The Task Force on Evaluating Teaching was launched in March 2025 to examine the University’s approach to student course evaluations and consider their place in the overall assessment of both undergraduate and graduate teaching. Building on the work of a task force convened on the same topic in 2017, the Task Force was asked to look at BU’s existing practices with the objective of designing a system for teaching evaluation that provides a comprehensive, fair, and accurate picture.

Members

  • Russell Stone, Assistant Provost for Academic Assessment (Chair)
  • Seth Blumenthal, Master Lecturer, Writing Program, College of Arts & Sciences
  • Kathleen Corriveau, Professor and Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs, Wheelock College of Education & Human Development
  • Caleb Farny, Master Lecturer and Associate Dean for Undergraduate Programs, College of Engineering
  • Jesse Moreira-Bouchard, Clinical Assistant Professor, Human Physiology, Sargent College of Health & Rehabilitation Sciences
  • Jordana Muroff, Professor and Chair of Clinical Practice, School of Social Work
  • Maxwell Palmer, Associate Professor, Department of Political Science, College of Arts & Sciences
  • Amy Shanler, Professor of the Practice, Public Relations and Associate Chair, Department of Mass Communication, Advertising, and Public Relations, College of Communication
  • Katherine Silbaugh, Professor, School of Law
  • Kristin Smith-Crowe, Associate Professor, Management and Organizations, Questrom School of Business
  • Kevin Wiles, Platform Administrator, Information Services and Technology
  • Nischwethaa Rajkanth, Senior Administrative Coordinator, Undergraduate Affairs, Office of the Provost (Staff Liaison)

Task Force’s Charge

The charge of the Task Force on Evaluating Teaching included the following:

  • Investigate the current state of research and national conversations about best practices for evaluating teaching within research universities and summarize current approaches (content and process) for conducting student course evaluations at similar institutions and how they align with BU’s practices.
  • Evaluate and provide recommendations for improvements to our current course evaluation system (Blue), particularly in light of MyBUStudent and the relationship between the two systems. These recommendations should aim to enhance student engagement with evaluations and the use of student-authored evaluation results in data-driven decision making among academic units.
  • Review the 2017 Task Force on Evaluating Teaching’s recommendations on enhancing the evaluation process, beyond use of course evaluations, to determine recommendations for the continued development and implementation of best practices at the University.

2025 Task Force Recommendations

Coming soon!