cpsylist: Best Practices in Course Evaluations

[Ellen McWhirter]

Dear Student Colleagues,

I hope you all enjoyed the long weekend and found ways to connect with loved ones.
It is time again for course evaluations and that is the topic of this message. Participation rates have really dropped over the past 3 years and we would love to see 100% participation. In order to participate, please complete your course evaluations this week, keeping the following in mind:


  1.  Finals week is too late.  This weekend is too late. Evaluations have to be completed by 6:00 PM this Fri, Dec 4 PST.
  2.  Course evaluations are a professional responsibility, and an opportunity to share feedback, suggestions, appreciation. Course evaluations are submitted as part of the faculty annual review for tenure track, career non tenure track, and adjunct faculty.
  3.  Be constructive and professional. Write comments that you would be proud to stand by in public and that reflect your integrity and your commitment to a community of learning and development. Rudeness reflects poorly on the writer, not the instructor, and does not contribute to enhanced courses.
  4.  Have empathy and be realistic. We value teaching and want to do it well. There are many joys in teaching. You are wonderful people to accompany, teach, and learn from. The diversity of prior experiences, education and training, identities, strengths, and growth areas among our students is a fantastic resource for each class. It also means that no class can be tailored to the developmental and intellectual needs and preferences of each individual student. And, teaching remotely and during a pandemic is hard. Course evaluations that ignore these realities are simply not helpful. Help us understand what works well and what doesn't, with this context in mind.
  5.  Use nuance & judgment. Just as an example, it doesn't make sense to complete course evaluations for externship because the instructor of record does not engage in the activities that are the focus of the UO evaluation questions.

Course evaluations are one valuable way to provide feedback on your classes and instructors.

Thank you, welcome to week 10 (we did it!), and may your end-of-term activities go well!!

Ellen


*********************************************
Ellen Hawley McWhirter, Ph.D.
Ann Swindells Professor of Counseling Psychology
Director, Spanish Language Specialization
5251 University of Oregon
Eugene, OR 97403-5251
(541) 346-2443 (office)
(541) 346-6778 (fax)
https://education.uoregon.edu/people/faculty/ellenmcw

I support all students regardless of immigration status or country of origin. As a member of the UO Dreamers Working Group, I support Dreamer students and promote their sense of belonging and safety as they pursue their higher education goals. For more information and resources please visit our Dreamers page (https://www.uoregon.edu/uo-dreamers) and the Immigration FAQs page (http://international.uoregon.edu/immigration_faq ). Remember, when interacting with faculty, staff, and offices around campus you are never required to reveal your status.

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