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This article presents a synthesis of previous ideas relating to student evaluation of teaching (SET) results in higher education institutions (HEIs), with particular focus upon possible validity issues and matters that HEI decision-makers should consider prior to interpreting survey results and using them summatively. Furthermore, the research explores relevant legal issues (namely, defamation, breach of the duty to take reasonable care for an employee's welfare, breach of the duty of trust and confidence, breach of the right to privacy and, if the lecturer is forced to resign as a consequence of such infringements, constructive dismissal) that decision-makers, in UK HEIs, should appreciate if survey results are widely published or used to inform employment decisions. The resulting recommendations should enable HEIs to avoid litigation and/or a deterioration of the employer-employee relationship of trust whilst still allowing SETs to be used for quality enhancement purposes. The research is timely as most studies to date have been completed in the context of the US or Australian education systems. Additionally, current major changes in the UK higher education sector, such as the increase in the use of the student as customer metaphor and potential job losses, mean that decision-makers need to be cautious if utilising SET results summatively.

This article presents a synthesis of existing ideas relating to the use of social network sites by faculty within higher education institutions (HEIs) to communicate with the student body. As previous research has been from a student-centric perspective, importantly this study explores the use of social networks for student-faculty communication from a lecturer perspective. Issues relating to such usage are discussed, including the nature of the student-lecturer relationship, student users' attitudes regarding "ownership" of the space, student and tutor information disclosure and the cultural norms inherent in different sites. Furthermore, legal and ethical issues regarding the prevention of legal proceedings relating to defamation and harassment are considered, with specific reference to lecturer concerns and the role of the education institution. Though the study is set in an HEI, many of the findings could be equally applied in a further education setting. (Contains 1 table.)

This paper considers the appropriateness of introducing formal learning agreements in a higher education institution (HEI). It begins by examining the current legal nature of the student/university relationship and the legal status of formal learning agreements. The paper then explores the impact of such agreements on student satisfaction by reviewing the literature pertaining to student satisfaction and discussing the findings from a collaborative inquiry (CI) event, questionnaires and semi-structured interviews. It also considers the title that such an agreement should bear and the possible content of such an agreement. The conclusion reached, is that a judiciously constructed learning agreement can potentially improve the service that students receive, promote the notion that a student is a member of a community, influence student expectations and thus increase student satisfaction. It is therefore an option that should be carefully considered, particularly as the vast majority of students who responded to the questionnaire distributed as part of the study supported the introduction of learning agreements. (Contains 7 tables and 2 notes.)