A student-run course evaluation Web site located at thecourseforum.com recently released grade distributions, many of which pertained to this semester's classes and professors.
The Course Forum, created last semester by third-year College student Alan Webb and third-year Engineering student Jeff Bordogna, features ratings submitted by students of class offerings as well as University professors, Bordogna explained.
"We have students go on there and rate both teachers and classes," Bordogna said.
According to Bordogna, The Course Forum was designed to integrate the positive aspects of such evaluative Web sites as the Course Offering Directory ranking site and ratemyprofessor.com.
As students, Webb and Bordogna used their own preferences as well as information they received from their classmates, Bordogna said.
"We basically took what students wanted -- what information they'd want to know about a class or teacher -- and we made it into a complex easy-to-use system for the students," Bordogna said.
The Web site was able to increase its database release this semester by incorporating grade distributions, along with the information compiled by its nearly 1400 users, Webb said.
"Every class and professor that was available this semester, the number of A's and B's, etc. awarded by each professor, they are on the Web site now," Webb said. "They are in the public domain and that should be something that we will continue to offer in the future as grades become available each semester."
The release and availability of the grade distributions had to be approved by the University so as to protect the privacy of individual students, explained George Stovall, director of institutional assessment and studies.
"Alan [Webb] did request the grade distribution and under Freedom of Information and we determined that it was something that we could release," Stovall said. "I did have to make sure ... their users would not be able to determine what a particular student's grade was."
In some cases, class distributions were withheld due to small class enrollment, Stovall said.
"I couldn't give them grades in courses where there were just a few students enrolled," he said. "Any course that had three or fewer students I did not give any information."
The release of the grades allowed for comparisons with student opinions, dispelling some faculty criticism of the site, Webb said.
"Professors think that students use [course evaluation Web sites] to get out of work," he said. "There is actually very little correlation between how difficult a professor grades the class and how worthwhile a student thought the class was -- what tended to be a much higher correlation was how engaging and fun the professor was."
The Course Forum will soon have a faculty feedback option and possibly a schedule organizer, Bordogna said.
"We're hoping to get the teachers more involved and show them that this is not out there to bash them or slander them in any way," he said. "The teachers may have an overriding theme that they want to get across."
Read More
U.Va. loses over $60 million in federal research cuts
By Bertie Azqueta | 12 hours agoThe impacted grants include three from the NIH, seven from the NEH, one from the United States Agency for International Development and four from the State Department.
Department of Education reverses course, awards Federal Executive Institute to U.Va.
By Ford McCracken | 3 days agoThe ED had previously awarded the institute to Charlottesville City Schools.
Students reflect on the life and legacy of Pope Francis
By Bertie Azqueta | 4 days agoAt the University, students shared a range of perspectives on his legacy of reform, inclusivity and his impact on the global Catholic community.
