Open AccessThe Many Harms of SETs in Higher Education
Author(s) -
Cecilea Mun
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
symposion
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.159
H-Index - 3
eISSN - 2392-6260
pISSN - 1584-174X
DOI - 10.5840/symposion20207219
Subject(s) - acknowledgement , promotion (chess) , order (exchange) , public relations , higher education , continuing education , political science , psychology , business , medical education , law , computer science , medicine , finance , computer security , politics
In this paper, I call attention to the problem of continuing to rely on SETs for hiring, reappointment, promotion, and award decisions in higher education, including the problem of continuing to permit the use of SETs despite the clear and explicit acknowledgement of their shortcomings. I argue that to do so manifests a failure to acknowledge the weight of the actual and potential harms of SETs. I then provide an outline of such harms in order to clearly convey not only the weight but also the extent of such harms, especially on marginalized job candidates and non-privileged students. I also report the results of a recent survey I conducted in order to document any actual or possible harms that were committed against professional educators by the use of SETs in hiring, reappointment, or promotion decisions. I conclude by arguing that, given all of the foregoing, the use of SETs should be abolished for hiring, reappointment, promotion, and award decisions in higher education.