Frequently Asked Questions

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Why are student evaluations important?

Evaluation reports are used by instructors, departments, and students. Instructors use the feedback to identify where they can improve the curriculum and their teaching. Most departments consider evaluation results when reviewing instructors for reappointment, raises, promotion, and tenure. Students use evaluations to help them choose subjects and instructors. Some departments also use evaluations for accreditation purposes.

Why is collecting teaching data important?

There is increased pressure being placed on institutions of higher education to report data and outcomes to external constituencies, including accrediting agencies, the press, and, potentially, the federal government. However, it is not always easy to collect all of the needed data at MIT. For example, it can be difficult to determine who is teaching specific classes, the number of students enrolled in recitation sections attached to lectures, and the number of students enrolled in individual classes when a set of classes shares the same subject number (e.g., 15.279). Accounting for teaching outside of the classroom is another challenge.

Are departments going to be required to use this central online subject evaluation system?

No. The first objective is to replace the current paper Student Subject Evaluation System and meet the needs of the departments using that system. We are, however, consulting with departments that run their own systems so that in designing the central system it can meet as many of their requirements as possible.

When will the paper forms be phased out?

This is a multi-year project. By the 2010-11 academic year, we expect that the online system will be sufficiently adopted across departments, so that the paper forms will no longer be used.

Which subjects will be evaluated?

Any subject in which credit is awarded can be evaluated at the request of a department.

How will the new system know who's enrolled?

Subject enrollment data comes directly from the Student Information System and matches registration and class list data accessible to students and faculty through WebSIS. Departments will have the ability to refine class assignments below the subject level, matching students with particular sections and instructors.

How is student confidentiality maintained?

After grades are submitted, departments and instructors will have access to evaluation reports that do not contain student names or any other identifying information.

Access to students' academic records is governed by MIT's Student Information Policy, which was designed in compliance with federal legislation that was formulated to protect students' privacy (the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974). Within this context, MIT's policy was also designed to facilitate access by faculty and administrators to students' records whenever it is needed for legitimate educational uses. Recipients of student information are expected to use them in accordance with MIT's Student Information Policy.

How many instructors will students be able to evaluate?

The online system will give departments the ability to ask students to evaluate all the instructors in a subject — unlike the paper system, which is limited to three instructors.

How do students evaluate their recitation or lab sections?

They will be able to evaluate sections and instructors within any subject in which they are enrolled. Section- and instructor-specific questions will automatically show up on their surveys.

How long will it take for instructors to receive their results?

After the Registrar's grade due date, results will be available almost immediately (3 - 4 days). However, during the pilot phase it may take longer for results to be posted online. For the Spring 2009 pilot, results should be available in late June.

What kind of response rate can we expect?

The response rate depends on a number of factors — reminders, incentives (or disincentives), length of the evaluation period, usability of the survey instrument, etc. In the Fall 2008 pilot, the overall response rate for subjects as a whole was very close to past terms (68% for the Fall 2008 pilot and 67% for past terms). We are in the process of examining ways to further increase the response rate, and will monitor and make changes as needed.

Are midterm evaluations part of the project plan?

Midterm evaluations — i.e., evaluations midway through a subject — are not part of the current project plan. However, discussions have begun this year to prioritize future expansion of the system, including midterm evaluations. Policies and procedures will have to be established before midterm evaluations can be implemented. We do expect to have the ability to present final evaluations for half-term subjects in the future.

What types of reports will be available?

Students will continue to have access to quantitative data on the web, comparable to the reports now published at https://web.mit.edu/acadinfo/sse. For departments, the current paper summaries of quantitative data by subject will be replaced by electronic reports containing both quantitative data and student comments. Instructors will have access to electronic reports of their evaluations. Both departments and instructors will receive evaluations indexed by individual (but unidentified) student, equivalent to the completed paper forms which are now returned to the departments.

A Joint Project of the Office of the Dean for Undergraduate Education (DUE) and Information Services & Technology (IS&T)