When does the online student course
evaluation at St. John’s University start?
From the Fall 2007 semester on.
What survey form is used for St. John’s
student course evaluation?
The survey form was developed by a committee of St. John’s faculty
members. View the
online evaluation form.
Who can I contact for assistance with the
course evaluation?
You can contact Dr. Marie E. Mark at markm@stjohns.edu or (718)
990-6998.
Does the new course evaluation system have
any advantages for course instructors?
Yes! Because students complete the course survey on their own time,
course instructors will not have to allocate class time any more
for survey completion.
Also, course instructors now have the option of adding their own
questions (up to five) to their course surveys.
Furthermore, research indicates that a major advantage of online
course evaluation is that it allows students as much time as they
wish to complete, thereby generating more thoughtful comments than
the traditional paper-and-pencil method.
What are the advantages of the course
evaluation for students?
The literature indicates that students get dividends by
participating in course evaluation. For example, they often ask
more insightful questions in class, understand course material more
deeply, and take greater responsibility for their learning.
Online course evaluation results can be analyzed much faster
than those from paper and pencil administrations. This allows
course instructors to make changes to their courses in a timely
fashion, thereby leading to improvements in teaching and
learning.
Studies also indicate that most students prefer not using class
time for course evaluation and feel that their comments are more
thoughtful and meaningful when completed online, on their own
time.
How can course instructors add their own
questions to their course evaluations?
Each course instructor will receive an email message with a link to
the survey form (to which they can add their own questions). You
may download the instructions for adding questions to the survey.
Instructors can also attend one of the workshops OIR will be
offering to assist with creating and adding their own
questions.
Is the course evaluation
anonymous?
Yes, it’s anonymous in the sense that the system only tracks
students who have not completed the survey, thereby generating
reminders to those students who have not responded to the survey.
Course instructors will receive the aggregated results after they
turn in the course grades; therefore, individual students cannot be
identified in the results.
What courses will be
evaluated?
Classroom instruction courses with three or more students will
routinely be included in the evaluation every semester. However,
instructors of classes with fewer than three students, as well as
instructors of non-classroom instruction courses, have the option
of participating in the course evaluation. Please contact Dr. Marie
E. Mark (Office of Institutional Research) at markm@stjohns.edu or
(718) 990-6998 for assistance.
How will students go online and complete
the course evaluation form?
Each student will receive an e-mail with a unique
computer-generated password and a link to the survey. All they need
to do is to click on the link, enter their password, and complete
their survey.
Is there any chance that students will be
able to complete more than one survey for the same
course?
No, because each password can only be used once. Therefore, after a
student has completed a survey, the password that allowed him/her
to access that survey becomes void.
When will the course evaluation start for
each individual class?
The course evaluation will start two weeks before a class ends.
How will the course evaluation results be
distributed?
After turning in their course grades, course instructors will
receive aggregated results for each class as a PDF file through
email.