The Faculty Senate discussed tenure and what makes a professor better than a textbook in the University Union Hinde Auditorium at Sacramento State.

The discussion- which included 15 professors from various departments- was led by Adam Rechs, professor in the Department of Biological Sciences and Sue Holl, chairs of mechanical engineering and the Faculty Policies Committee.

Professors gauged the effectiveness of student evaluations when being assessed by a regular part-time teacher. Ultimately, the evaluations are representations of a professor’s capacity to teach and students’ understanding of the course material.

Rechs drew a distinction between evaluations made in face-to-face classes and hybrid and online classrooms, emphasizing a professor is more valuable in face-to-face and hybrid classes.

“The classroom encourages critical thinking, enthusiasm provided by the teacher and gives real-world examples to the course for students to better understand,” Rechs said.

Professors expressed the difficulty in capturing the successes in the classroom on reports and evaluations given to regular part-time teachers at the end of each course.

Holl mentioned the importance of class interactions versus the textbook, noting the textbook as a valuable reference.

“Dialogue in the classroom makes things stand out and is crucial in helping students learn the material,” Holl said.

Humanities Department Chair Brad Nystrom is in support of creating an evaluation system rating a professor’s value on the types of effort and applications that are put into online classes and face to face classes.

“Learning environments are closed down when it comes to hybrid or online classes,” Nystrom said. “It is impossible to evaluate those doing online courses, there is a lack of material to base evaluations off of the instructors.”