Online Student Ratings of Instruction: New Directions for Teaching and Learning, Number 96 Book

1. Charting the Uncharted Seas of Online Student Ratings of Instruction 1
D. Lynn Sorenson, Christian Reiner
Islands of online-rating systems are sprinkled across the globe. Separated by uncharted seas, most have arisen independently without the benefit of other innovators' "maps." In facilitating discussion among these "early adopters," the authors preview Web-based evaluation issues to provide a navigation tool for explorers of online student ratings.

2. Online Course Evaluation and Reporting in Higher Education 25
Kevin M. Hoffman
Results of a national survey indicate an increase in the use of the Internet for student ratings of instruction.

3. Online Ratings: Fact and Fiction 31
Nedra Hardy
Administrators, faculty, and students sometimes express reservations about online student ratings. At Northwestern University, ongoing research about online student evaluations has helped dispel some common (mis)perceptions.

4. Psychometric Properties of Student Ratings of Instruction in Online and On-Campus Courses 39
Debbie E. McGhee, Nana Lowell
To compare online and paper-based methods of student ratings of instruction, researchers examine mean ratings, inter-rater reliabilities, and factor structure of items.

5. Online Student Ratings: Will Students Respond? 49
Trav D. Johnson
Based on five years of research, a case study focuses on the response rates for one university's online evaluation system. The author identifies factors that influence response rates and suggests strategies to increase student participation.

6. Online Reporting of Results of Online Student Ratings 61
Donna C. Llewellyn
When examining the merits of online reporting of student-rating results, universities must consider security, logistics, confidentiality, and other important issues.

7. Do Online Ratings of Instruction Make $ense? 69
Timothy W. Bothell, Tom Henderson
In comparing online and paper-based systems, institutions need to consider development costs, operating costs, and miscellaneous costs. In a case study, researchers found that an online student evaluation system was less expensive than a traditional paper-based system.

8. Course Evaluation on the Web: Facilitating Student and Teacher Reflection to Improve Learning 81
Beatrice Tucker, Sue Jones, Leon Straker, Joan Cole
Course Evaluation on the Web (CEW) is a comprehensive online system for instructional feedback and improvement. CEW promotes reflection and cooperation among faculty, students, and administrators.

9. Online Collection of Midterm Student Feedback 95
Cheryl Davis Bullock
An online evaluation system offers an opportunity for collecting midcourse student feedback. The Evaluation Online (EON) system provides both flexibility and structure for midcourse formative evaluation. This chapter presents faculty opinions and suggestions for the online midterm feedback system.

10. Online Evaluations of Teaching: An Examination of Current Practice and Considerations for the Future 103
Christina Ballantyne
The author considers prominent issues raised in this volume and thought-provoking ideas for the future of online student ratings.

INDEX 113