Evaluating Teaching.
BUSPH is working toward a new approach to evaluating excellence in teaching, one that goes beyond course ratings, that robustly assesses pedagogy, is practicable on a large scale, and creates a culture that values excellence and innovation in teaching. The approach has been approved by the Education Committee and the Governing Council and should bring us to the next level in valuing teaching as a core function of our school.
The new approach includes three components:
- A revised course evaluation, launched Fall 2022
- Self-assessment of teaching, and
- Peer review process.
Updates are outlined in the November 15th Teaching & Learning at SPH announcement.
Course Evaluation Process
End of course evaluations are a formal feedback method about the quality of teaching in BUSPH classrooms. Their primary purpose is for faculty to learn about the student experience in the course so they may reflect on what worked well and how they may improve the course for the next time it is offered. Information gathered through the end of course evaluations also inform the teaching award selection process and the annual Faculty Development and Assessment process. The course evaluation form was designed in collaboration with the Faculty and Student Senates, and was approved by the School’s Education Committee.
The Process
End of class evaluations are administered by the Education Office. Courses evaluations are set to open a few days prior to the date of the last class, and students have seven days to complete an evaluation.
Instructors are able to customize their evaluation by changing the evaluation open date, adding open-ended questions, and reviewing the student class list and co-instructors. Instructors receive an email notification from spheducation@bu.edu when their evaluation is ready for review, approximately 10 days before the default open date.
Students receive an email invitation and three email reminders to complete the evaluation from the email address spheducation@bu.edu. If a student reports they didn’t receive notification about course evaluations, the first thing to suggest is that they check their spam folder for emails from the spheducation@bu.edu email address.
Instructors should remind their class to complete the evaluation, and if possible, provide time in the last session for students to complete it. Research has shown that genuine encouragement from faculty can help to improve a course’s response rate.
Anonymity of Responses
Course evaluations provide the opportunity for students to comment on a course without being concerned about grading repercussions. The emails asking students to complete an evaluation stress the importance of their professional feedback and the course evaluations center around course elements that helped the student’s learning process. Please direct students to the Education Office if they have any questions about the anonymity of their responses.
Results
Both qualitative and quantitative evaluation results are compiled into an online database and available for faculty review at the close of each semester. Instructors will receive an email notification from spheducation@bu.edu when their evaluation is ready for their review. All instructors have two weeks to review the evaluations of their course before they are made available to the SPH community.
The online database that is visible to the BUSPH community displays two complete years of data plus the year in progress. Keeping two years visible means that the evaluations will reflect the most recent offering for all courses, including courses that are offered every other year. To request course evaluations that are not visible through the online database, please email the Education Office.
Additional Resources
Instructor Frequently Asked Questions
Please email spheduation@bu.edu for assistance or any additional questions.
What are the standard questions included in the course evaluation?
Can I download a PDF of my evaluation?
- Yes, after you log in and click “View Report” for a specific course, you will see the option at the top of the page to “Download a PDF Report”. Detailed instructions are included in the Instructor Manual.
Who can see the answers to my custom open-ended questions?
- Custom questions are only visible to you and your department chair. Custom questions will not display on the PDF download of the report and will not be displayed to the SPH community.
Can I re-open the course evaluation after it is closed, or extend the timeline?
- Unfortunately, the system is automatically programed to be open for 7 days and cannot be re-opened after it closes.
The course evaluation website says that there are “No reports available to view”. How do I see evaluations?
- To see all available reports for a previous semester, update the year and semester, then click “search”.
- To see your own evaluation(s), either current or previous, click “Login” in the top right corner, update the year and semester, and click “search”.
- The course evaluation system is new as of Fall 2022. If you would like copies of older evaluations, email spheducation@bu.edu.