U. to revise course evaluation system

The Council on Teaching and Learning is currently working to redesign its course evaluation system, according to Dean of the College Jill Dolan.

The Council was first charged with the task in late 2015 and has designated it as a committee priority for the 2015-2016 academic year, according to its website. Members of the Council solicited student input at a closed-door luncheon open to pre-registered students in mid-March.

According to Dolan, the course evaluation system is currently being examined as all systems need periodic review. She added that the Council has been charged with looking into current practices and determining whether the system should be revised, since the course evaluation system is vital to both teaching and learning.

Dolan said that research literature in the field of course evaluations shows that responses collected are often biased due to gender and race for various reasons. Seeing this potential drawback, the committee is reviewing the research to see how the University’s questions might be adjusted accordingly, Dolan added.

In a 2014paper, two faculty members at the University of California, Berkeley, argued that teaching effectiveness, as measured by subsequent performance and career success, is negatively associated with student evaluations of teaching scores.

The University wants to ensure that the course evaluations are as useful as possible to faculty, students and administrators, Dolan said.

Per current University policy, course evaluations are reviewed by department chairs and representatives. The Dean of the Faculty and other administrators also review course evaluations when faculty are considered for promotion and merit increases, according to Dolan.

“We also want students to understand that course evaluations aren’t just 'popularity' surveys or consumer reporting,” Dolan said. “While it’s important for students to get a sense of how their peers have experienced a course, it’s equally important for the evaluations to promote conversations between students and instructors about teaching and learning.”

During the process of reviewing the course evaluation system, members of the Council on Teaching and Learning will also consult student members of the Committee on the Course of Study and the Committee on Examinations and Standing, according to Dolan.

Because of student inputcollected through student representatives and work sessions, the Council has encouraged teaching faculty to include mid-term evaluations in each course so that adjustments can be made while the class is in process, Dolan said.

Many classes, including COS 126, EEB 211 and CHM 303 have released midterm evaluations the past semester, according to enrolled students.

Economics professor Harvey Rosen, who chairs CTL, did not respond to requests for comment.

African American Studies professor Ruha Benjamin, member of the Council on Teaching and Learning who have led conversations with students to collect input with Rosen, did not respond to requests for comment.

Shannon Osaka '17 and Ramie Fathy '16, current and former chairs of the Undergraduate Student Government academics committee, did not respond to requests for comment.

Sonia Howlett '18 said that she does not believe that the course evaluation system is biased, although it could emphasize the opinions of people who care deeply about the course or the professor.

"It seems that when people don't like things they tend to be more passionate about complaining than people who do like it. So you might get an undue emphasis from the lovers and the haters," she added.

Maggie Pecsok '18 stated that she believes the questions tend to elicit inflated responses because many students don't want to be "rude."

"Perhaps the question 'would you recommend this class?' is kind of biased and maybe a better question would be 'what would you tell other people about this class?' Or they could just give a list of adjectives and ask 'how would you describe this class?' and let you pick several adjectives," she said.

The last major change in the University’s course evaluation system occurred in Dec. 2008. During that time, the University introduced a new online questionnaire. After conducting its studies, the Council will present an advisory memo to the Committee on the Course of Study at the end of the academic year.

News Editor Annie Yang contributed reporting.