In an editorial last month titled “Release course evaluation data,” the Editorial Board stated that “course evaluations were created as a method of improving professor performance rather than a tool for scheduling classes.” This statement is incorrect. Course evaluations were created in 1969 by students, for students, as an effort toward a more informed course selection process.
Despite this error, our original argument — that course evaluation data must be available to students — still stands because over time, course evaluations turned to focusing on improving teacher performance. The reality is that today, students wish to use course evaluation data to become more knowledgeable when registering for classes.
The University has a responsibility to release the course evaluation data. It’s true the data is publicly available through a Freedom of Information Act request, but again, obtaining this data is a challenging and time-consuming task. That said, the data’s release should be prefaced by the acknowledgement that the evaluations are currently used as a teaching improvement tool.
If faculty are concerned that the survey in its current form cannot or should not be used to aid students in registering for courses, then the University should invest resources in developing a survey that meets the needs of students and the wishes of faculty. Measures that increase course evaluation completion should also be highly considered in order to reduce the response bias that can result when few students in a large course complete the evaluation.
As we wrote previously, if done correctly, releasing course evaluation data should not be a contentious issue. Ultimately, this is a matter of transparency, and being open with course evaluation data works to the benefit of the University, faculty and students.