Student Course Evaluations:
Proposed Revisions
About the Proposed Revisions
The proposed revisions of ACC’s Student Course Evaluations, like those for the faculty evaluation process, were requested by faculty and are being devised by faculty.
Sixty three percent of 583 respondents who completed the Faculty Development and Evaluation Task Force’s 2018 survey on faculty development and evaluation thought student evaluation of courses needed improvement. Faculty wanted results from their student evaluations that would provide actionable information to improve teaching and student learning.
The Student Course Evaluations Work Group, a sub-committee of the Faculty Development and Evaluation Committee, offers the following information as a starting point for continued collegewide discussion on crafting questions that reach the goal of meaningful and equitable student course evaluations.
Considerations in the redesign of course evaluations
The Work Group recommended the following considerations:
Use end-of semester student course evaluations for formative and summative evaluation with an emphasis on formative use for reflection and enhancement of teaching practices.
Encourage both full time and adjunct faculty members to make changes to their teaching practice based on the results presented in student course evaluations.
Consider student voice presented in course evaluations as significant but as only one point of measurement of a faculty member’s teaching performance.
Foundational to the redesign should be the recognition of the research on inherent implicit bias in student course evaluations.
Distinctions in the ratings for student course evaluations should be clarified by using a three-scale rating of meets, approaches, or does not meet expectations.
Select faculty for highest priority to hire without using results of student course evaluations as the primary determinant.
Purchase AI software, if possible, to assist larger departments in analyzing student comments.
Current Status
Work on student course evaluations resumed in Fall 2023 after a pause in work for the completion of the revised faculty evaluation process.
The weight and use of student course evaluations in a faculty member’s Overall Summary Evaluation was addressed in new Guidelines and Procedures for Faculty Evaluation.
OIRA joined the Workgroup to assist with the process of developing and vetting questions.
An initial group of proposed questions for lecture-based courses were completed.
Plans are underway for collecting data on the proposed questions from student focus groups, end-of-semester course evaluation pilots of the questions by various faculty, and a call for feedback from all faculty.
Call to Action
The FDEC Student Course Evaluation Work Group wants your feedback on the proposed student course evaluation questions, ratings, and your vision for dynamic, equitable, transparent, meaningful course evaluations. Please go here to complete this survey by May 15, 2024 to let us know what you think.