As this semester winds down, it is once again time for students to think about what courses they will be taking next spring. With class selection occurring last week, by this time just about everyone should know what they will be taking, whether they like it or not. There is much to be criticized about the stressful, arduous course selection process. Yet, a specific concern that crossed my mind while recently partaking in this process was the numerous course offerings that ought to be scrapped. With tools such as the Course Forum and post-semester evaluations in place for this very purpose, the University has no excuse to offer classes that have received overwhelmingly negative reviews from students who have taken them in previous semesters. By allowing this to occur, the University hinders students from reaping the fullest possible benefits from their undergraduate education.
First, it is crucial to consider what exactly constitutes a “bad” class. The Course Forum website is perhaps the single best indicator, as it is a student-run site that takes factors like the professor’s teaching ability, class difficulty and overall class enjoyability into an overall rating that comprehensively averages each rating together.While it is ultimately the decision of the professors and administration to decide which classes should be offered, first-hand student insights are incredibly valuable. These are certainly some of the key factors that make a class enjoyable for students, and we ought to be grateful that such a system has been put in place, as it makes course selection exponentially more transparent than it might otherwise be.
Yet the Course Forum and the post-semester evaluations used by the University are unfortunately not as effective as they should be in their quest to positively change or discontinue the teaching of “bad” classes. I took a class last semester that was utterly underwhelming. While the topic of the class interested me, the class was poorly executed by the professor.
Luckily for me, I suppose, my sentiments were shared by just about everyone in that class. Course Forum reviews were deplorable. The three aforementioned indicators of class success are each rated on a scale of one to five. The professor rating, difficulty level, and enjoyability of this class respectively clocked in at 1.86, 4.29 (very difficult), and 1, with an overall class score of 1.38. Some comments called the class “painstaking,” “horrible” and “boring”; one reviewer even warned future students to “STAY AWAY.” To compliment these unsavory critiques, many of my peers wrote honest post-course evaluations where we anonymously told the University where the class fell short and why we felt the course should not be offered again in the future.
Needless to say, I was shocked to learn that this course was not only being being offered again this upcoming semester, but also by the same professor. Since this class was a brand new offering when I took it last semester, I did not fault the University for the course’s shortcomings. Yet this time, I absolutely do. At the very least, the University should have attempted to get a different professor to teach the course. Nevertheless, the fact that hundreds of disgruntled students displayed their frustration for the class in an attempt to ensure that this same dissatisfaction would not befall future students was for naught. What is the purpose of evaluations if they are not adhered to?
It is surely disheartening that the University seems to be neglectful of these student opinions. More seriously, by neglecting these evaluations, the University robs students of reaping the full rewards of their education. For instance, although the unfavorable opinions of this class are visible on the Course Forum, as of press time 122 of the class’ 140 spots have been filled. Yet, I would hypothesize that this is not because of excitement about taking this class, but rather because there is no better alternative, especially for younger students with later sign-up times. If this class had been replaced with one with more favorable reviews, then these 122 individuals could instead take a better-taught, more enjoyable, less impossible course. Of course, schoolwork is not expected to be enjoyable all the time. Yet, it is not asking too much to ensure that worse classes are scrapped in favor of the hundreds of alternative courses offered by the University.
I do not mean to bash this course in particular. Rather, I used this example to highlight the notion that student evaluations via both the Course Forum and post-semester evaluations ought to be considered more so than they are in order to ensure that courses such as this one not be offered in the future. Students at the University cherish their ability to learn from the best and brightest in the country, and are constantly seeking to make their educational experience as enjoyable and as rewarding as possible. However, if the University continues to neglect the strong and honest opinions of its students, it does us a disservice.
Jesse Berman is an Opinion columnist for The Cavalier Daily. He can be reached at j.berman@cavalierdaily.com.
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