Student Course and Faculty Evaluation
Processes around CUNY
CUNY Colleges: The Student Course and Faculty Evaluation Program is administered at
all of the campuses. The forms and the method of administering the evaluation project
vary from campus to campus. Differences range from the types of forms used, the office
administering the evaluation, the preparation and processing methods, scanning,
reporting, and final storage of the evaluation materials.
Information gathered from eleven other campuses showed the following:
Types of form(s) used:
Scan form only – one campus
Scan and comments in one form – seven campuses
Comments only – one campus
Scan and comments in separate forms – one campus
No uniform form -department created form – one campus
Offices responsible for the Evaluation project:
Office of Institutional Research – seven campuses
Testing and Evaluation – two campuses
Provost/Teacher Evaluation Department – one campus
Faculty and Staff Relation – one campus
The office responsible for the project generally prepares the evaluation packets. This
occurs in all of the campuses except one. At this campus, each department prepares the
packets after the administering office supplies the materials. At some of the colleges the
faculty members pick up and sign for the evaluation envelopes whereas at others the
designated students pick them up. Once the evaluation is completed, the designated
student places the evaluation forms in its corresponding envelopes; scan forms,
comments forms, scan/comments. These envelopes are then delivered to the assigned
drop off areas. The drop off areas range from departments, OIR, offices overseeing the
evaluation project and security desks. In all campuses the packets are ultimately sent to
the offices responsible for the project. These offices then review the scan sheets and
prepare them for scanning. All of the campuses except one send the forms to the
Information Technology department or another designated office for scanning. At most
of the campuses the IT department produces summary reports and data analysis. Only
two “administering offices” produces these reports. Once the summary reports are
completed these are sent to the departments. At some of the campuses the comments are
also forwarded to the department for distribution. The instructor receives the packet after
final grades are submitted. At most of the campuses the comments are viewed upon the
request of the instructor. The faculty at campuses where the forms include a comments
section have generally expressed a positive response to this feature.
Following are brief descriptions of the evaluation process at some of the CUNY colleges:
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Bronx Community College: OIR - Scan and comments forms:
The evaluation packets are prepared by OIR. Instructors pick up and sign for the
evaluation envelopes at the department. Instructors receive two envelopes for each
course and section; one containing copies of the mandatory scan forms and another
containing the voluntary “ comments” forms. Students provide their own pencils and
pens. The instructor designates a student to distribute and collect the evaluation forms.
Once the evaluation is completed, the designated student places the scan forms in one
envelope and the comments forms in another. The department mails the scan form
packet to the OIR. The comments packet remains in the departmental office until final
grades are submitted. Once final grades are submitted to the Registrars’ Office, the
instructor receives the comments packet. The comments are for the instructor’s use only.
OIR begins scanning the forms approximately one month after the end of classes (a
significant amount of time is given for the packets to be returned, packets returned after
scanning and processing is completed is not processed). OIR produces the summary
reports, which are then forwarded to the departments. The scan packets are then placed in
storage.
CSI: OIR - Scan and comments in one form.
Evaluation packets are prepared by OIR. Instructors pick up and sign for the evaluation
envelopes at the department. The instructor designates a student to distribute and collect
the evaluation forms. Once the evaluation is completed, the designated student places the
forms in a return envelope. The envelope is then sent to the OIR. OIR sends the packets
to the Information Technology department for scanning and summary report production.
The evaluation packets and summary reports are then sent to the departments. The
comments are used upon the request of the Instructor and/or the department. The
evaluation packets are stored by each department.
Hostos Community College: OIR - Scan and comments in one form.
Evaluation packets are prepared by OIR. Instructors pick up and sign for the evaluation
envelopes at the department. The instructor designates a student to distribute and collect
the evaluation forms. Once the evaluation is completed, the designated student places the
forms in a return envelope. The envelope is sent to the OIR. OIR then take the packets to
the Registrar’ Office for scanning. Once scanning is completed, OIR produces a summary
report for each course and section. Summary reports are sent to the departments. The
evaluation packets are kept at OIR for 2 years. Evaluation forms older than two years are
kept in storage rooms. Instructors can obtain their packets at OIR to review the
comments.
Hunter: Provost’s Office/Teacher Evaluation Department -Scannable and comments in
one form
The Teacher Evaluation department prepares the evaluation packets. Designated student
come to the office with an index card listing the specifics of the course. The student is
given the packet. Once the evaluation is completed, the student returns the packet to the
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office. The staff review the scan sheets and prepare them for scanning. The packets are
sent to Information Technology for scanning. IT produces individual and departmental
summaries. Packets are returned to the departments, where the instructors and
chairpersons can review the comments. The evaluation packets are kept at the
department. Overall the faculty members have expressed positive responses for the
comments feature.
Baruch College: Presently
Scan form only
Administered by the Office of Testing and Evaluation
Preparation:
Each semester and during the summer sessions, The Office of Testing and Evaluation
(OTE) generates a file of all the courses listed on the Registration System for which an
evaluation is to be conducted. Course Master lists are sent to the Chairs of each
department for review and modification. Once the course master lists are returned to
OTE, modifications are updated on the file. The evaluation packets are prepared for each
instructor and course to be evaluated. The evaluation packets include the faculty
evaluation Release Form, the evaluation scan forms, a return envelope for the materials,
and pencils. (Pencils are not provided for each student registered in the class, but rather
for students who may not have one at the time the evaluation is conducted). A week
before the evaluation period, the evaluation packets are delivered to the academic
departments. During this time departments are asked to review their packets and contact
OTE if they are do not have all the necessary packets.
Administration:
During the evaluation period, the instructors pick up their evaluation packets from the
departments. The instructor assigns a student to conduct the evaluation. The instructor
fills out the release form indicating whether or not he wants the evaluation information to
be released and signs the form. He either returns the form as part of the evaluation packet
or sends the form to OTE by mail. The four-digit registration code for the course is
indicated on the “Blackboard” “Whiteboard”. Students must fill in this code on the
evaluation form. The student coordinator assigned to conduct the evaluation is
responsible for administering the evaluation when the instructor leaves the room. The
student coordinator distributes the evaluation forms and pencils. The forms are completed
and the student coordinator collects the forms and pencils and puts them in the return
envelope. The student coordinator seals and signs the envelope. The envelope is then
dropped off in designated boxes at the security desk in each building where classes are
held. Boxes are placed overnight in the Security Office.
Processing:
Each day during the evaluation period the staff from OTE pick up the evaluation boxes
from the Security Office and bring them to OTE. The evaluation packets are opened and
recorded as received. A notation is made indicating whether the evaluation was
completed or not. The used scan forms are separated from the unused forms. The pencils
are removed from the packets. The release forms are removed from the packets and are
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sorted into two categories: release and do not release. The four-digit code on each form
is checked to verify that it matches the four- digit code on the envelope. If codes do not
match, they are corrected. The packets are sorted by departments, and the scan forms are
prepared for scanning. Once the evaluation period has ended and all the forms are ready
for scanning, the scanning process begins.
Scanning:
Scanning is done by the staff of OTE in OTE. Scan forms are removed from the packet,
scanned and returned to the packet. Once the packet is scanned a notation is made on the
course master file that the packet was scanned and the packet is then placed in a box
labeled by department. Once all the evaluation packets are scanned, the scan data is
downloaded.
Production of the evaluation reports and data files:
The downloaded data is then reviewed. Each set of data string is reviewed for
unrecognizable characters. Unrecognizable characterized are modified and the data is
then loaded to an Access database. Once all the data is corrected and loaded on the
Access database, the data is checked to verify the number of responses and the number of
students registered in the class. In cases where the number of responses are greater than
the number of students registered, these packets are pulled. The number of completed
evaluation forms are counted and identified, the instructor is contacted and the number is
verified. Once this is done the evaluation reports are printed. Each department receives
two sets of evaluations; one for their records and one for the instructor, the Dean of each
school receives the evaluation reports for all of the instructors in his or her school. The
Vice President for Student Development receives the reports of all the instructors for
whom evaluation reports were generated. An electronic file is provided to any
department/school that request data for analysis. A file is also created using the
information of those instructors who authorize the release of their data. This file is then
sent to the Office of Student Life for loading onto the website.
Storing the Evaluation Packets:
Once all the evaluation reports are distributed the boxes with the evaluation packets are
put in storage on campus. Each box of evaluation is labeled. The department(s) and
semester are indicated.
NOTE:
Baruch is the only college within CUNY in which the entire evaluation process is
conducted by a single office/department. This decreases the opportunity for breaches in
security and eliminates security issues. It also ensures that there are fewer opportunities
for error to occur.
PROPOSED:
One scan form and one comments form.
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The process will remain the same except that there will be a comments packet which will
be held at OTE or a designated Office until the deadline for the final grades have expired
and the packets will them be sent to the faculty.
NON –CUNY Colleges:
The student course and faculty evaluation programs of eight random non-CUNY colleges
were also reviewed. Information was obtained from the colleges’ websites. All eight
colleges have evaluation instruments, which include a section for students’ comments.
The instructor and the Chairperson or Dean of the department reviews by the instructors,
and in some institutions the comments as well.
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