The Student Association teacher evaluations are missing some needed support—from teachers.

SA Academic Affairs Adviser Colleen Halliman has continued the SA’s efforts to have students fill out teacher evaluations and have the evaluations published.

The first wave of teacher evaluations were completed a couple of weeks ago and they will continue until finals week.

Before Thanksgiving break, 105 teachers agreed to give their students the evaluations. NIU has 1,300 faculty members who take part in the teaching process.

This is sad. In order for the evaluations to be effective, more teachers need to participate.

Through the evaluations, professors can gain input as to what students feel is the most effective teaching method, which could help professors find better ways to stimulate student participation in class.

If the students become critical of the teacher specifically, the professor will have a chance to improve his or her abilities, or at the very least, get a fresh point of view.

The evaluations should have a two-fold purpose: allow student input and give professors a chance to learn from the input. Professors should be the first to realize it’s never too late to learn something new.

Professors should try to make the evaluations work for them.