In 2013, the Faculty voted to require Core Questions on all student evaluations of courses to allow for consistency across evaluations. In 2021, the following revised questions were proposed by the Ad Hoc Committee on Teaching Evaluations, endorsed by the Teaching Staff & Tenure (TS&T) Committee, and approved by the Faculty.
Student reports of experiences in the classroom play an important role in helping faculty members reflect upon their teaching. They also assist with the review of faculty by their peers. Evaluations will not be read by faculty members until after grades are submitted.
There is a substantial body of research indicating that student evaluations of teaching are often influenced by students’ own unconscious (often unintentional) biases about the race, ethnicity, cultural background, and gender of the instructor, as well as factors such as age, sexual orientation and gender presentation, and physical ability.
As you fill out this course evaluation, please keep this in mind and focus on your opinions about the content of the course (learning environment, inclusivity in the classroom, clarity of assignments, quality and accessibility of course materials) rather than unrelated matters (the instructor’s appearance or way of speaking).
Questions:
1. What teaching elements (such as assignments or in-class exercises) MOST contributed to your learning in this course?
2. What teaching elements (such as assignments or in-class exercises) could have MOST used some improvement to help you learn?
3. Please assess the following elements of the course and instruction:
| Strongly Disagree | Disagree | Neither Agree Nor Disagree | Agree | Strongly Agree | |
| The instructor stimulated my interest in the subject matter. | |||||
| The instructor’s explanations of the material helped me understand the course content. | |||||
| The instructor provided helpful feedback. | |||||
| The course was organized in a way that helped me understand underlying concepts. | |||||
| The course was attentive to issues of diversity, equity and inclusion. | |||||
| The course materials (readings, instructional materials, assigned problems, laboratory experiments, videos, etc.) facilitated my learning. |
4. Is there anything else you would like to share about your learning experience in this course?
5. An effective classroom depends on students being treated in a manner free of bias or discrimination. In this course, do you feel that the instructor treated students with respect and without bias? [If applicable, please comment on how the instructor handled bias or discrimination on the part of other students or guests in the class.]
6. Please indicate how often you have engaged in the following:
| Never | Rarely | Sometimes | Very Often | Always | |
| Attended class | |||||
| Came to class prepared (i.e., completed the readings and/or assignments) | |||||
| Participated in class discussions | |||||
| Turned in assignments on time | |||||
| Interacted with the instructor or TA outside of class (office hours, email) |
If you would like to share any other comments on your engagement in the course, please include them here. [Comment box]