Student course evaluations : research, models and trends

1. Introduction
	A. Methodology
	B. Limitations

2. Context
	A. Evaluating teaching in higher education
	B. The vocabulary of student course evaluations
	C. Faculty, administrator and student perceptions of course evaluations
		i. Faculty perceptions
		ii. Administrator perceptions
		iii. Student perceptions
	D. Common characteristics of course evaluations
		i. Common measures of teaching effectiveness
		ii. Collecting and interpreting qualitative feedback
		iii. Collecting and interpreting formative feedback
	E. Common uses for course evaluation data

3. Current Policy and Practice in North America
	A. Introduction
	B. Course evaluation policies
		i. Prevalence and location of policies
		ii. Focus and scope of policies
	C. Design and approval of evaluation instruments
		i. Development and approval of evaluation instruments
		ii. Questionnaire format and content
		iii. Review of evaluation instruments
	D. Implementation processes
		i. Method of delivery
		ii. Implementation guidelines or policies
	E. Analysis of results
	F. Access to results
		i. Who has access? To what?
		ii. Management of written comments
		iii. Publication of results
	G. Interpretation and use of results
		i. Summative and formative purposes
		ii. Information supplied with evaluation results
		iii. Use of written comments
		iv. Tenure, promotion and merit
		v. Teaching awards
		vi. Other evidence of teaching effectiveness
	H. Relationship of course evaluations to accountability measures

4. Reliability, Validity and Interpretation of Course Evaluation Data
	A. Introduction to reliability and validity
	B. Students as evaluators
	C. External Validity: Creating the instrument
		i. Defining effective teaching
		ii. Developing evaluation instruments
	D. External Validity: Reporting and interpreting evaluation results
		i. Reporting of evaluation results
		ii. Challenges to interpretation and use for summative purposes
	E. Internal Validity: The influence of variables on evaluation results
		i. Overview of studied variables
		ii. Validity testing

5. Implementing Effective Evaluation Measures: Recommendations from the Research
	A. Introduction
	B. Ensuring Validity
	C. Ensuring Utility
		i. For students
		ii. For instructors
		iii. For administrators
		iv. For institutions

6. Emerging Trends, Existing Gaps and Recommendations for Further Research
	A. Emerging trends
		i. Online evaluation tools
		ii. Connecting evaluation data to accountability measures and competency-based learning outcomes
		iii. Increasing use of evaluations for formative purposes
		iv. Contextualization of evaluation data for summative evaluation of teaching
	B. Existing gaps and suggestions for further research
		i. Defining teaching vocabulary and expectations
		ii. Understanding evaluation users
		iii. Educating evaluation users
		iv. Evaluating graduate student teaching assistants and instructors

7. Concluding Remarks