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Along with all-night study sessions and beating the deadline on a term paper, nothing is more inevitable at the end of a course than the student evaluation. Administered across disciplines at both the undergraduate and graduate level, these evaluations provide instructors and their administrators with valuable feedback.
Currently, there is a wide range of assessment tools in place throughout the university, but the office of the vice-president academic and provost is implementing a new survey instrument that senate has asked to be used across all academic programs at UVic.
The course experience survey (CES) was developed over four years by the learning and teaching centre at the request of senate and in response to the UVic strategic plan. Extensive research and consultation over the past several years—including a literature review of course evaluation theory and practice, on-campus interviews, focus groups and surveys—were part of the CES development.
"We chose to call the tool a ‘course experience survey' because, while it will be used to assess teaching effectiveness, the survey can only capture students' perceptions of their experience in the course," says Dr. Jim Anglin, associate vice-president academic. "The name was also chosen in response to the suggestions of those involved in the instructor and student focus groups."
An implementation task group with broad representation has been formed and will plan and oversee the process of implementing the new survey instrument. This group will address such issues as survey administration and analysis, data access, method of delivery and availability of results.
The CES implementation task group will continue to meet over the coming months and will provide updates as planning for implementation proceeds.
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