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STUDENT EVALUATION OF FACULTY: Policies and Processes. Kay Turpin Alison Joseph Western Carolina University SAIR 2010 New Orleans, LA. Please… turn off cells phones and other devices if you must leave the session early – leave quietly avoid side conversations.
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STUDENT EVALUATION OF FACULTY: Policies and Processes Kay Turpin Alison Joseph Western Carolina University SAIR 2010 New Orleans, LA
Please… • turn off cells phones and other devices • if you must leave the session early – leave quietly • avoid side conversations This presentation is available at: http://www.wcu.edu/27729.asp SAIR 2010 New Orleans, LA
Western Carolina University Location: Cullowhee, NC Member of UNCSystem Fall 2010 enrollment - 9407 1440 FTF 7503 UGs 1904 GRs SAIR 2010 New Orleans, LA
History of Evaluations at WCU • No university-wide policy on administration, instruments, courses covered, and use of results • Scanned, paper forms administered during class time • Long wait for results • No flexibility in types of reports • Security dismal – esp. comments • IR office: • Purdue University’s Cafeteria Evaluation System • 7-12 departments • select undergraduate courses • inefficient, time-consuming process SAIR 2010 New Orleans, LA
Planning for University-Wide Evaluations 2002 through 2006 • Faculty Senate estab. ‘teaching evaluation committee’ • Provost mandated online evaluations (PACE initiative) • Developed SAI instruments based on course types • Developed guidelines for results usage • Initial discussion on admin. evals and accessing results • Researched available options for administering evals and selected Academic Management System’s CoursEval Faculty “own” the evaluation process! SAIR 2010 New Orleans, LA
Course Evaluation Pilot – Spring 2007 • 5 departments (Mkt/BLaw, Chem/Phys, CJ, PoliSci, Psych) • 328 courses (5689 surveys) • 45% response rate • Problems: login & email issues • inexperienced staff oversaw administration • End Result: CoursEval online system worked fine • BUT…. SAIR 2010 New Orleans, LA
Full Implementation – Fall 2007 Began Fall without established policies and processes in place for administering the survey and interpreting results • late start • no scheduling guidelines • key people not involved • minimal error checking • lack of advertising and incentives • inappropriate default forms • login issues from Spring pilot not addressed • questions added, doubling length • 44% response rate These issues would directly affect acceptance of online evaluations by both faculty and students! SAIR 2010 New Orleans, LA
Implementation Committee Establishing Policies & Processes Dec. 2007 through Summer 2008 Faculty Senate scheduling guidelines low-enrolled courses student incentives refined SAI instruments planned validity study • advertising/incentives • faculty training • summer parts-of-term • instrument defaults • student email policy • login issues SAIR 2010 New Orleans, LA
Implementation Review Spring 2007: 45% response rate (Pilot) Fall 2007: 44% response rate Were these major or minor issues? Spring 2008: 33% response rate (Drop of 11%!) Was our effort worth it? Fall 2008: 46% response rate SAIR 2010 New Orleans, LA
Lessons Learned Lesson 1: Involve everyone with a stake in the evaluation procedures and results; everyone with experience in processing & administering evaluations Lesson 2: Consider all issues before implementing Lesson 3: Build a strong communication system between faculty and survey administrators SAIR 2010 New Orleans, LA
Overview of Current Policies • all course sections, all terms • open period set by course length • university-wide incentives allowed • low-enrolled courses identified • crosslisted courses • periodic response rates & student reminders • faculty evaluation (not course content) • results availability • use in faculty AFE/TPR process • IR office responsible for administration SAIR 2010 New Orleans, LA
IR Responsibilities EVERYTHING! • Set-up & administer each semester’s evaluations • “Help desk” for faculty and students • Pursue new technologies & procedures to improve process, reporting, and response rates • Communicate to Faculty Senate any issues arising affecting senate policies and survey administration SAIR 2010 New Orleans, LA
Evaluation Set-up (each term) – Back End • Set evaluation schedule for all courses • Request SAI instrument modifications SAIR 2010 New Orleans, LA
Default instrument examples: 1) instructional method of ‘OA=online activity’ the instrument “Online Form” is default 2) instructional method of ‘F=face-to-face’ & course type ‘L=lab’ the instrument “Lab Form” is default SAIR 2010 New Orleans, LA
Evaluation Set-up (each term) • Set evaluation schedule for all courses • Request SAI instrument modifications • Data extracts from Banner (withdrawals & grades) • Error checks in Access database • Upload files to CoursEval website: • faculty records • students records • course information (includes primary instructor only) • secondary faculty (not included in course info.) • enrollment SAIR 2010 New Orleans, LA
Evaluation Set-up (each term) – Front End • Assign instrument to courses • Establish open/close dates and times – automated • Set-up group emails for students/faculty – automated • Set release date for survey results - automated • For the main evaluation period each term – total time for front end set-up = approx. 4-5 hours SAIR 2010 New Orleans, LA
Features of CoursEval • Course Designator – helps us match instruments to courses • Students and Faculty – Find all associated courses and surveys • Consolidation of people • Active Directory login • Automated emails, open/close, results release • Response rates – real time, easy to locate and email SAIR 2010 New Orleans, LA
Features We Would Like • Better reporting – more flexibility • Advance notice of outages and problems • Ability to access individual responses • Faculty member attached to course cannot be changed • Single sign-on with other systems (Blackboard) • Separate surveys for each instrument and time period add to workload (84 surveys for Summer 2010) SAIR 2010 New Orleans, LA
End Results • Consistent open periods • No lost class time • Single administrator; increased efficiency • All faculty/courses under same policies • 100% class coverage • Results available quickly, better reports, survey history • Costs: $40,000 vs $84,000+ annually • Lower response rate; more thoughtful comments • High level of security • Environmentally friendly SAIR 2010 New Orleans, LA
Future Plans and Ongoing Issues • Improve response rates • Implement Blackboard plug-in • Improve Reports Available • Improve process to change SAI instruments: • Set-up Sharepoint site for department heads • Use Banner and Blackboard to automate changes SAIR 2010 New Orleans, LA
WCU’s Course Evaluation website: http://www.wcu.edu/8356.asp “Guidelines & Procedures for Administration & Oversight of Student Assessment of Instruction” Institutional Planning & Effectiveness: http://www.wcu.edu/12829.asp 828-227-7239 Kay Turpin turpin@email.wcu.edu 828-227-3041 Alison Joseph ajoseph@email.wcu.edu 828-227-3042 AMS website: http://www.academicmanagement.com/