DRAFT, Rev. 02-17-11 3
records. As relates to course evaluations, only graduate students and faculty and staff
with a legitimate educational interest in the teaching performance of graduate
students may access evaluation data.
In short, access to Graduate Student Instructor (GSI) course evaluation is protected under
FERPA, but the right to privacy for other instructors is not clearly established. Legal
counsel advised that the campus could attempt draw a “bright line” between quantitative
and qualitative data or between data that is about the course versus data about the
instructor; however, these distinctions have not been tested in court and might not hold
up.
Peer Institutions:
We identified six peer institutions who have successfully instituted online course
evaluation systems. These include five private universities (Harvard, Yale, Princeton,
Stanford and MIT) and one public university (Michigan). We also identified three sister
UC institutions with experience with online course evaluation. Only one of these (UC
Riverside) has instituted a campuswide system; the other two (UCSD and UC Irvine) are
opt-in systems (see attached spreadsheet, page 7).
Policies and practices concerning access to course evaluation data vary across these
institutions. The maturity of the online program and the campus’s tradition in sharing
evaluation results appear to shape the campus policy. For example, Harvard has a long
history of providing student quantitative ratings and qualitative comments to fellow
students prior to instituting online course evaluation and gives access to all data of both
types to the campus community at large. MIT, Stanford, Princeton and Michigan share
quantitative ratings, but do not share open-ended comments (with a single exception for
Princeton as noted below).
Several institutions have instituted specific student-to-student questions. Yale and
Stanford include quantitative student-to-student question(s), the results of which are
shared. Princeton includes a single qualitative question, which is shared. Harvard
includes both quantitative and qualitative student-to-student questions. Reports from our
peers also indicate that those who do include and share student-to-student questions see
improved response rates on the evaluation process.
External Websites:
Campuses we consulted also noted that the trend is moving toward openness. Stanford,
Michigan, and Riverside reported that students seek more detailed and qualitative
information about courses they are considering; if they cannot find it in a secure, campus
system, they turn to less reliable, external systems. We find similar trends on the
Berkeley campus. Students in a recent focus group indicated that they regularly access
external websites including Ninja Courses, Courserank and Rate My Professor for data
during Telebears enrollment, suggesting that student-to-student data linked directly with