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Home > Degree Programs > Teaching & Courses > Course Evaluations
Course Evaluations
Instructions of Students
To Submit
1. Log onto KNET
2. Click the link on the main page
3. Click your course number(s)
4. Check your responses carefully. You can’t edit after submitting.
To Request KNET Access
• Submit Request Here
• Faculty add student to the roster/class page
• Students enrolled through HKS automatically have KNET access
• Gaining access can take 24 hours. Please don’t wait until the last minute.
• Non-HKS students may be required to complete their home school’s evaluation
Troubleshooting:
Email: Student_Support@hks.harvard.edu
Phone: Deborah Lee, 617-496-8796
Teaching Fellow Evaluations
Students enrolled in courses with TFs will see separate evaluations for them along with course evals. Course Assistants aren’t evaluated.
All responses are confidential. Faculty access to evaluations is blocked until final grades are submitted
Instructions for Faculty
Schedule
• Open: generally last day of the semester
• Close: one week from open
• Students receive announcements/reminders the day of open, half way into the eval window, 3 days before close, and the day before close.
• Faculty are also encouraged to send a reminder
To View Results
• Click Here
• A link is also emailed to faculty after grades are submitted (please allow time for the system to process) and the eval period has ended
Evaluation Content
Summary: summary of all numerical scores
Comments: written comments from students
Raw Data: gives faculty the opportunity to delve deeper into the data. Student responses are anonymous, but numerically scored questions can be correlated with written comments.
Troubleshooting:
Faculty/Staff: Mary Ann Krebs
Students: Student Support
General issues: Matt Lincoln
Teaching Fellow Evaluations
Students enrolled in courses with TFs will see separate evaluations for them along with course evals. Course Assistants aren’t evaluated.
General HKS Evaluation Policies
Courses with Enrollments under Five Students
These courses may be evaluated to provide feedback for the instructor. With a small enrollment, the score averages are statistically meaningless. Hence they may not be published.
Auditors
Auditors do not fill out evaluation forms unless they are fully participating in the course - attending all classes, submitting all homework and papers, and taking the final exam.
Publicly Viewable Results
The summaries of all course evaluations are posted on line via the HKS intranet (KNet). These are accessible by Kennedy School Intranet login only.
Midcourse Evaluations for Faculty
Faculty are encouraged to engage in some form moderately formal midcourse evaluation to get feedback from students about how their courses are going while there is still time to make adjustments before the semester ends. Faculty who regularly engage in this process generally find it well worth the time invested; often it has made a real difference in their ability to produce the most effective course possible.
In the past, faculty have had success with the sample forms, which can be modified to fit a particular course.
Mid-term Evaluation Sample
Please note that the following forms have been compressed; in using them space should be made for longer answers.
Mid-course Feedback -- Form 1
I want your views on the course so far. Please answer the following questions anonymously. I will give 10 minutes of class time for your responses. If you need more space, please continue on the back.
1. Classes
Pace and Level (1 = much too slow/easy, 3 = just right, 5 = much too fast/hard)
Intellectual coherence and stimulation? (e.g., plenty; OK; not enough)
Practical applicability? (e.g., plenty, OK, not enough)
Amount of time I spend taking class questions, discussion (too much, too little, about right?)
Any specific suggestions or criticisms re my management of class sessions
2. Homework Assignments
Level of difficulty: (too hard, too easy, about right?)
Relevance/effectiveness for learning course material (1= terrible; 5=excellent)
Implementation (clarity of questions and answers, appropriateness of timing, etc.)
Specific criticisms or suggestions for improvement
3. Computer materials (Web pages, spreadsheets, lecture notes, etc.)
How often do you use them?
How useful? (1 = not at all; 5 = extremely)
Specific criticisms or suggestions for improvement
4. Review Sessions and Course Assistants
How useful are the Friday review sessions (1 = not at all; 5 = excellent)
Specific suggestions/criticisms on Review Sessions
How useful are CAs in office hours (1 = not at all; 5 = excellent)
Specific suggestions/criticisms on CA hours:
Usefulness and timeliness of feedback on Homework assignments (1= terrible; 5= great)
Specific suggestions/criticisms on Homework feedback
5. Further comments on any aspect of the course. (Use back of page if necessary)
Mid-course Feedback: Form 2
• What do you like about this course? Please identify specific aspects of the course that have assisted your learning.
• What do you dislike about this course? Please identify specific aspects of the course that have hindered your learning.
• Is the level of intellectual challenge in this course appropriate? Is classroom discussion too inaccessible or too easily accessible? Please explain.
• Do you feel that busywork is a problem in this course? If busywork is a problem, how would you recommend changing the assignments? Please be specific.
• What do you think I could do to improve the learning process in the course? Please be specific.
• What could you and other students in the class do to improve the learning process in the course? How might you and they be persuaded to do what you are suggesting? Please be specific.
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