COURSE EVALUATIONS
"Criticism is something we can avoid easily by saying nothing, doing
nothing, and being nothing." -- Aristotle
At the end of each semester, NC State Computer Science students rate the effectiveness of their teachers on a 1-5 scale, where 1 is considered "poor" and 5 is considered "truly outstanding." I have received consistently high evaluations over time, across several different courses and large or smaller student enrollments. In many cases, my scores in course effectiveness, instructor effectiveness, and overall experience are close to a full point above the departmental average. More importantly, I have received such high evaluations despite the fact that students perceive my courses as presenting significantly more difficulty than average.
In the 2006-2007 academic year, the University switched to a centralized, online course evaluation system using a new, University-wide evaluation form. My teaching evaluations since then are listed in the following table.
| Semester | Course | Class Size |
Instructor explained difficult material well |
Overall, instructor was an effective teacher | This course improved my knowledge of the subject | Overall, this course was excellent |
Overall, the labs were effective learning experiences |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spring 2008 |
CSC 316 Dept Avg |
45 N/A |
4.52 3.65 |
4.74 3.80 |
4.57 4.04 |
4.48 3.58 |
N/A N/A |
| Spring 2008 |
CSC 791b Dept Avg |
8 N/A |
4.25 3.86 |
4.25 4.02 |
4.50 4.22 |
3.75 3.96 |
N/A N/A |
| Spring 2007 |
CSC 791b Dept Avg |
14 N/A |
4.62 3.80 |
4.54 3.93 |
4.62 4.09 |
4.62 3.72 |
4.67 4.16 |
| Spring 2007 |
CSC 579 Dept Avg |
45 N/A |
4.40 3.80 |
4.63 3.93 |
4.68 4.09 |
4.56 3.72 |
4.80 4.16 |
| Spring 2007 |
CSC 316 Dept Avg |
20 N/A |
4.71 3.80 |
4.79 3.93 |
4.79 4.09 |
4.64 3.72 |
N/A 4.16 |
My course evaluations from 1994-2006 using the old evaluation form (Computer Science-specific) are listed in the table below.
| Semester | Course | Class Size | Difficulty | Grading | Course | Instructor | Overall |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spring 2006 |
CSC 316 Dept Avg |
33 N/A |
3.90 3.71 |
4.10 4.11 |
3.75 3.62 |
4.25 3.94 |
4.15 3.82 |
| Fall 2005 |
CSC 778 Dept Avg |
17 N/A |
3.86 3.71 |
4.43 4.11 |
4.29 3.62 |
4.57 3.93 |
4.67 3.82 |
| Spring 2005 |
CSC 316 Dept Avg |
23 N/A |
4.14 3.73 |
4.36 4.07 |
4.00 3.59 |
4.50 3.89 |
4.43 3.78 |
| Fall 2004 |
CSC 778 Dept Avg |
28 N/A |
4.25 3.72 |
4.33 4.09 |
4.50 3.62 |
4.75 3.93 |
4.75 3.83 |
| Spring 2004 |
CSC 579 Dept Avg |
28 N/A |
4.53 3.73 |
4.50 4.07 |
4.26 3.59 |
4.26 3.91 |
4.32 3.80 |
| Fall 2003 |
CSC 778 Dept Avg |
18 N/A |
4.00 3.56 |
5.00 4.03 |
4.25 3.58 |
4.50 3.91 |
4.50 3.79 |
| Spring 2003 |
CSC 579 Dept Avg |
32 N/A |
4.56 3.65 |
4.33 4.06 |
4.56 3.57 |
4.88 3.87 |
4.75 3.73 |
| Fall 2002 |
CSC 778 Dept Avg |
30 N/A |
4.00 3.69 |
5.00 4.00 |
4.60 3.63 |
4.90 3.92 |
4.70 3.82 |
| Spring 2002 |
CSC 579 Dept Avg |
85 N/A |
4.39 3.68 |
4.50 3.99 |
4.30 3.54 |
4.74 3.83 |
4.57 3.69 |
| Fall 2001 |
CSC 778 Dept Avg |
28 N/A |
4.15 3.64 |
4.17 4.14 |
4.69 3.65 |
4.85 3.96 |
4.77 3.81 |
| Spring 2000 |
CSC 573 Dept Avg |
95 N/A |
4.11 3.81 |
4.79 4.06 |
4.33 3.70 |
4.81 4.03 |
4.59 3.91 |
| Fall 1999 |
CSC 579 Dept Avg |
74 N/A |
4.56 3.75 |
3.85 4.07 |
3.86 3.69 |
4.12 4.01 |
4.14 3.89 |
| Spring 1999 |
CSC 311 Dept Avg |
68 N/A |
4.11 3.84 |
3.89 3.97 |
3.68 3.69 |
4.11 3.98 |
3.86 3.88 |
| Spring 1999 |
CSC 573 Dept Avg |
47 N/A |
3.52 3.84 |
4.59 3.97 |
4.37 3.69 |
4.67 3.98 |
4.44 3.88 |
| Fall 1998 |
CSC 401 Dept Avg |
61 N/A |
3.83 3.77 |
3.92 4.06 |
3.39 3.70 |
3.92 4.03 |
3.69 3.93 |
| Spring 1998 |
CSC 573 Dept Avg |
25 N/A |
3.62 3.79 |
4.19 4.02 |
4.53 3.59 |
4.73 3.92 |
4.53 3.78 |
| Fall 1997 |
CSC 579 Dept Avg |
7 N/A |
4.17 3.81 |
4.67 4.12 |
4.17 3.72 |
4.67 4.05 |
4.67 3.94 |
| Fall 1997 |
CSC 401 Dept Avg |
65 N/A |
3.95 3.81 |
4.15 4.12 |
3.87 3.72 |
4.05 4.05 |
4.00 3.94 |
| Spring 1997 |
CSC 573 Dept Avg |
40 N/A |
3,52 3.81 |
4.60 3.97 |
4.40 3.61 |
4.64 3.94 |
4.44 3.85 |
| Fall 1996 |
CSC 579 Dept Avg |
19 N/A |
4.39 3.83 |
4.78 4.00 |
4.22 3.59 |
4.56 3.88 |
4.33 3.80 |
| Fall 1996 |
CSC 401 Dept Avg |
64 N/A |
3.96 3.83 |
4.43 4.00 |
3.98 3.59 |
4.34 3.88 |
4.23 3.80 |
| Spring 1996 |
CSC 676 Dept Avg |
33 N/A |
3.77 3.84 |
4.33 3.95 |
4.13 3.54 |
4.53 3.83 |
4.40 3.81 |
| Fall 1995 |
CSC 401 Dept Avg |
58 N/A |
3.91 3.80 |
4.25 3.98 |
3.97 3.54 |
4.25 3.79 |
4.39 3.86 |
| Spring 1995 |
CSC 311 Dept Avg |
54 N/A |
4.27 3.87 |
3.82 4.03 |
3.42 3.52 |
3.85 3.87 |
3.76 3.79 |
| Fall 1994 |
CSC 579 Dept Avg |
15 N/A |
4.50 3.78 |
4.50 3.98 |
3.70 3.49 |
4.30 3.75 |
4.30 3.85 |