According to the research literature, what factors impact a student’s end-of-course evaluations?
Studies have shown that the students’ ratings are affected by characteristics of the course, the instructor and the student (Dukes & Victoria, 1989). Conventional wisdom among university professors seems to be that instructor evaluations are heavily influenced by the grades the instructor gives (Winer, 1999). Sonner and DeLoach (2003) noted in their study that 28% of non-traditional university students believe that evaluations are influenced by grades. In order to ensure valid and accurate evaluations from students, a proposed evaluation process should be sensitive to the “difficulty of the first test” (Hewett, 1988) and final grades for the term. Other characteristics of interest that affect ratings of the instructor include: • Students’ Interest: “…students’ self-reported sleepiness in the class was negatively correlated with the ratings of instructor’s ability to explain material clearly and understandably”. (Tang, 1987) • Student Participation: “Participation in classroom discuss
