Overview | Fall 2009 evaluation period | Data |  Instrument | Encouraging participation | Raffles | Where to go if you have questions

Overview

Queens College routinely conducts course evaluations, using a questionnaire that was designed by the Committee on Teaching Excellence and Evaluation of the Academic Senate. Data from these evaluations serve a number of important functions:

• They can be used by instructors to assess the impact of their teaching and course materials on their students. The prose comments provided  by students are particularly helpful in this respect.
• They can be used by students to make decisions about what courses to take in an upcoming semester.
• They can be part of the supporting materials put together by faculty for purposes of reappointment, tenure, and promotion.

Fall 2009 Evaluation period

The evaluation period for the Fall 2009 semester was November 30 through December 18. To evaluate their courses, students login at:

https://apps.qc.cuny.edu/courseevaluation/

Data

Scalar Response Questions. Summary data for previous semesters' completed evaluations can be accessed from the Queens College Course Information System:

http://courses.qc.cuny.edu.

Written Response Questions. Faculty are able to view student comments on courses from previous semesters:

https://apps.qc.cuny.edu/courseevaluation/

To log in, use your Active Directory user ID and password and be sure to select "Faculty" from the pull-down menu.  (This user ID is the one you use to submit grades and to login to computers on campus; if you don't have an Active Directory account, you can set one up at the Queens College Account Management Systema> website,  https://cams.qc.cuny.edu.)

In the past, faculty have incorporated the bundle of completed paper forms in the teaching section of the supporting materials included in "The Box". With the online system, comments can be printed or saved electronically.

Instrument

On November 13, 2008, the Queens College Academic Senate approved an amended proposal from the Committee on Teaching Excellence and Evaluation to conduct course/faculty evaluations online during the fall 2008 semester.

The instrument in use at Queens, from 2000 onward, is a paper questionnaire consisting of 18 scalar response questions about various aspects of the course and the instructor, 4 scalar response questions about background information about the course and the student, and 3 written response questions for prose comments. This questionnaire was converted into an online form that students access from the Course and Faculty Evaluation website. To see what the questionnaire looks like online, click here for a sample electronic print-out.

The online system has many advantages, including the following:

• Evaluations can be administered at a substantial reduction cost and administrative time.
• Responses can be submitted 24/7 during the evaluation period, from any Internet-connected computer.
• Data can be published faster and more efficiently.
• Multiple instructors assigned to the same class or lab will have separate evaluation forms in the system. This ensures accuracy of evaluations for team-taught courses.
• The online system makes it possible to incorporate course-specific questions, responses to which would be available only to the instructor. This is a feature for future implementation.

The Teaching Excellence and Evaluation Committee is currently examining data from previous semesters, to see how they compare to data collected using the online system.

Encouraging participation

Response rates will be higher (and therefore more reliable) if faculty actively encourage students to participate, by citing the reasons this procedure is in place. To encourage participation, instructors can:

• Point out that the information students provide via these evaluations will help future students considering taking your class make informed decisions. As far as we can tell, the Queens College Course Information System website is an underused but very valuable resource. It will get more use if students know it exists and understand how to interpret the information it contains.
• Describe the value of students' written comments, and discuss whether evaluations by students in earlier semesters have helped to improve courses.
• Talk with their students about the role that course and faculty evaluations play in tenure and promotion decisions.

Faculty might also remind students that there are incentives in place for them. Prior to Spring 2010, they were eligible for prizes. Starting Spring 2010, when they have completed their evaluations, students are eligible to view their grades early.

Raffles

The Fall 2009 raffle included the following:

• a netbook computer;
• an iPod Touch, an iPod Nano, or an iPod Shuffle;
• two tickets to the Spring opera;
• a parking decal;
• bookstore vouchers;
• food vouchers redeemable at any of the on-campus food services.

Congratulations to the raffle winners from previous semesters:

• Fall 2009
• Spring 2009
• Fall 2008

And many thanks to all students who have completed evaluations in the past.

Where to go if you have questions

For technical support with the online reporting websites, please contact the Help Desk.

The Committee on Teaching Excellence and Evaluation and the Center for Teaching and Learning are available for other queries related to course/faculty evaluations.