Student opinion on instructors.
Ellen Chapin
Reed College has something called (prosaically) "The Student Evaluation of
Faculty," which is a set of short comments about the faculty and their teaching
ability/style -- moreover, there is a set of comments for each course they
teach. These comments are not profane or abusive; although printed anonymously,they may not be submitted that way. Each semester the president's office
distributes requests for comments, as well as computer forms to be filled out
in class, which latter reflect the effectiveness of the professor. Along with
the computer forms (do not fold, spindle, bend, etc, #2 pencil only:-)), there
is a sheet for addressing comments directly to the professor about what you
like/dislike in the course. S/he reads these later, and they do help.
Copies of the Evaluation are available in all dorms, the coffee shop, and
other random places around campus. I think it's nifty to page through them --
one positive comment even made me take a course I otherwise wouldn't have (the
verbal grapevine was negative about the prof, and it shouldn't have been,
'cause she was WONDERFUL). So it does have its uses....
No disclaimer 'cause I haven't
figured out .signature yet,
Ellen.
:wq
Karen Christenson
> For that matter, how do other schools go about soliciting student feedback
>on courses and instructors? We have standard course evaluation forms we fill
>out periodicly and one department manages to give exit interviews to
>graduating seniors. Are there more elaborate schemes at other schools? How
>does student opinion figure into tenure decisions?
>
> - Scott Holt
> ..akgua!gatech!gitpyr!scott
At Dartmouth, instructors pass out course evaluation forms on the last
day of class. There is a standard form done by the school, or they might use
a departmental form. The forms are anonymous and the professor does not see
them until after the grades are reported. They use a 1-5 rating scale on
various aspects like lectures, readings, and homeworks. I'm sure the forms
are used by the departments; I'm not sure where in the college bureaucracy
they would go.
Recently a student group has restarted the Student Course Guide, which
fizzled out some years back. They've had one issue, but they're having staff
problems. They ask professors to hand out the forms at the end of classes.
The forms are similar to the college ones with a 1-5 rating scale, but the
questions are a little different. They ask things like how much homework
there was (not enough to too much) and how useful it was, whether the grading
was harsh or easy, and if it required more or less work than the "average"
course. I believe if a course was taught in different sections or in some
way had more than one professor, each prof had a separate evaluation
paragraph.
I really like the idea of a student course guide, because it's done by
students and is more likely to give other students the kind of information
they want.
Karen Christenson
"Mostly harmless." ...!dartvax!chelsea
Have an adequate day.