Everyone is familiar with those unavoidable class evaluation surveys given out to students at the end of the semester. Questions on the surveys range from the predictable (“How open was this teacher to questions?”) to the guilt-inducing (“How many hours did you study outside of class?”). This highly democratic tool reflects well on YU’s openness to student input, but what exactly happens to the forms once that yellow envelope disappears from sight?
Because teachers often leave the room while the forms are being filled out and assign students to deposit the forms instead of bringing them to the Deans’ office themselves, students may be surprised to learn that the teachers are actually among the surveys’ intended audience. The department heads also have a meeting to discuss the forms, and, in selective cases, Dean Bacon will read them as well.
So why all the secrecy during the collection of the forms? The main reason, according to the Dean, is that students feel more anonymous. No one should have to feel that their teacher is reading their report as it goes in.
While the overall response to the forms seems positive, students have their complaints. Some think that the ‘write your major’ question at the top of the sheet compromises their anonymity. “If you’re in a small class and have a small major, it would be very easy for the teacher to pinpoint who you are,” one girl noted. Another student was overheard saying that she didn’t feel comfortable giving her teacher a bad review, even though she hadn’t particularly liked the class.
But concerns for the teacher’s well-being shouldn’t stop anyone from giving an honest opinion: evaluation forms won’t cause anyone to lose their job. “We try to keep the focus on the course, not the teacher,” Dean Bacon said, adding that courses have been reassigned to different teachers because of unfavorable evaluations.
The evaluation forms can also be used to improve a course, with some teachers even changing their teaching styles based on the comments that they get. “I wish our women would be more critical thinkers in this regard and not just repeat what somebody tells them,” the Dean lamented. She added that many times a class or teacher that has been demonized has gotten very favorable reviews on the evaluation forms.
When asked if she would ever consider publishing the results of the forms to prevent this sort of miscommunication, Dean Bacon noted that “historically we have not done this because, on principle, we do not feel it is respectful to the faculty to make a public display of ratings.” However, she promised to give the matter some thought and seemed open to further discussion on the subject.
Indeed, in a world where so much of class selection is already based on rumor and hearsay, publishing the evaluations might do more good than harm. Websites like ‘ratemyprofessors.com,’ in which anyone can judge their teacher on a five-star scale and write-up a review, are already prominent factors in Stern students’ class choice. If teachers were permitted or encouraged to post evaluations on the Stern website or in the course-list, it could help give everybody the information they need to make informed course selection decisions.