Discussion of low evaluation scores

Owned by Paul Macey
Last updated: Feb 23, 2022
1 min read

The purpose of the discussion is to clarify what happened and determine possible follow-up actions. The student evaluations are not a definitive reflection of the quality of the course or instructor.

The discussion may consider the following points:

  • Assessing how well the course evaluation reflects the instructor and student experience:

    • Response rate

    • Answers to other quantitative questions

    • Written comments: are these consistent with scores? Do they reflect actual instruction, as opposed to other circumstances in the program, or environment? (For example, remote learning, workload for the quarter)

  • Context: does this course always score low? Does the instructor have a pattern of low scores? Is the instructor prepared academically and experientially to teach this course? Were there other challenges this quarter? Is this the first time the instructor has taught the course? Is this a new course? Is this cohort giving low scores in other classes? Are there other characteristics of the cohort that may relate to the scores?