2008 Woodie Awards
Tangible action by student government
Todd Itami
Issue date: 10/24/07 Section: Sports
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This brings us back to the student senate and a wonderful resolution passed last week with a near unanimous vote (the one senator who voted in the negative did so because he allegedly did not feel that a resolution alone would be a strong enough argument).
Resolution 465 sponsored by Matt Spencer and myself (Todd Itami) reads:
"That we, the Associated Students of Idaho State University, express our desire to see mandatory course evaluations administered in every class. It is also the desire of the association to have said evaluations, or a summery thereof, available to the student body at large via the MyISU student portal."
This idea is not something that we came up with ourselves. It was an idea that was expressed by students to their representatives. I believe it is one of the best and most effective ideas to pass through the senate in quite some time.
Before we get into the "why" of the legislation, I find it a worthwhile endeavor to mention that I believe the vast sweeping majority of the faculty at this university to be exceptional. It has been my experience that faculty members are more than willing to help students out side of class, have extraordinary expertise in their fields and are very fair with students as a whole. This effort to put evaluations online will fortify those good instructors and provide accountability for those who fit into the delinquent minority.
Students will not only be able to get a better idea of what instructors they wish to choose but they will have evidence available to reinforce grievances and complaints for even the most subjective of subjects.
Course evaluations are often times the only recourse that students have to issue criticisms about instructors without being singled out and put into a situation that would potentially bias that teacher's evaluation of the student.
If these are not readily available to students, we are often times left without any viable means for recourse. This is especially true for highly technical programs that involve a teacher judging performance without any written exam or paper. Nevertheless, it will prove beneficial to all students in the long run.
Who are the consumers at this institution? The students. Students should have a right to evaluate their courses, have that information compiled and stored, and have an easy and relatively simple (like the MyISU student portal) means of retrieving past results. This expectation is something already enjoyed at schools like University of Idaho and Utah State University.
All in all, hats off to my fellow members of the student senate. I see this resolution as something real, something practical, and something that the students of Idaho State University can use and recognize as a positive product of student representation. The decision to press forward with this issue is a courageous and honorable move by the senate and will prove to serve students for many years after it is put into place.
Resolution 465 sponsored by Matt Spencer and myself (Todd Itami) reads:
"That we, the Associated Students of Idaho State University, express our desire to see mandatory course evaluations administered in every class. It is also the desire of the association to have said evaluations, or a summery thereof, available to the student body at large via the MyISU student portal."
This idea is not something that we came up with ourselves. It was an idea that was expressed by students to their representatives. I believe it is one of the best and most effective ideas to pass through the senate in quite some time.
Before we get into the "why" of the legislation, I find it a worthwhile endeavor to mention that I believe the vast sweeping majority of the faculty at this university to be exceptional. It has been my experience that faculty members are more than willing to help students out side of class, have extraordinary expertise in their fields and are very fair with students as a whole. This effort to put evaluations online will fortify those good instructors and provide accountability for those who fit into the delinquent minority.
Students will not only be able to get a better idea of what instructors they wish to choose but they will have evidence available to reinforce grievances and complaints for even the most subjective of subjects.
Course evaluations are often times the only recourse that students have to issue criticisms about instructors without being singled out and put into a situation that would potentially bias that teacher's evaluation of the student.
If these are not readily available to students, we are often times left without any viable means for recourse. This is especially true for highly technical programs that involve a teacher judging performance without any written exam or paper. Nevertheless, it will prove beneficial to all students in the long run.
Who are the consumers at this institution? The students. Students should have a right to evaluate their courses, have that information compiled and stored, and have an easy and relatively simple (like the MyISU student portal) means of retrieving past results. This expectation is something already enjoyed at schools like University of Idaho and Utah State University.
All in all, hats off to my fellow members of the student senate. I see this resolution as something real, something practical, and something that the students of Idaho State University can use and recognize as a positive product of student representation. The decision to press forward with this issue is a courageous and honorable move by the senate and will prove to serve students for many years after it is put into place.
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