CUE May Revise TF Evaluations

The Committee on Undergraduate Education (CUE) debated a series of proposed changes to the traditional CUE evaluation questions yesterday that would introduce new standards for Teaching Fellow (TF) performance.

Director of the Derek Bok Center for Teaching and Learning James D. Wilkinson ’65 estimated that the College currently employs about 1,400 TFs and Course Assistants. Of those, 454 TFs received CUE Certificates of Distinction in the spring of 2004, an award given to TFs who score a 4.5 or above on the five-point CUE evaluation scale.

At the meeting, the Undergraduate Council’s (UC) Student Affairs Committee Chair Aaron D. Chadbourne ’06 raised concerns about the “meaningfulness of [CUE evaluation] results.”

“It’s a concern to us that there isn’t that wide of a distribution of scores [for TFs],” Chadbourne said.

Even Wilkinson, who hands out the awards to high-scoring TFs, said he was surprised that nearly a third of TFs received the distinction last spring.

“Just like the faculty’s concern over student grades,” responded Dean of the College Benedict H. Gross ’71, referring to the oft-debated phenomenon of grade inflation.

His comment elicited laughter from the faculty in attendance.

Gross suggested that concerns be formulated into a proposal and brought before the Curricular Review’s Committee on Pedagogy.

He later added that Chadbourne should meet with a focus group of TFs at the Bok Center.

Assistant Dean of the College Stephanie H. Kenen highlighted the need for students to feel invested in the evaluation process.

“There’s something about the way this conversation is framed in terms of judging,” she said. “There’s a passivity on the part of the student.”

Kenen and other members of the committee stressed the need for students to become more involved in commenting on TFs.

Barry S. Kane, Registrar of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, presented ideas for an advertising campaign to publicize the new online evaluation process.

“It’s a cultural change to show students that evaluating the course is an expected step...[and] a great opportunity to express themselves in a way that previously hasn’t been possible. The ad campaign will not end after the first term,” Kane said.

While all members of CUE strongly encouraged students to participate in evaluations, Gross affirmed that students and faculty can continue to choose whether they will take part in evaluations.

Other proposed changes by UC representatives included rewording the evaluation questions and defining what scores would require mandatory or voluntary TF training.

Director of the Office of International Programs Jane Edwards also reported that beginning next year, transcripts will be changed to include course titles for courses taken during study abroad.

—Staff writer Allison A. Frost can be reached at afrost@fas.harvard.edu.