By Jennifer Grayson, Campus Technology
For as long as anyone can remember, students at the University of Oklahoma were given in-class surveys for as many as five classes a semester. Not surprisingly, many loathed the pencil-and-paper process. “The students would write incomplete sentences, even phrases, and just dash off,” recalls Paul Bell, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. “Some wouldn’t even write anything.” There was also the problem of profanity: “This class sucks” was an all-too-common response in the comments section of surveys. In one memorable instance, in response to a question about how an instructor could improve the quality of the class, a student wrote, “Die!” So when the university decided to move its course evaluations completely online in 2009, Bell and the rest of the faculty and administration were pleased to see the quality of the answers improve. Bell is the first to admit, though, that the move online was not prompted by a desire to tap into the more thoughtful recesses of student brains. It was done to save money–$100,000 a year in Scantron forms alone.
http://campustechnology.com/articles/2011/11/28/many-happy-returns.aspx
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