Critiquing evaluations

It’s that time of year again. Scantron sheets and a number two pencil are all that students need to praise the inventiveness of a marketing professor or vent their frustration over the amount of work in a religion class.

However, a faculty committee is looking at changes that might eliminate the paperwork of teacher evaluations. The Committee on Faculty and Development and Evaluation is currently investigating possible alternative methods of administering the evaluation. The Chair of the FDEC, economics professor Dina Franceschi, said one method being explored is having teacher evaluations online.

According to Franceschi, online evaluations would provide virtually immediate access to results for faculty and students as well as an easily changeable format as courses evolve. The forms would also reinforce the anonymity of the evaluations, since instructors wouldn’t recognize handwriting.

Franceschi said that an additional benefit would be the ability to add course specific questions for each professor.

“With an online system, we could be more flexible with the content of the forms. There would be consistency to allow for comparisons but also allow for course specific questions,” she said.

Online evaluations are not a new concept and have been raising concerns at colleges and universities for the past few years. Professor ratings on websites have become a forum for jaded students to vent their personal feelings and frustrations with their teachers.

The Webmaster of the FUSA website, Thomas John Cunnigham, ’03, said links to online discussion forums will be on the website, providing students an informal way to discuss a variety of issues, including those within the classroom.

The Chronicle of Higher Education questioned whether student evaluations encourage “grade inflation and trivialization of courses.” Franceschi disagrees.

“That is one of the reasons we hold the evaluations until grades are sent out. We want to encourage candid and honest responses from students,” she said. “Although a lot of other schools have a significant problem with grade inflation, I haven’t seen it at Fairfield.”

“I just don’t buy it,” said Academic Vice President Orin Grossman. “Not learning anything in a course does not necessarily translate into high teacher evaluations. Not all challenging professors receive low evaluations.”

One additional concern with the online format is that of student participation rates. The in-class distribution of evaluations solicit students during class, ensuring nearly 100% participation. If students were left to complete the forms outside of class and on their own time, some faculty feel they would never be completed.

“With evaluations being handed out at the end of the semester when everyone is their busiest the concern is that the teacher evaluation would be pushed to the bottom of the list,” Franceschi said.

Some students said the problem was real.

“Students only take the time to put thought into the evaluation if they really enjoyed the course or if they really hated it,” admitted Karyn Lizzi, ’02.

One method adopted at some universities to increase student participation is to withhold grades until the evaluation is completed. Some faculty disagree with this practice.

“When the evaluations are distributed in class, the student reserves the right to turn in the evaluation blank,” said Professor Robbin Crabtree, chair of the communications department. “This right is lost when the process is made mandatory.”

Other online evaluation formats ask students to grade teachers on communication skills, personality, course content, and the amount of outside time required for the class.

Many students say a grade of “A” or “F” would be easier to determine than the choices presented to them on the current forms used at the university.

However, Franceschi admits it will be some time before the Scantron sheets are completely eliminated. “Hopefully enough faculty would be interested in participating in a pilot program and then we could work from there,” she said.

FUSA President Joe Piagentini said students currently use informal methods to trade information on professors and courses.

“We learn about which classes to take and who to take them with through conversations with friends and other students while in line at the Registrar’s Office,” said Piagentini. “This will hopefully become a structured way for students to be informed about course and teacher selection.”