Background and Aims: The most common way of assessing faculty members is assessmenting professors by students. The purpose of this study is to identify the most important criteria which were used to assess professors by their students.
Methods: This cross-sectional descriptive-analytic study was carried out among students of all fields and academic levels of Babol University of Medical Sciences in the academic year of 2015-2016. A number of 315 students took part in this study. A questionnaire was used to collect data which included 24 questions in four areas: individual characteristics, teaching skills, teaching rules, and communication skills. SPSS software V.20 were used to analyze data.
Results: Data analysis showed that among 24 examined criteria, the teachers' knowledge on the subject matter, teachers' ability to convey the lessons (both with a mean of 4.83 ± 4.40), the skill of communicating with students (with a mean of 4.54 ± 0.62) and the proportion of content with the academic level of the learners with an average of 4.50 ± 0.61 was the most important criteria for the students to evaluate the faculty. Also, criteria such as age, sex, appearances, and humorous did not have a great impact on the evaluation of faculties. Also, the statistical test revealed that there is a significant difference in the type of student evaluation based on gender and educational level (P <0.05).
Conclusion: Of the four examined areas, accordingly, criteria related to communication skills and teaching skills have a greater role in the assessment of faculties. Therefore, empowering faculties in teaching methods and effective communication with students is essential.