At the end of every semester, each CMU professor is required to administer a course evaluation, but student respondents are not told what happens with their feedback or given a reason why they must complete the survey. As the university continues expanding, who handles this data and what it impacts has become a growing interest.
Each evaluation is conducted anonymously through the online survey service, Qualtrics. Professors are not given their course evaluation scores until after final grades are posted. The responses are then sent to the Department of Institutional Research, Planning and Decision Support (IRPDS), alongside the Faculty Success Committee (FSC).
The FSC, a branch of the Faculty Senate, is in charge of reviewing student responses and incorporating their feedback. The committee aims to provide the most effective means of gathering faculty and student body opinions on CMU’s programs, classes and faculty.
The current chair of the FSC, Dr. Holly Oberle, has been working alongside her colleagues to try and provide the best administrative uses for these evaluations. Additionally, the committee seeks to improve the quality of education students receive. The survey questions they include to measure the quality of instruction center on academic faculty as the main point of interest.
“Evaluations survey students on professors regarding certain criteria, such as teaching style, organization of online course content, grading and more,” said Oberle.
For each factor, a professor is graded on a scale of one to five. The numerical data is then compiled into a median score for each section, and reported to the professor and the IRPDS. These scores and comments are then included in the yearly decision process for an extension of a professor’s one-year contract, an offer of tenure, and a future promotion.
“Responses are one major component that goes into the consideration of promotions, tenures and contract renewals,” said Oberle.
A recent Faculty Senate meeting revealed that professors will no longer receive increases to their yearly pay through cost of living adjustments (COLAs). Going forward, salary increases may not be discussed during yearly student evaluation reviews, unless a professor is seeking tenure. Currently, the meeting minutes are not publicly available.
Improving survey methods themselves is another consideration for the FSC.
In 2024, the IRPDS conducted a survey asking an estimated 10% of the student body how they felt about course surveys and their effectiveness, as well as points for improvement. The Faculty Senate reviewed these responses and is striving to make minor changes to the survey in the future, such as adding and removing questions.
These changes are first voted on by the Faculty Senate, and must ultimately be approved by the Office of Academic Affairs. Currently, the FSC’s goal is for the most recently approved changes to go into effect fall 2026.
One prominent roadblock in incorporating student feedback from the evaluations is the number of respondents. In recent semesters, professors have incentivized students to complete the surveys through dedicated time in class and offers of extra credit.
In addition to the FSC, Oberle is also an assistant professor of political science, and has personal experience with students not completing the evaluations.
“With online classes, it can be difficult to get students to complete them,” said Oberle. “The average response rate is only about 20-40% of students.”
While in-person classes remain at a higher response rate of 50-80%, an initiative to get response rates as high as possible continues, despite a lack of clarity on implementation.