Course evaluations important to University Improvement

By ALICIA FEYERHERM

Each semester, Fort Hays State University students can complete course evaluations. These evaluations are administered through the Office of Institutional Effectiveness and Quality Improvement.

“We use the feedback to analyze the effectiveness of our course content and the instructor to see what we’re doing well with and what needs to be improved or changed,” Institutional Research Coordinator Darren Stieben said.

The base questionnaire students receive is the same for every student. This includes nine single-selection questions and one freeform text question to allow students to share more information. Surveys for online courses have three additional questions. The base questions are selected by the faculty senate and instructors and department chairs are allowed to add additional questions. The base questionnaire has not changed since Fall 2020.

Stieben reassured students they will not face repercussions for truthfully answering the survey. 

“As a former FHSU student, I totally understand that concern, and yes, they are truly anonymous,” Stieben said. 

Stieben said there are several safeguards in place to protect both students and professors. First, evaluations expire just before finals week, so evaluations are based only on the course itself and not influenced by the final grade that a student receives. Evaluations are also not released to instructors until after final grades are posted. And finally, all student information is stored with the system administrator, so the professors and staff reviewing evaluations have no information about the student who submitted the evaluation.

Stieben emphasized that the institute only manages the survey administration and results.

“As far as what consequences might happen as a result from positive or negative evaluations, you would have to inquire with the various Deans and the Provost to see how that is handled,” Stieben said.

Even though Stieben cannot speak directly to how the results of evaluations are handled, he emphasizes the importance of completing the evaluations.

“Not only does the university benefit from a high completion rate by knowing what is working and what we need to change, the students taking these courses in the future will also benefit from having a better experience here at Fort Hays State,” Stieben said.

Stieben also recognizes these surveys come at the end of the semester when students are typically busy and preparing for finals. 

“We know that these evaluations come at a very busy time for students but we hope they will take a few minutes to share an honest evaluation of their experience with their instructors and courses,” Stieben said.  “These results are a valuable resource we can use to build more quality into the educational experience.”

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