SA examines teacher evaluation system

By Isabella Bender Zevallos     10/28/14 4:23pm

In accordance with the post-centennial vision, the Student Association University Standing Committee on Teaching is reassessing teacher and course evaluations. The new subcommittee collected results of its survey on how to improve the current evaluation system and asked for feedback from SA members at the second SA Senate meeting on Oct. 21. 

The survey had a sample size of 72 students and consisted of multiple choice questions and free-response space for suggestions. Student representative Amber Lo said the Esther course evaluation survey offers the Committee license to implement any changes it may seek to make.

USC student representative Alexandra Franklin said many students suggested mid-semester evaluations. She also said changes may be difficult to institute in light of the differences between course and exam structure, midterm dates and class sizes. She said some evaluations may be outliers that are not representative overall.

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“One really bad review — even if all other reviews are really great — can really affect how your ratings come out in the spreadsheet,” Franklin, a Brown College junior, said. “One of the ideas is to cut the ‘extreme evaluations’…so that the students have a more accurate view of what a typical student feels about the class.” 

Currently, teachers must generate their own questions to conduct mid-semester surveys, which are rarely conducted. Lo, a Hanszen College sophomore, said the Committee is looking into a possible standardization of these mid-semester surveys. Franklin said a likely obstacle is that there is no foreseeable way to penalize students who don’t complete mid-semester evaluations, whereas viewing grades may be put on hold for incomplete end-of-semester surveys.

Franklin said while the Committee is still gathering feedback, they have been discussing with Registrar David Tenney (Sid Richardson ’87) the option of adding a survey question at the end of the add/drop form related to why the student decided to drop the class. Franklin sees this as a solution to the current exclusion of opinions of those who left a course. 

“In this committee, we’re really advocating for the student voice, and we’re making sure that the students are able to continue seeing what they want out of the evaluations — and getting even more out to them,” Franklin said.

Lo said all 72 surveyed students consider the course evaluations an important factor in choosing their classes, and the Committee’s ultimate goal is to make this tool more effective. Both student representatives said, while changes will not be made this semester, the University Standing Committee on Teaching will continue to meet to set an action plan for future modifications.

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