Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP
Path: utzoo!linus!philabs!cmcl2!seismo!rochester!cornell!batcomputer!cheryl
From: cheryl@batcomputer.TN.CORNELL.EDU (cheryl)
Newsgroups: soc.college
Subject: Re: Student opinion on instructors.(Example from Dartmouth)
Message-ID: <1084@batcomputer.TN.CORNELL.EDU>
Date: Tue, 23-Sep-86 19:11:49 EDT
Article-I.D.: batcompu.1084
Posted: Tue Sep 23 19:11:49 1986
Date-Received: Thu, 25-Sep-86 05:48:22 EDT
References: <2246@gitpyr.UUCP> <5160@dartvax.UUCP>
Reply-To: cheryl@batcomputer.UUCP (cheryl)
Organization: Theory Center, Cornell University, Ithaca NY
Lines: 24
Keywords: comments, evaluations, opinion

In article <5160@dartvax.UUCP> rossj@dartvax.UUCP (Ross Jacobs) writes:
>     We here at Dartmouth have a similar, student-organized publication
>called "The Course Guide", which is a relatively new appearance on the
>campus.  Data was gathered through the use of questionnaires filled out
>after the final exam was taken. They rate (or, actually, summarize) the
>professor, the workload, etc., in relation to "the average Dartmouth 
>course", and also give a two-or-three paragraph summary of the responses
>of the students who just took the course the previous term.  It can be
>quite frank--e.g. (Speaking of a very popular blow-off course) "Most
>students recommend going to the lectures, or reading the notes, but not
>both." However, there are a lot of courses for which it has very little
>or no information, and I'm sure many students probably wouldnt want to
>be totally candid on their questionnaires.

I know of cases where professors, knowing the kinds of things that
would be asked on evaluations like these, would shy away from teaching
a really rigorous, difficult course, or, in the case where several
professors teach the same required course, would tend to make the
course softer in order to pump up their ratings.  They would also 
grade easy and (I kid you not) tell the class how well it was doing
compared to other years, and how smart they were to be in this wonderful
university, blah-de-blah-blah etc.   Absolute crap.  

Cheryl