Online student evaluation of instruction/courses
Interim Report of the Teaching Effectiveness Committee

Background

• The Provost’s Office  will no longer support the use of the University of Washington course evaluation product.
• Need to replace UW survey instrument.
• Online evaluation process vs traditional paper & pencil process discussed.
• Committee voted to move to an online evaluation process.

Purpose of student evaluations

• To assist individual instructors in improving their own teaching.
• To assist academic administrators in counseling instructors about their teaching.
• To assist faculty in reviewing the overall educational value and effectiveness of the course.
• To provide input in judging the teaching component in tenure, promotion and salary determinations.

Advantages of online evaluations
Time

• Frees up class time
• Students can complete survey more quickly
• Improved quality and quantity of written responses
• Fast processing and reporting of results
• Frees up staff time  in distributing and processing forms

Flexibility

• Survey instrument can be easily customized for colleges, departments and faculty.
• Adding, removing or changing questions easy
• Generating and designing comparative reports easy
• Controlling access to data

Costs

• Eliminates cost of forms and scan sheets
• Costs of administering  reduced even with purchase of software
• Increased use of evaluations free
• Sustainability
• Marginal costs associated with tailoring surveys to individual needs

Challenges for online evaluations
Response rates

• Tend to be lower
• Can be improved by reminders, incentives, and better communication and education by faculty

Response bias

• Mixed but recent results suggest online evaluations are representative

Change of Culture

• Colleges , departments and students need to adjust to make effective use of online evaluations

Current status

• Online student evaluations currently used in Vet Med, Pharmacy, and Nursing
• As of 2008 23% of colleges use online surveys
• Identified potential software products
  • CoursEval –Academic Management Systems http://www.academicmanagement.com/products/course_eval.php
  • Digital Measures http://www.digitalmeasures.com/CourseResponse/

References

• James Groccia – Report to Academic Affairs Committee, July 7, 2004
• Online Evaluations: Fewer of them but same results, Chronicle of Higher Education, 5/21/2010 v56 issue 36
• http://www.memphis.edu/sete/pdfs/fresno.pdf
• http://www.connectedu.com/courseval/helpcenter/HelpCenter.htm