Starting this semester, Mount Holyoke will shift to online course evaluations from paper submissions. The change was announced in a recent e-mail to the college by Amy Berube, the Office Coordinator in the office of the Dean of Faculty, and later in another one by Cerri Banks, Dean of the College.
Students submit course evaluations at the end of each semester, commenting on the structure of the class, the instructor’s teaching methods, how much the student learned and the material used.
“At Mount Holyoke, teachers evaluate students and students evaluate teachers. Both kinds of evaluation are key to making sure that classes at Mount Holyoke meet a very high standard,” explained Christopher Benfey, Professor of English and Acting Dean of Faculty.
The evaluations are then used in planning future classes and reviewing faculty. “They are the most powerful source of input that students have in shaping the College’s offerings, faculty, and classroom experience,” said Berube in the e-mail.
Previously, time was alotted during classes at the end of the semester to do the evaluations. With the shift to electronic-based evaluations, students will now be required to log on to ISIS and fill out the evaluations online. This change will apply to all classes except for PE courses and labs, and confidentiality of the forms will be maintained as before, unless the student chooses to sign their name at the end.
One added advantage of the shift which did not previously exist, will be the ability to revise the evaluations until the final date of submission Dec. 20.
The change from the Dean’s office came in an attempt to move towards greater efficacy. Benfey elaborated, “We are confident that moving the evaluation process online will mean improvements over hard-copy evaluations in significant ways.” He cited these as the following: evaluations won’t be lost, confidentiality can better be ensured; less money and staff time will go into copying and distributing evaluations.
There has been some concern about the shift affecting both the quality and the quantity of the evaluations, given that students are busy during the exam period and will just think of it as an additional task. “They will just do it to get done with it because it coincides with the busiest part of the semester… at least with it being scheduled in class it had its designated time and place in the student mind,” said Natasha Ansari ’13.
Nell Maynard ’14 agreed. “I think they’ve overestimated people’s sense of obligation to give feedback on the professors,” she said, adding that it was a pity because “the feedback is important.”
On the flip side of that, the shift also implies several advantages. “I think that the quality will improve since students will have more time to write,” said Robin Blaetz, Professor of Film Studies. Another positive is the ability go revise the evaluations.
Berube’s e-mail emphasized the need for students to fill out the evaluations. Although the evaluations contain an option of “declining to participate,” Berube urged students to use that “sparingly, if at all.”
The evaluations students provide are taken seriously in planning future courses and for faculty review, promotion, and tenure.” she said.
While Benfey admitted that questions have been raised about whether the quality and care that students are accustomed to giving to evaluations will remain undiminished with the online process, he expressed his confidence in the students’ understanding of how important the evaluations are.
Blatez agreed. “I think that our students are aware of the responsibilities that the students and faculty have toward each other,” she said.
Students have until Dec. 20 to fill out the evaluations. Those who fail to do so will be unable to access their degree audit, unofficial transcript and grades. Similarly, professors will gain access to the submitted evaluations only after they have submitted their final grades.
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