Better not hand out too many poor grades - not good for the college (or more properly, the accreditation mill).
I require my students to be prepared and contribute and research. I am also fair, meaning that even if I totally disagree about their conclusion in a research paper, if it is written well and sourced well, it earns a good grade.
My Chair cares not a whit about that. She cares about how many students are enrolled above all other factors.
Student evals are included in our evaluations. My evaluations remain constant; I am demanding but fair and they learned from my class.