BYU-I Faculty Comments on Student Evaluations



According to faculty responses, the following are the most beneficial student evaluation questions:

Is there anything about this course and/or instructor that was particularly good? If so, what?

What could be done to improve this course to help you learn more?

The instructor effectively modeled problem-solving and application of subject matter.

The instructor made good use of class time.

When given, examples and explanations were clear.

The instructor gave helpful feedback of my work.

The instructor responded respectfully and constructively to student questions and viewpoints.

The instructor motivated me by his/her enthusiasm to want to learn about the subject.

Course objectives were clear.

Course was well-organized.

Student responsibilities and expectations were clearly defined.

Instructional resources – textbook(s), course guide(s), online material, etc – were useful and helped me to achieve

course objectives.

Assessment activities – exams, quizzes, papers, hands-on demonstrations, presentations, etc. – accurately

and fairly measured the knowledge and abilities I acquired from the course.

Class assignments contributed to my learning and growth

According to faculty responses, the following are the least beneficial student evaluation questions:

The instructor starts/dismisses class at scheduled times

Perceived Learning: Compared to other college courses you have taken, would you say that you have learned

Appropriately brings Gospel insights and values into secular subjects.

Inspires students to develop good character.

Helps students prepare to live effectively in society.

Is spiritually inspiring insofar as the subject matter permits

Satisfaction: Compared to other college courses you have taken, would you say that your satisfaction is

I arrived at class on time.

When your classes are evaluated by students, how do you handle the student evaluation process?

Comments from Pre-CFS Faculty:

1 I don't offer extra credit for completing student evaluations, but students do get points for completing them.

2 More completion = higher ratings!

3 Reminding is critical - extra credit should NOT be given.

4 This is my second semester teaching here

5 I give scheduled points, not extra credit. I call it Participation.

6 I drop an extra quiz

7 I did not start offering extra credit until this year.

8 I hate offering Extra Credit, but as Scott says, it is in my interest. We didn't have to

do this when the evaluations were done by hand in class.

9 I want to encourage all students to evaluate fearing that only the disgruntled students will evaluate on their own

Comments from CFS Faculty:

1 It is, however, worth points. They are not "extra."

2 I don't do it purposely. Frankly, I just forget about them given how busy the end of the term may be.

3 unless the student signs the evaluation I have no faith in them

4 Figure it's up to the students to complete the evaluation

5 Bribery changes student responses.

6 I am careful to not make it appear I am "buying" a good evaluation

7 require completion of student evaluations (not extra credit)

8 Out of interest, I did offer extra credit one semester, and surprise, my evaluations were higher. This is a university. I am not willing to play the high school extra credit game.

9 I offer 5 points for completion

10 Offering extra credit is paying for a good review.

11 I feel that bribing students to complete the survey taints the results.

12 I didn't think we were supposed to make comments

13 Only because more student responses means more accurate results 14 I have felt like I need to give some incentive (although it is very small) in order to get a majority of students to complete the survey. Without the incentive,

participation would be below 50%.

15 extra credit is minimal, usually a 5 point bonus on a quiz.

16 I do not believe that students should be given free credit whether for evaluations

or for any other activity that does not relate to or develop learning of the discipline.

17 I'm not even aware when I am evaluated.

18 It's free points for completion, but not extra credit

19 Extra credit is the only thing I have found to motivate them to complete their evaluations.

20 What is the point of having an evaluation that is slanted because of incentives? The evaluation is subjective and self-selecting already– that's enough bias and relative value to make it near-worthless as it is.

21 Don't know under new system. Never experienced

22 I require they do the evaluations in class at the same time.

23 ?

24 Am I supposed to???

25 unless poor participation

26 I don’t care for the type of evaluations we get, so why promote them.

27 Not really extra, just fill in missed credit...

28 I value feedback from my students but recognize they may need an incentive. Students who are pleased with the course don't feel the need to respond while those who are grumpy will make the time to vent. I want to hear from all my

students not just the disgruntled.

29 If I remember, I give participation points as a regular assignment, not extra credit.

But generally I forget evaluations are even open.

30 I've given extra credit before, but didn't like the results.

31 Offering extra credit to students for doing evaluations doesn't seem right. The very act of giving extra credit could skew the results.

32 It is a required assignment

33 I don't always know which sections of my classes will be evaluated, or how long the evaluation process is active. If they were done earlier in the semester, then I could help encourage students more to do them with extra credit, etc. Although that might taint the samples somewhat.

Comments from Professional Faculty:

1 didn't know I could

2 Sometimes

3 When I didn't give frequent reminders, the completion rate was only 25%.

4 I do not like offering extra credit for students to do this assignment, but if I don't, then they are not motivated to take the survey. And I'm left with just a few responses, usually from disgruntled students only. So, I have to offer extra credit in order to get as many responses as possible.

5 Because I am adjunct- I only see my students in the hospital

6 At times I've offered extra credit, but I dislike extra credit.

How much do you review the numerical portion of your student evaluation report?

Comments from Pre-CFS Faculty:

1 I review them, but do not put much stock in what they indicate.

2 I take this very seriously and change my course based on feedback given.

3 There are too many, the information is too diluted

4 I have not yet done this

5 What is the "numerical portion"?

6 I review the numbers, but I'm not really sure how I should understand them or use

them to improve or change my teaching.

7 I go through every score in the full report

8 I look at the numbers enough to know that they are rather meaningless.

9 Numbers and comments are often disconnected, I often get "excellent teacher";

"Fantastic", etc, coupled with ratings of high 4 or low 5...??

Comments from CFS Faculty:

1 How can we not, when so much is determined by them?

2 The numbers are meaningless to me.

3 I give my own evaluations in class, which I thoroughly analyze.

4 don't look at them

5 Despite insistence to the contrary, it is a popularity contest. After a semester of

low scores following my hiring, I played the game the next, and my scores soared

for the same courses. My curiosity having been satisfied, I returned to teaching

how I, not the students, think it should be done.

6 While not every number means a lot to me, I like to get a feel for what students felt went well and what some were frustrated with. I often make changes to the

course based on this feedback.

7 Though, I don't know why since the numbers are affected by who did/did not do the evaluation and some of the questions themselves are suspect. For example, the

question re assessment fairly measured knowledge and abilities is absurd. Students frequently tell me they know more than the tests assess. Yet when questioned on the spot they have no answer! This question is purely subjective.

Tests provide objective data; perception does not. There are a number of questions like this. If you really want to know the answers to these questions then objective data should be collected!

8 The numbers are meaningless. How do I improve a course based upon the fact that the students in the PAST semester liked the course "5.7"?

9 Used to just glance, but then I found out the only thing looked at for CFS is overall instructor rating

10 Since the numbers are so varied from section to section, I don't put much validity in this data.

11 Not immediately . . . may review during a subsequent semester

Comments from Professional Faculty:

1 Why empower students who already have an attitude of entitlement?

2 I am not interested in an entitled student's response to my instruction. If you hold the line on deadlines and late work you are going to be graded low you can count on it.

Comments from Adjunct Faculty:

1 I used to review them, but haven't been aware of where the results are, the last few semesters.

2 I don't really see how they help me improve

3 I am not sure how to interpret the numbers given.

4 I think most students just mark one column all the way through, without really thinking about the questions. I have stopped looking at the evaluations.

5 I've never seen it.

How much do you review the comments provided by students on your student evaluation report?

Comments from Pre-CFS Faculty

1 I always encourage my students to provide written comments, as I find them infinitely more valuable than numbers.

2 This is very good feedback.

3 I have not yet done this

4 Some comments are helpful, but the majority isn’t.

5 I read every comment and often adjust my course to accommodate legitimate concerns

6 I read over the comments; they reveal that students aren't really capable of making rational, informed evaluations of their instructors.

7 I pay close attention to the comments that students make on the improvement side. Sometimes they are not accurate but often they give me ideas.

8 Many comments are useful, yet a fair number are irrelevant: comparing work expectations and styles across widely different disciplines, complaining about

book prices...

Comments from CFS Faculty:

1 The only nuggets of utility are found here.

2 Comments identify strengths and weaknesses of the course.

3 I give my own evaluations in class, which I thoroughly analyze.

4 don't look at them

5 It only takes 1 student's bad comment and I'm broken-hearted

6 Occasionally students provide feedback that helps me make improvements.

Often, though, students use the opportunity to complain about having to work.

7 Sometimes I can't bear to even open them. Other times I review carefully.

8 The comments are useful to identify what works and what does not for the students.

9 I cry.

10 I have to sort through a lot to find the meaningful comments, but it is worth it.

11 I find comments much more useful than the numerical data.

12 Though I have taught here for nearly 30 years, I am too thin skinned. They are almost invariably positive, but the one in twenty that shows a student insensitivity

or cruelty makes it too difficult for me. Don't laugh at my taking criticism too hard.

It's a difficult personal burden I bear. Do others?

13 I find the comments more valuable than the numbers.

14 I scan the comments to see if there is an exceptionally rare insight that a student can offer, which I can reasonably incorporate into a course improvement. In over

20 years of teaching here, that has happened perhaps three times.

15 This is the only part of the evaluation I find helpful and even half of this is trash.

16 This seems to be the most helpful area of the evaluation

17 The comments are more revealing than the numbers as they identify patterns in

both strengths and areas in which to improve.

18 The comments are the most helpful component of a very un-helpful report.

Comments from Professional Faculty:

1 Good students make good comments; unmotivated students are critical. Slow students who get help and succeed are grateful and make wonderful comments.

2 These are particularly helpful with course suggestions.

3 The comments are generally more useful than the numbers.

4 I don't spend a lot of time reviewing them, but as valid criticisms arise I do take note and try to make adjustments.

5 This is a very painful process because some students write the nastiest, rudest, most un-Christian comments simply because they can do it anonymously

6 The comments are very useful.

7 For the most part, student comments are not helpful. And sometimes disgruntled students are vicious and even tell lies in their comments. I have learned that it is better not to read them.

8 Never seen this, either.

How much weight should student evaluations be given in the Pre-CFS Process?

Comments from Pre-CFS Faculty:

1 There are many other factors which should be more significant in the CFS evaluation, but the student evaluations can often offer good insights. Individual

instructors should not be compared to campus averages, though. The comparison should be within the department, college, or most ideally the same course (i.e.

compare the instructors’ ratings in FDENG101 to other instructor ratings in FDENG101)

2 It seems to me that the current pre-CFS process gives the proper weight to student evaluations

3 While students are in a position to tell you about their experience and perspective in a class, they are not qualified to tell you how effective the class or teacher was.

4 I have a hard time believing that students know what is best for them when it comes to academics. Consequently, I think that students’ evaluations should have

little weight when it comes to CFS.

5 The student is the customer. Much more weight should be given to how they evaluate the course and the instructor.

6 I think that they should have some weight in the Pre-CFS process because it highlights any major problems with me as a professor. But, I would hope that whoever is reviewing them also considers the number of students taking the survey and the percentage of good things versus bad things.

7 They should be given weight - but the weight should come from MORE that "overall instructor rating"

8 This item is the primary concern I have with the status quo. While I believe student evaluations are vital and should be used as a measuring stick, I don't believe students should have as much power as I perceive them having. When I

was hired as a one-year faculty I was told that my future employment depended on the scores of my evaluations. I don't know how much weight they actually

carry, but it would appear from that source that they carry a lot. The questions are: How qualified are students to judge the overall worth of a course and instructor,

and, based on those qualifications, how much power should students hold to determine faculty positions, or how much weight should their evaluations hold in

the determination process?

9 All teaching will gravitate to one low common standard, if the evaluation process is the means of evaluating. Good teachers will never have the courage to create

and try new or different methods. Students come here to learn from the expert in a subject and then we turn and ask them to evaluate the expert. Who is the expert then? If rigor is required to teach students a skill or some knowledge, some students will mark the teacher down that uses rigor. As soon as students learn that our promotion in our jobs is dependent upon the student evaluations, they know that they have the power and the bad students abuse that power. This is not a contract situation. Why would I give equal weight to what each person says. Some people, as we learn from experience, are not to be trusted, believed,

or listened to. But we should give greater weight to those who are good, honest, and wise. But with the evaluations we are giving equal weight to each student. This is not right. Nor is it fair that two or three disgruntled students have the

power to take down an otherwise good score to a very poor score. It is patently a bad system and needs to be changed.

10 My scores are all quite good -- I would just love to see evidence of other areas, like consistent peer evaluation and professional development, become important

areas also.

11 A child's unhappiness doesn't mean that the parent was wrong. Similarly, if a student is unhappy, it doesn't mean the instructor is wrong!

12 I see it as a measurement of faculty performance, although the measurement is quite imperfect. An improved measurement should be implemented.

13 Of course, I am biased due to my pre-CFS status, but while evaluations are helpful, I don't feel that they are terribly good indicators of quality teaching because they rely so much on how students perceive they are doing in the class

and whether or not they like the material and methods rather than on how effective the material and methods are. More importantly, if they are given too much weight, then they actually discourage trying new and innovative teaching for

fear of a negative response. But they definitely should receive some weight.

14 I think there must be a balance. A teacher can "stack" the evaluations easily, and the temptation would be large if the entire CFS process is based on student evaluations alone. But part of the job of teaching is connecting to the students, so

if we are not doing that, we need to know so we can improve. I think my students in the past have been very helpful and have been honest. The evaluations have made me a much better instructor and I hope that they will continue to help me improve.

15 Are they even statistically valid?

16 I get good reviews, but I feel that to get them I need to make the class less rigorous than I would otherwise make it. I fear students will complain if I drive them harder than they are used to.

Comments from CFS Faculty:

1 But MUCH less than they are given now (especially as a bludgeon by less wise dept. chairs).

2 Student Evaluations should only be a small aspect of CFS determination. They should only be used to identify major strengths or major problems.

3 little but not no weight. It currently has too much weight. In spite of being told that scores were not a determining factor inevitably if the score was not above 6.3 a 'talking to' was received.

4 I think they catch significant issues: if someone has extremely high or low evaluations, that usually indicates something.

5 Sometimes I believe bad evaluations indicate a teacher's willingness to hold students accountable.

6 During pre-CFS, I found that, to satisfy the powers in the Kimball, I needed to make the inmates happy. I often gave them what they wanted, rather than what they needed. It's like a parent asking a teenager for their opinion on sex, drugs, and staying out at night. We are the experts and should be able to determine course content without concern about backlash over students feelings.

7 perhaps a 50% weight for student evaluations; 40% weight for

department/dean/administrative evaluations; 10% other

8 This should be considered, but should be a minor component of the CFS process, since people in different departments yield apples and oranges results from

students due to differences in academic expectations, perceived course rigor by students, e.g., there are significant differences between faculty scores from, say religion compared to the sciences

9 Really, do we ever deny CFS to poor teachers? Really?

10 Students tend to "group think" a lot and this needs to be taken into consideration

in all data. The Pre-CFS should rely more deeply on faculty evaluations.

11 Keep in mind that some very difficult classes will probably be given lower scores

12 It is possibly the best measure of teacher effectiveness.

13 Student evaluations should be given a minor weight compared to committee observations and chair/dean recommendations.

14 Basement scores of course mean something; but less than perfect scores do not. In fact perfect scores are suspect and more likely an evidence of faculty giving away "A's".

15 Comments are all over the place and ratings are not reflective of the quality of the teaching so much as the difficulty of the course and what is expected. Although

they should be considered, student evaluations need to show clear and consistent

trends before they should be used to judge the quality of teaching

16 Very little weight. After all, students aren't really qualified to perform these evaluations.

17 There are only three questions on the student evaluation: First, do I like the teacher (who cares if they are "liked")?; second, did I like the course (ditto)?; and third, do I think I know more than the teacher (ditto). This has no value in

determining whether or not a teacher should be retained. In-depth review by colleagues in far more valuable in making the retention decision.

18 The evaluations should be used as a tool for instructors--not as a tool for administrators to judge instructors.

19 If they are consistently very low, that should suggest a closer look.

20 With discretion and wisdom by each department

21 If we really believe that learning is a student activity, then having student input is imperative.

22 I think they should only be used to show direction of student opinion. The numbers are useless to me. These measure student perception, not learning.

23 Students are the best consumers of our product/our teaching. We should value what they have to say. But evaluations should be considered over time, not just a

single semester.

24 If we want to use evaluations they should be designed for courses/department not a generic, university-wide evaluation. How can FDEng 101 compare to Book of

Mormon or Family/Marriage Prep? Having irrelevant questions (e.g., asking about testing in a writing class) skews the students' response to questions that actually

have relevance.

25 We know from a research standpoint that the evaluations are not very reliable, hence, they are not very valid either. We also know from a research standpoint that the grade that the student expects is correlated with the scores on these

evaluations.

26 The idea that your popularity may govern whether or not you keep your job at a university is scary. Extensive research has shown both that student have a very

difficult time recognizing whether or not they know something and correctly identifying the things they did to learn them.

27 They should be considered as significant, but surely there are other considerations as a new faculty member trains and adjusts

28 There should not be fixed formula for the amount of weight the evaluations should be given. Rather, they should be considered along with all other factors in a holistic manner.

On the current student evaluation form, there are too few, too many, or just the right amount of questions.

Comments by all Faculty:

1 And often not germane questions at that.

2 They seem quite similar at times, too.

3 I don't know, I haven't looked at them

4 Simplify to a few questions that are truly significant and response rate will increase. Make them meaningful.

5 I don't have issue with the amount of questions, but I don't think that the right questions are being asked. Are students qualified to make judgments as to whether the teacher is knowledgeable in a certain subject?

6 Some of the questions don't seem to apply to my class

7 Who cares?

8 Questions of ambiguity and or irrelevance to the class

9 Someone really ought to ask the students this question, even if it is only a small

proportion of the students.

10 Number of questions is not a concern for me.

11 Might be best to focus on outcomes, activities, and results

12 Not all apply directly

13 Some questions are repetitive, and the ones that aren't are worthless.

14 Again, let ask questions that really matter, eg., did this class hold me accountable to being a responsible citizen at a university? Did the instructor hold me accountable to act for myself by enforcing deadlines and offering a quality experience? etc,

15 I think the length deters some students from participating.

16 Some might be a little redundant.

17 I don't think the number of questions really matters that much.

18 Many students do not realize the serious weight their answers have and take the evaluation lightly.

19 Some questions, like preparation seem to be partially out of the teacher's control. Sure I assign work, but I have no control over whether they do the reading or work

20 I have no opinion on this question really.

21 I don't think that the questions are excessive in number, but could be pared back a bit.

22 Research on multiple choice tests show that 35 questions is a minimum required to achieve testing parity. Yet that is not practical for a student evaluation. Multiple

choice is not the right venue for student evaluations.

23 I don't have a strong opinion on this.

24 Students have told me there were "way too many question".

25 Not always the RIGHT questions!

26 Far too many questions--their value becomes diluted.

27 Too many and too similar. Students tend to have a hard time identifying clearly what a written question is asking, even in tests.

How beneficial for improving your teaching are the numerical results from your student evaluation report?

Comments by all Faculty:

1 don't know

2 beneficial in a vaguely notional sense.

3 Too many variables for the numbers to be meaningful for me.

4 They indicate possible weak areas.

5 Seeing numbers seems impersonal and somewhat stressful.

6 Now that I am CFS, I glance at them but pay very little attention.

7 I don't view my teaching as related to my evaluations. I strive to be the best

teacher I can and hope the evaluations reflect that. I do not use the evaluations to

motivate or diagnose my teaching.

8 Patterns are revealed and the comments are most valuable

9 Some students will just quickly fill out the numbers to get it over quickly.

10 I try as hard as I can--the evaluation doesn't change my desire to do my best.

Sometimes I find some of the comments discouraging.

11 I try to ignore the 1 or 2 extremes and focus on the majority

12 The Student Performance questions are not that beneficial for me. Particularly – I feel that I made important contributions to the learning and growth of fellow

classmates. - Shy students will honestly answer this low despite my own and their best efforts.

13 There are always the disgruntled students that take out their frustrations on these evaluations.

14 Teaching is too complex an activity for a single assessment instrument to provide a majority of the needed feedback.

15 How does one improve a course the students liked "5.9"? What does a numerical value mean as to a course taught over a period of years? How does one factor in

(or out) the numerical biases created by such factors as which days the course was offered on, or at what time of the day? The entire concept of a numerical valuation is absurd. We should not be teaching the students that subjective

impressions have quantitative values.

16 I am reminded of Pres Monson's quote Performance improves when performance is measured. Every dedicated teacher should want to be evaluated every semester. How else do you know if you are succeeding?

17 Seems that I worry too much about the numbers. When I worry about something and press to make it better, I just make things worse.

18 I tend to know my strengths and weaknesses before my students complete evaluations. They sometimes just confirm what I already know.

19 Some questions don't even apply to my class but students still mark an number.

20 I find that the numbers are tainted by the fact that not all students complete the

survey. The numbers are not reliable.

21 Numbers tell me how much I am better or worse than the department, college, or university, but they give me no hints on how to improve

22 Between somewhat and not

23 I don't get feedback.

24 SOmetimes I hesitate to try new things, fearing student response.

25 I am usually quite frustrated with the evaluations, making me feel that the students are unappreciative of my hard work to help them learn. In result I want to revert to a traditional "chalk and talk" classroom setting because I feel I will get the same result with less effort.

26 If I didn't use the student's perspective to adjust my teaching, then my teaching

must be teacher oriented.

27 There is no consistency students' level of agreement or disagreement.

28 Comparing math classes to other classes on campus seems to be comparing

apples to oranges to me.

29 Initially they helped a lot. After 3 years of reviews - they are less helpful.

30 Numerical data is nothing but a "flog myself" tool. The questions are not narrow

enough to offer valuable feedback. If a teacher's assignments are rated poorly, there is no help in showing why they were poor.

31 the few who loudly complain skew results, and others who could offer valuable information seem complacent about doing so.

32 When I see a consistent concern from students, I know I need to adapt.

33 I realize that the numbers include opinions of students that are not happy about their grades, so they seek revenge on the evaluations.

34 I do not read the evaluations.

35 Evaluations have so many variables that are not taken into account that can skew the results.

36 Sometimes they have made me a more self-conscious teacher as opposed to more conscientious

37 Again, I see lots of low numbers coupled with very favorable comments.

How beneficial for improving your teaching are the student comments from your student evaluation report?

Comments from all Faculty:

1 The only students who comment seem to the students who either love me or hate me. In either case, their responses generally don't contain useful suggestions with respect to teaching.

2 don't use them

3 Student comments tend to be contradictory. Inevitably there are students that say something like "Wow! best thing since sliced bread!" and an equal proportion that

say something like "Total waste of time and the instructor is a jerk!" Usually these match up with the grade the student is receiving.

4 they let me know if I'm being a jerk, to which I respond by trying not to be.

5 Anytime I have changed something in the course to address a student comment,

the next evaluation has unhappy students that didn't like what I had changed.

6 Positive comments further justify my positions. Critical comments tend to lead me to think about what the student wasn't understanding about my desired results.

There are sometimes a couple of comments that have useful suggestions about how a process could be improved and I appreciate those and use them to my advantage.

7 They are very beneficial when the students are specific and constructive in their feedback. Roughly 75% of the comments have at least some level of useful

information. There's usually about 5% that are very beneficial.

8 Comments are helpful; numbers are not.

9 Sometimes students write very hurtful comments, and I don't know how to take it

10 They are useful, but I pretty much have already had the feedback before the semester ends.

11 The comments are only helpful in connection with other ways of evaluating teaching.

12 When a trend appears, then I take a look at things, but I generally ignore isolated criticisms

13 I have not been given student comments from recent evaluations.

14 some student comments are done out of revenge or a vindictive desire to punish the professor for a tough course. Some student comments are rational and reasonable, and thus useful.

15 I am an online adjunct, and so I have a little less control over the structure of the course and activities in it. In that sense, the student evaluations are a little less helpful than if I were teaching on campus and could change my course at will.

16 Sometimes the students don't understand the question. My class is set up as a workshop so some days we work on projects in small groups. I had a number of students answer that I cancelled class on numerous days because they didn't

understand what the question is asking

17 Sometimes I get frustrated here because some students love some aspects of the class and others have the exact opposite response. I end up doing what I think

achieves the teaching objectives best.

18 Generally, the written comments provide more insight into the student's response.

19 Comments are often superficial.

20 Recurring themes are worth noting; neither great nor poor comments hold much attention; I neither see myself as great nor poor. Every time I have students complain about something and another praise the same thing.

21 I usually have a discussion in class about the class. I get all the feedback I need.

22 About one comment in every three or four thousand is marginally helpful.

23 Usually the comments are scattered, I only change when there is uniform

response.

24 I tend to know my strengths and weaknesses before my students complete

evaluations. They sometimes just confirm what I already know.

25 Some help a lot but others express personal problems the student is projecting on the teacher.

26 Very few if any comments offer useful information. They seem to be mostly a

emotional release to the end of the semester.

27 Most comments help me to know how to improve; although students who admit

they are getting poor grades or not attending 50% of the time shouldn't be allowed to evaluate because they often do so merely for revenge purposes for the F they've earned.

28 I welcome input as we go

29 Few times the comments are beneficial, but only to tell you a couple thing they

liked, for the most parts the evaluations are just complaints.

30 Teaching is helping students to learn. Learning is naturally reinforcing. If students willing and able students- are not enjoying learning, then I better listen to their suggestions.

31 On occasion, a helpful comment is made

32 Comments, while they can sting, at least offer insight into what type of changes a teacher can make in his/her teaching.

33 These are nice because usually the student will suggest things to improve the course.

34 same as above, particularly when someone is just venting.

35 If I get enough comments about the same thing, I will change it.

36 When I used to read the comments, they were not helpful. Student's rarely offered any kind of constructive feedback. Either they were very happy about the course,

or they hated the course and me. Either way, I've stopped reading the comments because I don't find them valuable at all.

37 Evaluations have so many variables that are not taken into account that can skew the results.

38 Sometimes they have made me a more self-conscious teacher as opposed to more conscientious

39 I've found the comments have changed little over the years.

Should some of the course evaluation data be made available to students to provide them with more information about potential courses and instructors than the views expressed on rating sites on the Web?

Comments from all Faculty:

1 But probably on a volunteer basis. Of course, this leads to the type of teaching

that will only elicit good comments: easy grades, lots of "fun" and little rigor.

2 Better than looking it up on Rate Your Professor

3 I think that places too much weight on them. Besides, they have ratemyprofessor

4 not sure, some instructors might get branded as not being too good because

certain students don't like them for whatever reason.

5 I have no opinion either way. Students that are insecure in their preparation for a

class usually will believe negative comments and disregard positive ones.

6 We should make public personal reflection / evaluation of student and teacher.

The questions that we apply to ourselves.

7 Rate My Professor only includes ratings from too few students, its not a

representative sample

8 doesn't exactly get a proper sample of students.

9 We may find that students using this data might prefer to take classes from certain

instructors, and avoid others whose ratings were lower (whether those ratings are

accurate reflections of the instructor or not).

10 I worry about this. If the instrument were improved, I'd be for it.

11 I think it should remain personal.

12 They're looking on the web--let's give them something more reliable.

13 Rate My Professor is a brutal format. Students should have to identify themselves and there should be a feature that allows teachers to rate-that-student in response. But alas, the privacy laws...

14 At least this would give students a better overall picture of how a professor has been evaluated.

15 I don't know how much, but it would prevent them from going to



16 In the interest of fairness, I think it would help with providing a more complete picture regarding class experience. I have found that, for instance, on manufacturer forums, people typically only post when they have a problem with a

product, and do not post if their product is working as expected. Likewise, I think students who had a bad experience with a class or teacher are more likely to

express their views than those who had a positive experience, skewing the results on "rating sites".

17 Most of them will just look to find who the "easiest" instructor might be. This will lead to very unbalanced sections in terms of enrollment.

18 It would only contribute to their consumer/entitlement mentality

19 They already have former students opinions floating around campus

20 Troubles will abound, however, that's a faculty-unity killer for sure, but, still useful

to students and is in line with good disclosure

21 Why replace Rate my

22 I don't know what the pros and cons would be.

23 As a student I took teachers I knew were easy graders. Now I regret that. At that

age, I didn't know what was best for my learning and growth.

24 I would sure hate to see this become a popularity contest.

25 This data may interpreted incorrectly by potential students

26 not sure

27 This is already done informally via , perhaps we should encourage more faculty to encourage more students to post responses there...that's what I do

28 as long as data is filtered through rational sources and weeds out any extreme or

vindictive comments by students

29 the group think issue is a problem with this approach.

30 I'm undecided on this one. I can see arguments for and against. My general feeling is No, so that's what I've marked, but I could be convinced to at least try it

for a while.

31 I am not sure about that. Students will realize that some teachers are actually

better than others... But on the other hand we they would have an official way of

learning about teachers, since they do it already on non-official parallel websites...

32 I don't know--depends on whether the students are fair in their evaluation

33 then it would become just as "American Idol" as

34 undecided

35 However the data needs to be filtered well before publication

36 Any positive comments should be made available to offset the ugly comments on

rate my professor

37 Particularly if they are positive bits of information

38 It already is (). This would probably make disparities

increase as students self-select into "liked" professor courses. I think it's a good

thing for students to sometimes have to deal with a "challenging" instructor.

39 However, you should do this only with instructor consent. I would love to let the

university put all mine online (currently I do it myself).

40 Time for out of class preparation.

41 I strongly support that idea! Students already use other websites with feedback

from limited participants to decide which classes to take. Why not give them

some more statistically sound information?

42 They can already go to rate my professor . . . and do. I don't think it's our

purpose to help students shop for instructors.

43 I would need to consider this further before making a Y/N decision.

44 Students are only looking at the immediate. I have a greater love now for

teachers that I would not have taken classes from had I seen various student

responses at the time. the class was too hard, too much work, boring, etc.

45 Doing so would be kind of dicey.

46 Are we really thinking about creating another "rate your professor" in house?! These evaluations have a whole host of problems. Even many of the faculty seem not to understand psychometrics adequately to interpret them; how are

students going to do any better?

47 The intent of the evaluations is to benefit instructors, not to benefit students.

48 Absolutely not. This is a ludicrous suggestion. This is already available to them online with "rate my professor", but it damages the reputations of the teachers. Let each course begin anew, and let the students learn to get used to teachers

they otherwise would never have liked. It is a great part of life to learn how to get along with people or teachers who are not like us, and who see things differently. There would be no real growth if we contributed to this by allowing access to

evaluation data. In addition, it might cause students to avoid teachers who would be very good for them. My experience in college was that I loved teachers that other students hated. We each march to the beat of a different drummer.

49 Makes me nervous, but may improve the information available

50 This is a minefield, and exposes students, instructors, and the University to

additional legal liability. If it is done, instructors ought to be allowed to rebut student comments or explain unusual circumstances.

51 They already have "Rate My Professors" online. That serves the same function (as if it were needed at all)

52 Sure if you want to perpetuate the same mentality of making the student the customer--the customer is always right. I thought they were the product. I guess I

was mistaken.

53 Perhaps the results would balance the unkind one or two vocal students who have

an ax to grind on other rating sites.

54 This is not a popularity contest.

55 Not as long as student evaluations are determining factors in CFS.

56 I think such a practice would come across as legitimizing the current trend of shopping for courses that will result in easy "A's"

57 I can't think of many things that could be more damaging to what is supposed to happen in classes than to make course evaluations available to students.

58 is a joke (the sample is miniscule and highly skewed)

59 To make this information available would probably imply that it has more validity than it really does.

60 Since not all the students respond to the surveys, the data is incomplete and may be quite slanted.

61 Not as the data is now presented.

62 Wow, that could be a can of worms.

63 No because I have at least 1-3 students every semester who score my evaluations low on purpose to get revenge for the "F" they earned.

64 It depends on the purpose of the course evaluations. I don't believe that serves the purpose.

65 when there are multiple teachers teaching the same course, but when only one does than not so important

66 Do we really want to create a hierarchy of teachers on this campus. Do we want

students to be able to avoid more rigorous courses?

67 They have enough other sources of info, including word-of-mouth

68 I don't know. 69 Posting data will only put more weight on the ratings when chair and dean observations should be included in assessing a teacher's performance

70 This depends on the data you provide. 71 This is a great question that should be discussed by faculty at length. Many

students are using as a way to decide and these evaluations would trump that. I think we open a can of worms making the information available. It was my understanding the evaluation process was so 1.

faculty could receive feedback on how they are doing from students 2. Administration (dept. chairs etc) can evaluate how well faculty are teaching students; not to help students decide which professor to take a course from.

72 I think some of the information would be helpful--perhaps throwing out the top and bottom review as outliers.

73 The data is not reliable for faculty. How could we expect students to use this data effectively?

74 They already have a word-of-mouth system among themselves.

75 I really would not mind this, with provision. Not all evaluations translate into easy yes/no decisions. A professor who is great for upper division classes may not be as good for Foundations classes. There would have to be more than a good/bad evaluation posted.

76 You mean like have our own ? Why? What would the purpose be to put up our own unreliable and non-valid data?

77 not in the present format

78 Too much of a popularity contest. Most students rate according to how well they did in the class and the easy teachers get the better evaluations(generally)

79 Isn't this somewhat common at other Universities?

80 This would only provide a further validation of their emotional responses to a course or professor. Have you seen "Rate my "? What a joke. They

talk enough in the halls.

81 It would be more accurate than the web.

82 I do not know what the ramifications of this would be.

83 I don't think the info from these evaluations should be used in any way to determine whether or not to take a course or choose a specific instructor.

84 Hmmm...both interesting and scary!!

85 YEs and no- some of the students provide false information if they receive a bad

grade or have been reprimanded

86 I would normally have said no but if they have access to non-scientific, nonrefereed

ratings on the web, then they should also have access to ratings compiled with greater wisdom and for a greater purpose.

87 Fine by me.

88 Show them the "what did you like" comments. They can go elsewhere for the parts that students dislike.

The University should remove the "Items about Student Performance" section from the instructor/course evaluation form.

Comments from all Faculty:

1 What do they use them for?

2 not sure what that means

3 Self evaluation for students is just as ineffective as self evaluation for instructors

or any other human. All this section measures is how out of tune the students are with their actual behavior. It is interesting to see what students think is 'hard

work'.

4 If my students are not indicating a satisfactory level of performance, it identifies an area where I might be able to help them.

5 #8 in this category is especially useful

6 I think this is an inspired section. It is important for students to reflect on how their own performance in the course has positively or negatively affected their learning.

7 I want to know how my students perceived their performance in relation to my class. By separating this from the course evaluation, how would we know how

they feel about their preparation for a specific class? Some students may have different feelings based on the subject matter, time of day of class, their status

[fresh, soph, jr, sr], etc.

8 I think it's helpful to have this section to remind students of their responsibilities in

the learning process.

9 Simplify, but these items make them reflect on their contribution to the class.

10 I don't have a problem with the questions. The evaluation is just too long.

11 As an instructor, I don't feel I should be responsible for an 18 year old student who

can't get their life together enough to be successful in my class.

12 Students should consider their own preparation and effort before evaluating the course/ instructor.

13 Hold students more accountable for their lack of work.

14 Again, let's consolidate/add/delete questions that truly correlates with the objectives inherent in the Learning Model.

15 If students are in the process of considering their own performance while also evaluating the course and instructor, it might help them to be more fair in their

evaluations of the course, rather than taking out a vindictive revenge against the professor for behaviors that were really the students' own fault.

16 If we are determined to use this, how about setting it up to attach the students

grade to see a true picture of student performance

17 As long as we are pulling this information from elsewhere and connecting it up with each student's evaluation, I think this is a good idea. I do find it helpful to see

the correlation between student performance and student evaluations.

18 Possibly less questions, i.e. expected grade earned.

19 I think it's good if it helps students realize that they are partially responsible for the effectiveness of the course. If they don't like some aspect of the course, it might

not be the teacher's fault.

20 I am sorry but I just don't know

21 This section helps the student connect how their performance directly relates to the course.

22 I thought the evaluations process was for the instructors, not the students performance?!

23 This portion not only holds students accountable, but lets me have a view of how students perceive their own performance in class. However, this information is

not very useful because it is probably not very accurate.

24 No opinion at this time, would need to consider further.

25 What is the point of these questions? I have students in my office on a regular basis who make these claims who aren't attending, fail to turn in assignments, etc.

26 Unless student performance responses can be correlated with student perception responses, they're not particularly helpful. E.g., if it could be found that "Students

who rated their performance high rated the course highly," etc., then that is helpful.

27 Not sure--time there may detract from focus later, but it's a nice way to remind them of who is really responsible to learn.

28 Even though students' view of their own performance is typically terribly unrealistic, having them think about their own performance before evaluating the

instructor's helps temper extreme opinions, which hopefully leads to more valid results.

29 Don't know what those are.

30 The students should rate themselves, for their own benefit, only.

31 I think this helps students see that they have some responsibility in learning and that it's not entirely dependent upon the instructor.

32 I don't pay attention to that section

33 Students should realize that their own preparation will color how they view the course and how successful the course is for them.

34 Mostly because faculty has little control over the students' performance once they leave the classroom

35 Are the student responses accurate???

36 It may bias the teacher evaluation

37 Starting off with this section helps students see their responsibility for making the course successful.

38 Students should evaluate their own performance as they evaluate their teachers' performances.

39 This section could be useful if you could view individual student evaluations. If a student reports they expect to receive a low grade and they also give the worst

marks across the board it says something. Current evaluation reporting doesn't allow you to see if that is what is occurring.

40 I think that this can help gauge whether positive or negative responses correlate with how students think they are performing in the class.

41 This gives the professor a calibration on the rest of the student comments and responses.

42 We are just asking students their opinions about their performance; if we want to

really know, then let's get the psychometricians involved.

43 At least this gives you some measure of control over why the student hated the course.

44 Though I think that student performance is a little distant from what should go on an instructor evaluation. I think that to leave off the report of the impact that our

teaching has on the growth of the student would be detrimental to our improving

as teaching. We need to know how our instruction and activities are influencing

the growth of the student if we are to improve.

45 That is the best section in the survey to determine students' performance

46 It holds the student accountable

Questions used in the current evaluation process concerning elements of the Learning Model (e.g., student preparation, students teaching students, pondering and proving) should be made part of a new student self-evaluation, thereby encouraging students to "take responsibility for their own learning" as mandated by the Learning Model.

Comments from all Faculty:

1 Genius. This learning model is poorly understood, even more poorly applied by people largely unable to adjudicate or execute good teaching, anyway. Why

2 I'm not sure what this means. Is it still tied to the class? What's the purpose of this?

3 While I agree that the Learning Model is principally a model for students in their learning activities, it would be disingenuous to think that what I do in class doesn't

have an impact on how well students implement good learning practices.

4 I think a self evaluation for the students is a good idea, but I would still like to have this data on the report that I get.

5 The Learning Model should NOT be a part of the student evaluations. The Learning Model lacks substance and is nothing more than sloganeering,

Therefore, an objective assessment of its application or success is completely subjective and valueless.

6 This section is currently very weak.

7 A separate evaluation asking about the Learning Model would seem more general in nature, allowing students to assess their entire learning situation rather than tie

it to a specific course.

8 I like the questions about student preparation, but I dislike the questions about "students teaching students." This reinforces a misunderstanding about the

Learning Model. While teaching is an ideal way to learn and master concepts, we should be careful to not reinforce the notion that significant class time should be

devoted to this endeavor.

9 The "Learning Model" is a fad that will pass. Other schools call it "Peer Teaching." It's really not as revolutionary as we want to pretend it to be.

10 Nice. I love this.

11 If we separate them from the Teacher Eval, then they won't see their own part in the construction of their class experience. It is critical they be together. BTW,

wish there were some way to correlate the individual student's evaluations with the teacher evals. It would be really insightful to see how a student evaluates globally

as opposed to only the one class.

12 This should be a natural part of learning. When we make it into a model, we are emphasizing a model of learning rather than learning itself. Often these two things

are similar, but one could easily convince the students that the process is learning when, in fact, the process is the means to learning and not learning's end!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

13 In my experience, students to do understand the learning model and how it applies to teaching and learning. Are we evaluating the class and instructor, or are we evaluating the students understanding of the learning model?

14 I would agree to have students take part in ongoing self-evaluations, but I would still like such questions to be maintained as part of the current student

evaluations. I find it very helpful to get a sense of students taking responsibility for their own learning together with their perceptions about their instructor and the

course.

15 see above comment, but I can see some benefits of students having a separate self-evaluation

16 As everyone has a different interpretation of the Learning Model on this campus, I believe it would actually be best if no questions about the learning model existed

on any surveys.

17 This will not affect their accountability. Students respond to questions but do not link personal accountability to the items.

18 Haven't we been silly enough already?

19 They could be provided with this at the beginning of the semester

20 We need to make certain that the students understand that this is a learning model, not a teaching model. Many of the applications of reflecting on their learning, teaching one another, preparation, etc. should be instigated on the part

of the student.

21 There are WAY too many questions dealing with group work, learning from each other, teaching each other, etc.!!!

22 Great idea.

23 Most of those elements are already there.

24 Precluded with a couple of statements to "define" the learning model as intended by the survey

25 Students don't really understand what the learning model is.

26 I don't think the questions are useless, but if this refers to a collective score for LM use, weighting may be an issue

27 Such questions should remain on the course/instructor evaluation, even if used in a student self-evaluation.

28 The Learning Model is about student learning, not faculty instruction. Have the students evaluate themselves. The best question any student can ask (and the

best ones ask it frequently) is: "Am I a good student?", not, "Is this a good teacher." By the way, thanks for having the surveys off-campus server, and anonymous. Please keep it up!

29 I think you've already got that with the section 2 questions

30 The learning model is an insignificant standard for evaluating teaching. It is not a viable pedagogy and is an insult to my years of experience and perpetual self

evaluation.

31 Faculty get enough reminders about the LM without student input--the LM is a means, not an end.

32 We didn't get this chance--but why not ask the faculty about whether or not the administration should also have "student/ faculty evaluations" as often as faculty

do? Fenton once read such a question from a faculty Q & A--but then brushed off the question with something like: "I feel like I receive evaluations every time I come to one of these Q & As." Okay, well, faculty receive such evaluations every

time they stand in front of a classroom, also. Let's make it clear to administration that EVERY SINGLE REASON THEY GIVE FOR FACULTY RECEIVING

EVALUATIONS WOULD WITHOUT QUESTION APPLY TO ADMINISTRATORS RECEIVING EVALUATIONS. On a separate note: they have, essentially

TRIPLED the faculty evaluations by requiring them each of three semesters. Who knows where they'll go next: every other year? I think if the administrators were

likewise receiving evaluations, they would better appreciate the faculty experience--and also, THEIR PERFORMANCE MIGHT WELL IMPROVE! Funny concept, eh? But let's finally hold their feet to the fire--THEY COULD NOT GIVE A SINGLE REASON FOR FACULTY BENEFITTING FROM EVALUATIONS THAT

WOULD NOT APPLY TO ADNINISTRATORS (from the faculty they serve).

33 Many students and some faculty have some strange ideas what the learning models is.

34 Some students have negative attitude toward model

35 I agree, but what would that look like?

36 The questions should definitely be kept and included with the current evaluation form.

37 Students may think it is the sole responsibility of the faculty to provide these opportunities in class. The learning model needs to be adjusted to the curriculum

and should not be used to the same extent as other curriculum, thus students may compare the approaches to the learning model across curriculums and rate the

class based on what they've seen before and not necessarily on what was appropriate for the class being evaluated.

38 If the questions about learning model are kept in regard to the teacher, then questions in regard to learning model for students would be nice.

39 But I would not want them to be removed from the faculty evaluation

40 As long as this is not part of the teaching evaluations; also, let's get psychometricians involved so that we are really able to develop an evaluation

process that will produce more reliable and valid results.

41 Confusing the learning model for a teaching model is encouraged by the current format. This is detrimental to both students and faculty, I think. I understand and

agree with a 'student-centered' university, but unless we consider what is happening to the faculty, we're going to kill the goose and have no more eggs, golden or otherwise.

42 When students don't do well, their first recourse is to blame the teacher. I also think that the evaluations should be taken closer to mid-terms than finals. I think they would be more accurate.

43 Apparently this question is trying to lead us to a particular answer. However, I strongly disagree. Encouraging students to take responsibility for their own learning is not the same as simply expecting it to happen. Teachers have quite an

influence in teaching and training students in their responsibilities. If those items were left off of the evaluation, how would I be able to tell whether or not the activities that I am preparing for my students are helping them. That feedback is crucial to my improvement as a teacher.

44 If written correctly, it may be of value

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