Improving Education Quality
In honour of Rotary’s Vocational Month, I would like to share my insights on ways to improve education quality and student experiences in our academic institutions and schools.
I was a professor for 20 years at several universities and colleges, as well as being a student again during the last 2 years.
I am a member of the Rotary Action Group for Education and was asked to give the opening talk on 9/1/2025 in their webinars for education quality and successful improvement projects.
What I observed was that basic academic rules were not being followed by many teachers. This led to declining education quality, poor learning opportunities, and disappointing student experiences. Students were not acquiring the skills that they needed to improve their opportunities in life.
What I saw happening at all academic institutions over the last few years were:
- Teachers were taking weeks, or months, to reply to student concerns and questions. Students have a right to expect a reply in a day or so.
- Teachers were taking weeks, or months, to return graded papers to students. Students have a right to a response in a few days, detailing where they lost marks, why, and by how much.
- Teachers were not telling students exactly what they had to include in papers, were not giving due dates in the current term, and were constantly changing the number of papers due, their grade percent in the course, and the work required. Students have a right to know what to put in their papers, how they are graded, and when they are due.
- Teachers were just playing internet videos or reading from slides. Students deserve to know what topics will be discussed each week, and to be given direct guidance on the course topics.
- Teachers were testing on materials that were not taught in the classroom. Students make an effort to come to class, and take notes, and tests should be based only on what they are taught.
- Teachers did not take the effort to come into their classrooms before their first lecture in order to verify that the room and any needed hardware and software are set up properly. As a result, students lost the time for their first lecture, resulting in less learned in the course.
- Teachers were also routinely arriving at classes 10-15 minutes late, resulting in significant instructional time lost in a course. Students expect to fully learn everything in a course, and administrators should be checking on teachers to ensure that students are not losing instruction.
- Teachers were just “winging” it in lectures, without formal notes on what must be covered each week. Students deserve to know what they will learn each week, and administrators should be checking on teachers to ensure that they are teaching what the students have signed up for.
- Teachers all had different formats for their course outlines, which is confusing to students. Administrators need to develop a standard outline for each course that lists the material to be covered each week, the grading structures, and the academic policies for students to follow.
As a result of these observations, I developed a set of guidelines to be shared with all teachers and administrators, so that we may maintain high educational quality and provide exceptional student experiences.
A few years ago, I also published a free e-book on Amazon that discussed further reasons for the decline in education quality, solutions that are needed now, and how teachers can teach effectively beyond the basics.
As UNESCO says on their website, “Teachers who are well-trained, supported, and valued are essential to ensuring quality education for all.”
As the World Bank (who finance many education programs in developing countries) says on their website, “Teachers are the single most important school-based factor affecting how much students learn.”Join me in helping to distribute these education guidelines into the hands of our teachers.