Online Student Ratings of Instruction (PDF)

This volume examines the development and growing use of onlinestudent ratings and the potential impact online rating systems willhave on the future of students' evaluations ofteaching. The contributors demonstrate how the preference foronline evaluation is growing, even amidst challenges and doubt.Sharing their first-hand experience as researchers andadministrators of online systems, they explore major concernsregarding online student ratings and suggest possible solutions.

D. Lynn Sorenson and Christian M. Reiner review existingonline-rating systems that have been developed independently acrossthe globe. Kevin Hoffman presents the results of a national surveythat tracks the increased use of the Internet for student ratingsof instruction. At Northwestern University, Nedra Hardydemonstrates how ongoing research about online student evaluationsis helping to dispel common misperceptions.

Application of online rating systems can present institutionswith new challenges and obligations. Trav D. Johnson details a casestudy based on five years of research in the response rates for oneuniversity's online evaluation system and suggests strategiesto increase student participation. Reviewing online reportingof results of online student ratings, Donna C. Llewellyn exploresthe emerging issues of security, logistics, andconfidentiality.

Other chapters explore existing online systems, highlightingtheir potential benefits for institution and instructor alike.Beatrice Tucker, Sue Jones, Lean Straker, and Joan Cole analyzeCourse Evaluation on the Web (CEW), a comprehensive online systemfor instructional feedback and improvement. Cheryl Davis Bullockreviews the Evaluation Online (EON) system and its successful rolein facilitating midcourse student feedback.

The fate of online rating may rest in the unique advantages itmay - or may not - have over traditional ratingssystems. Debbie E. McGhee and Nana Lowell compare online andpaper-based methods through mean ratings, inter-rater reliabilitiesand factor structure of items. Comparing systems from anotherangle, Timothy W. Bothell and Tom Henderson examine the fiscalcosts and benefits of implementing an online evaluation system overpaper-based systems.

Finally, Christina Ballantyne considers the prominent issues andthought-provoking ideas for the future of online student ratingsraised in this volume. Together, the contributors bring insight andunderstanding to the processes involved in researching andinitiating innovations in online-rating systems.

This is the 96th issues of the quarterly journal NewDirections for Teaching and Learning.