Student perceptions and ideals of teaching influence the quality of classroom interaction, student attendance, student learning, and perhaps even career choice. However, students are not singularly impacted by their perceptions and ideals; their preferences also affect faculty and adjunct performance reviews, tenure and promotion, departmental and program retention rates, and university recruitment. The researchers developed an instrument to examine the association between student perceptions and ideals of teaching. Factor, correlation, and demographic data analyses were preformed. Results indicate several strong correlations in the population under study. Suggestions to assist faculty/staff with aligning student perceptions and ideals are presented. (Contains 5 tables.)