The student news site of Marquette University

Marquette Wire

The student news site of Marquette University

Marquette Wire

The student news site of Marquette University

Marquette Wire

EDITORIAL: Evaluating course evaluations

Photo by Aaron Ledesma/ [email protected]

It’s that time of year again — evaluation time.

Monday, class evaluations became available for all students. This year, the administration has taken several steps to increase participation. This will be the first semester students can complete the evaluations on their mobile phones, and in addition, all students who complete their evaluations will receive a $1 off coupon to the Brew Cafes and will be entered in a drawing to win an iPad2.

In light of these changes, we feel it is appropriate timing to evaluate the evaluation system, as it has existed for the past few years.

We commend the university for taking steps to ensure the evaluations are as convenient for students as possible, as this demonstrates it genuinely wants to better faculty and curriculum. The mobile compatibility and the incentive prizes are great ideas, and we anticipate them to be effective. More students are likely to complete the evaluations when it becomes as easy as finishing them while waiting in line for dinner at Schroeder, especially when an iPad 2 could be the reward.

The structure of these evaluations remains unchanged, however, and we find this questionable. This current format asks students to select answers on a spectrum from “strongly agree” to “strongly disagree” for a few simplistic statements about the course and professor, such as “This instructor was interesting.” This setup leaves little room for depth and misses a chance to get at the heart of what actually goes on in each class.

These questions are relevant and necessary, to be sure. However, the criteria for an accurate evaluation should be more substantial as well.

The most important section of the evaluation seems to be almost an afterthought: the spaces that allow students to provide additional feedback about the course and the instructor at the end of the test.

Unfortunately, this is exactly the section that is most difficult or inconvenient for students to complete on smartphones, not having a complete, full-sized keyboard to write responses. Moreover, it requires time to articulate thoughtful and thorough responses.

We have concerns beyond the structure of the evaluations as well. The timing of evaluations seems terrible every year. While evaluations cannot be administered any earlier, students are just not likely to spend much time – if any – completing high-quality evaluations when swamped with final papers, projects and exams. At the same time, some professors choose to sacrifice class time so students can complete evaluations in class. This is not a valuable use of class for the students, however valuable it may be for the professors seeking feedback.

We suggest extending the deadline for completion through the week following exams. This would give students more time to complete them and the chance to do so in an atmosphere that is more relaxed and conducive.

It would also allow students to evaluate the format of the final exam and whether that format and content were consistent with course objectives. As this usually is one of the largest portions of a student’s semester grade, it seems important that it be evaluated, too. Since our professors cannot view the results of the evaluations until after final grades are submitted anyway, it does not seem as though it would be too difficult to extend the deadline for evaluations by at least a few days.

Finally, we would like to see more transparency of evaluation results and more accountability on the university’s part to take meaningful action in light of those results. Until students know their criticism and suggestions are taken seriously, it is unlikely they will feel much motivation to participate as thoughtfully as they could. If we had some sort of university-operated forum, similar to RateMyProfessor.com, displaying evaluation results, we could ensure consistently bad classes are reworked and poor professors are not allowed to continue teaching those classes.

To students, we suggest finding time to do the evaluations. This is a rare opportunity that only comes once a semester to voice our opinions about our classes and hold the university accountable for the quality of our education. It seems the administration is more willing than ever to listen, so we should use this chance wisely and responsibly.

Story continues below advertisement
Leave a Comment

Comments (0)

All Marquette Wire Picks Reader Picks Sort: Newest

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *