Course evaluations digitized, incentivized

A new online course evaluation policy and procedure will be implemented for the Fall 2011 semester.

Students will be required to complete the evaluations in order to receive timely access to their final grades. For the Fall 2011 semester, students that do not complete the evaluations by December 30, 2011 will not receive access to their grades until after January 15, 2012. Students can expect to receive e-mails by Nov. 21 linking them to the course evaluation surveys, according to an e-mail sent by the University Wednesday evening.

"We're trying to encourage [the completion of course evaluations]," Edward Scheinerman, Vice Dean for Education in the Whiting School of Engineering, said. "If we didn't do some sort of incentive that was pretty clear . . . only people that were unhappy would fill out the survey."

In addition to access to final grades, students will need to complete all their course evaluations to view unofficial transcripts online and to have official transcripts released by the Registrar's Office.

The University will employ EvaluationKit, an online course evaluation program, to administer the surveys and collect the data.

Because students will need to complete all their course evaluations on their own time, the evaluation form has been shortened to 10 or 11 questions, according to Steven David, Vice Dean of Undergraduate Studies.

Several reasons were cited for the procedure and policy change, including the logistical, environmental and accuracy concerns. University officials felt the former paper system was cumbersome and unwieldy to administer and took up class time. Officials were also concerned that only those with extreme feelings would complete the survey and the results would not be truly representative of student opinion.

"The old system was extremely labor intensive, environmentally unfriendly, and inaccurate," Scheinerman said.

Additional benefits of electronic evaluations include better accuracy for all responses and improved user-friendliness.

Last semester, the University ran a pilot program in which several departments tested the online survey. The Student Government Association and the Graduate Representative Organization were also polled for their opinion of the new online form.

"The [student] response has been overwhelmingly positive," David said.

 "Students like doing it electronically," Scheinerman said.

University officials also claimed that the Merlin website, the current site where past course evaluation information can be accessed, will either be revamped or replaced with a more user-friendly interface.

"I don't think the current system is as user-friendly or has the impact that it should," David said. "The site for the new system should be easier to navigate."

However, specific details could not be provided at the time.

"We do want students to see [the data]," Scheinerman said, adding that whether on the current Merlin site or via a new interface, the course evaluations from this semester would be made available to students.

Overall, the University feels the new changes will be a benefit to both students and faculty.

"Students at other universities [complete course evaluations] without much fuss or bother," Scheinerman said. "Most students want to participate."

"It's how students make courses better," he said.

Student reaction to the change has been mixed.

"I think it's stupid," sophomore Juliana Cotto said, while acknowledging the effectiveness of the new policy in completing course evaluations. "I don't like it."

"It makes it a lot easier for students who may not be able to be in class that day," senior Daniel Lopez said. "I think it's a good policy."