The dreaded white rectangle sheets of paper.
Yes, it is that time of year again for student evaluations. On top of papers, projects, presentations and finals, IU South Bend has asked students to fill out teacher evaluations.
According to Alec Hosterman, professor and advisor for Communication Arts, evaluations are “a long term college tradition, not soon to go away.”
If students have strong opinions, they should take the evaluations seriously.
Some students like Joel Bazzell agree.
“I personally think that students only fill them out if they have an issue with a professor,” Bazzell said.
Bazzell also feels that students might ignore the evaluations all together unless there was some incentive, such as the professor offering extra credit to get students to fill them out.
Students like sophomore elementary education major Nicole Freeman take evaluations seriously.
“They give professors feedback on how to improve or tweak their lessons for future classes,” Freeman said. “It also helps the administration see when a prof is not performing up to standards or a particular class is not achieving the goals set forth.”
And while the evaluations may be affective, Freeman feels that some students take a biased stance toward the evaluations.
“I think Evaluations are effective, but I also know a lot of people that base their evaluation purely on the grade they are getting in the class,” Freeman said. “One’s grade in a class and the effectiveness of the teacher do not always go hand in hand.”
Nursing Major Aleah Wilburn sees the evaluations as a way for a student to give their opinion anonymously.
“It’s a great opportunity to express your thoughts, sentiments, appreciations, comments, concerns or overall feelings about a class and the professor,” Wilburn said. “I’ve always been a student who values taking the time to let my professors know how I value their classes and value their time, and overall see evaluations as a powerful tool.”
Wilburn also fees that professors appreciate the feedback from students.
“They have always expressed how important student feedback is to them and how they try to adjust their classes accordingly,” Wilburn said.
Bazzell isn’t sure if the evaluations are all that helpful to professors.
“I’m not sure because more than likely the input is mostly negative,” Bazzell said.
And while the number of evaluations remains low, some professors have opted to offer students an incentive to complete them.
“Students should feel an obligation to give feedback to their professors,” Vice Chancellor Alfred Guillaume said..
It is his opinion that students should not be bribed to give their opinions.
Many professors take part of their lecture time to take students to the lab to fill out surveys.
Another issue with student feedback is that the opinions from the students are skewed or students simply don’t care.
When Hosterman hands out the evaluation sheets, he explains what he is looking for in the evaluation.
“I don’t lead them. I just want objective opinions,” Hosterman said.
From the evaluations that Guillaume has read, some evaluations are not taken seriously by the students.
“The evaluations should be honest,” Guillaume said.
At least one professor has opted for a mid-semester evaluation.
Professor Andrew DeSelm, a Film Studies professor, finds it helpful to take informal mid-semester evaluations as well as giving the formal evaluations at the end of the semester.
The issue for the university is getting more students to participate in the student evaluations. The university has formed a committee to evaluate the system currently in place and to look for ways to encourage students to participate in an honest manner.
