On a scale of one to 10, making class evaluations available to
students ranks relatively low in the consciousness of many members
of the UCLA community.
As a part of their academic routine, students fill out class and
professor evaluations at the end of each quarter, but most are
unaware that the results of these assessments were once available
to them.
The evaluations allow for students to rank the professor on a
scale system. Written comments can also be provided and are
encouraged by professors.
If made available, the results of these evaluations could help
future students make more informed decisions when it comes to what
classes they decide to take.
Less than 10 years ago, the evaluations were compiled in a
booklet and made available to students. But the Office of
Instructional Development, which distributes the evaluations,
stopped publishing these booklets in 1995 due to their high cost,
according to Daily Bruin reports.
As for now, there is no discussion about making evaluations
available to students, said Arron Lynn, a program assistant with
the office.
The Academic Affairs Commission under the Undergraduate Students
Association Council has previously tried to fight for the return of
the evaluations to public status, but the issue has taken a
backseat in the past few years.
Academic Affairs Commissioner Eligio Martinez said this is not
an issue he has plans to work on during his term since his focus is
primarily on passing a diversity requirement and reevaluating the
expected cumulative progress requirement.
A number of alternatives to publishing the evaluations were
discussed following the discontinuation of the booklets.
Eric Splaver has previously told the Daily Bruin that putting
this information on the MyUCLA Web site would not cost anything.
But problems might possibly arise if the method of collecting the
data changed from an in-class process to an online one.
Currently, the evaluations are used primarily by the professors
and their respective departments, said Arnold Scheibel, the
chairman for the Committee on Teaching and a professor of
neurobiology, adding that his committee has not discussed the fate
of the evaluations.
Still, Scheibel said he personally sees no reason why the
evaluations should not be made available to students.
He also compared the evaluations to a professor review service
available on bruinwalk.com. He acknowledged that the number of
individuals who respond to the in-class evaluations is considerably
higher than those who choose to post on bruinwalk.com.
The Web-based service allows students to post their comments
about professors on the basis of effectiveness, availability and a
few other areas.
The downside to the service is that students who post are often
those who are really upset with a professor or really love them,
said Katya Adachi, a second-year molecular, cell and developmental
biology student.
Regarding in-class evaluations, Geddes explained that other than
judging the curriculum, her department also regularly uses the
evaluations to help make decisions regarding the hiring of faculty
and the offering of tenure positions.
Both Geddes and Scheibel believe students already take the
evaluations seriously and that making them available would not
change the quality of the evaluation responses.
“I don’t always put comments on the back, but I do
take the time to fill them,” Adachi said.