANOVA). Findings - The findings support previous research regarding the existence of potential biasing factors. The results indicate that expected grade, actual grade, course level, class size, course timing, student gender and course subject significantly affect student evaluation of teaching. Originality/value - Comparing individual faculty ratings regardless of other factors might not be fair. Our findings support the call of other researchers that ignoring these other factors may bias or make questionable the validity of student evaluation of teaching as a means of performance appraisal of faculty. Because of the possible existence of biasing factors in SET, there is a need to supplement it with other measures of teaching effectiveness.