Tuesday, May 04, 2010

No idea

As the semester winds down, it's time for course evaluations! Our dean's office has moved from narrative responses to IDEA, a "scantron" multiple-choice form used in hundreds of other colleges and universities. It promises to let you compare your courses to courses elsewhere... but distinctive yet unconventional courses (like all the non- and interdisciplinary courses in the first year program I direct, and integrative courses like Religion & Theater) tend to get lost in the comparisons. Dumb idea.