In November, CU Boulder Today featured the launch of a collaborative, university-wide initiative to redesign the faculty course questionnaire (FCQ) instrument and process. The university successfully administered its first of two pilots at the Boulder, Denver and UCCS campuses this past semester.
Pilot background
Administered at the end of each term, the Faculty Course Questionnaire (FCQ) is completed by students, evaluating their courses and instructors. The redesign effort, which was announced to faculty late August, aims to test new tools and questions while also moving FCQs entirely online. (Read more in the Nov. 2 article on the FCQ redesign.)
Fall 2016 pilot purpose and next steps
The primary focus of the fall pilot was to experiment with two new evaluation instruments selected by the faculty leading the redesign effort. A secondary focus was to test a new digital platform for administration and to help develop strategies for increasing response rates going forward. On the Boulder main campus, ten instructors volunteered to participate, which included approximately 1,240 enrolled students.
The project’s executive committee, consisting of faculty and staff from the three participating campuses, indicates each pilot is meant to serve as a learning process, which allows for changes to be made in subsequent pilots.
Melinda Piket-May, chair of the Boulder Faculty Assembly (BFA), and Mary Kraus, vice provost for undergraduate education, say they are excited at the possibility that the redesigned FCQ will benefit Boulder faculty by providing feedback that is more actionable and less affected by implicit bias than the current instrument.
“We are grateful to the many Boulder faculty who responded to a survey to express their ideas and concerns about the FCQ redesign and to those faculty engaged in the pilot program this fall,” said Kraus.
Pilot results will be analyzed over the coming months, and a spring semester pilot will commence in January 2017. Look for an update about these efforts early spring semester.
For questions and concerns, please contact fcqredesign@colorado.edu or visit the FCQ Redesign Project website.
