How can I tell whether teaching quality varies greatly between professors in the same department?
To assess whether teaching differs substantially among professors, compare syllabi for several courses in the same department, including learning plans, assessment methods, and workload. If available, review published course evaluations, and ask at information sessions or current students about clarity of explanation, responses to questions, feedback, and whether grading seems understandable. Check multiple sources and confirm the latest official information, since instructors and courses can change by year.
Key points
- Compare courses of similar level and type, focusing on content, assignments, and grading criteria.
- Look at published course evaluations and seek views from more than one current or former student.
- Consider explanation, response to questions, feedback, and grading transparency—not only the professor’s research specialty.
Things to check
- Reviews and course evaluations can reflect respondents’ expectations, circumstances, and academic year, so one person’s experience may not represent the department as a whole.
- Instructors, course formats, and assessment methods may change by department or academic year; check the university’s current official information for details.