Introduction
The student evaluation of faculty (SEF) and courses were started in the 1960s; and, in due course of time, it has become a common practice in almost every American college and university (Student Evaluations 1). The main reason behind student evaluation is that the ratings can be analyzed and used to improve teaching methods and course contents to make students more comfortable and involved with their studies.
Many researchers have found that student evaluations are reliable and productive. The ratings by students seem to correlate closely with other ratings for a similar purpose (Student Evaluations 1). Moreover, ratings by trained members or faculty members are not as reliable as the ones by the students. The possible explanations for this are opinions vary among instructors and students are the best judges of the course as the direct receivers of it (Student Evaluations 1).
Advantages of Student Evaluations
- The students can better explain whether a course is interesting and informative to them. Their experience of the classes makes them exactly assess the usefulness of the course. Moreover, the ratings given to the course and faculty make the instructors review their teaching methods and implement any necessary changes (Student Evaluations 1).
- They are often most reliable than the self-evaluation of instructors, as they provide valuable information that can be used to formulate further steps.
- The fact that former students rarely change their ratings and opinions suggests that these are given as a result of the real-time experience of the student; thereby, becoming an accurate assessment of the course.
Contradictory Opinions
However, there are some opposing opinions that student evaluations can be biased owing to various reasons. They can be described in the following manner.
- Students tend to give good ratings for the course in which they can get good grades. In a study, 70% of students agreed that they tend to give a good rating for courses in which they get good grades (Student Evaluations 1).
- Instructors may intentionally make the course easier with simple content to get positive feedback and good ratings from the students (Student evaluations 1). It is further supported by studies in which professors said that they would make courses easier to make students happier (Student Evaluations 1).
- Also, there is a chance that students may become a low rating for a good course when they feel it is a difficult subject (Student Evaluations 1).
- Moreover, the course ratings by the students may be influenced by the nature of the instructor with them (Student Evaluations 1).
Conclusion
All in all, despite many opposing opinions, student evaluations have been proved to be very useful for institutions in bringing useful changes to the course patterns and instructors’ attitudes.
References
Huemer, Michael. Student Evaluations: A Critical Review. 2008. Web.