Evaluation day usually marks the end of a semester. Soon though, this tradition will change. At the end of this fall semester, 10 departments will be the test group for online teacher evaluations.
Ann Frymier, executive vice president for academic affairs, said that a committee headed by Michael Curme, associate dean and associate professor in the Farmer School of Business, discussed the move with deans and department chairs.
But why move the evaluations online?
"It's cheaper and greener," Frymier said.
She said that time is another factor. Professors will be able to see their evaluations "as soon as grades are posted."
According to Frymier, professors do not receive the results of their evaluations in time to take students' feedback into account before their next term. Seeing the results online would give professors the chance to utilize student feedback sooner.
Students will receive an email when their course evaluation is ready to be completed. Frymier said students log in using their unique ID, find the course evaluation and complete it when they want. If a student forgets to complete the evaluation then a series of reminder emails will be sent out.
There are some concerns with moving the teacher evaluations online.
"One of the big [concerns] is student response rate," Frymier said.
"Research shows that response rate will go down," Curme said. "It isn't perfect with the paper ones either."
Junior Alex Scales said that he doesn't feel like it is a bad idea, "but if this is anything like the surveys cashiers ask me to fill out every single time they hand me a receipt, I'll be just as motivated to forget about it," Scales said.
Enjoy what you're reading?
Signup for our newsletter
Both Curme and Frymier stressed their belief that once students know how important the evaluations are they will want to participate.
"Professors want to improve their classes," Curme said.
He said his goal is to make students motivated when it comes to evaluating classes.
"We will be working with any student organization that is interested in working with us," he said.
The committee will soon begin working with the organization PR Vision, according to Curme. PR Vision is a student organization made up mainly of communication majors. They will aid the committee by getting the message out to students about just how important the evaluations are.
Despite concerns about participation rates, there are also benefits to moving the teacher evaluations online. Frymier said that the evaluations will be more flexible, easier to update and that questions can be added or changed quickly. Students who were absent on the day of evaluation would still be able to give input.
It won't be a sudden change, Frymier reassured. After the pilot group this fall, results will be looked at and then a second, larger group will be chosen to go online. Frymier said that depending on how these test groups go, all teacher evaluations may be online by the 2012-2013 school year.
In 1960, The Miami Student reported that Bill Mulliken, a Miami University student who had just turned 21, won a gold medal in the 200-meter breaststroke at the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome. Mulliken, a senior, was introduced at convocation by President John D. Millett and was given a four-minute ovation by his fellow students.
Read More
How one professor and her classes are preserving Oxford’s Black history
By Sean Scott | March 20, 2024Jazma Sutton, an assistant professor of history, teaches The Black Midwest (HST 350Q) and Black Women in America (HST 450D) classes. In both courses, she has students working with the Smith Library of Regional History and Miami’s archives to document and preserve Black history in Oxford.
Miami faculty members recount Freedom Summer in new documentary
By Luke Macy | February 25, 2022After seven years of work, “Training for Freedom,” a documentary highlighting Oxford’s involvement in the Freedom Summer of 1964, premiered on PBS Western Reserve on Valentine’s Day.
“Documenting the COVID-19 Pandemic”: History in the making
By Alice Momany | August 29, 2021In March 2020, Miami University’s archives launched “Documenting the COVID-19 Pandemic,” a collection focused on life during the COVID-19 pandemic.