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Raleigh, North Carolina
Campout plans move forward Despite decreased budget, plans for ticket handout program continue Derek Medlin Managing Editor
SCREENSHOTS ACCESSED 12/4/2008 10:15PM CLASSEVAL.NCSU.EDU
ClassEvals response rate up Online class valuation responses increase by 43.81 percent this semester Daniel Ellis Deputy News Editor
As of Thursday afternoon, students had completed 64,081 class evaluations, indicating a 43.81 percent response rate out of the potential 146,169 surveys. The ClassEval system officially switched over from pencil and paper format to an online system when it went live April 15, 2007. Since then, administrators have noticed the increased response rate providing more reliable results. “The students found it easy, and the process worked well,� Karen Helm, director of University Planning and Analysis, said in a Faculty Senate meeting after the system’s induction. This year’s response rate has already surpassed the grand total from last se-
mester. During the spring of 2008, fewer than 62,000 classes were evaluated. “I’ve received a lot more e-mails about it this year from both the University and my professors,� Carol Ann Osterhoudt, a sophomore in biology, said. “It just seems like there’s a lot more push to do it.� Osterhoudt also notes that the incentives offered by professors could potentially be increasing the response rate. “My chemistry professor last year offered five extra points on one of our tests if we had a 75 percent or higher response rate,� she said. When offering incentives, professors have no official method of recognizing which students have completed the evaluations and which haven’t. Professors can only view the total response rate for the classes they instruct. Osterhoudt admits that she has several remaining class evaluations to complete, but said she will get around to doing it. “I’m just doing them in parts since
they take a while,� she said. But still, some students said they fill out only the ones they want to fill out. “I’ve filled out a few of them, mainly the ones that I had a lot to say about,� Elliot Peng, a sophomore in accounting, said. Peng said he believes that most students will comment on professors when they are very opinionated on an aspect of the instructors’ styles. “I went in depth on the teachers that really need to make some improvements,� he said. “The professors that are good I might just write a few words about.� Even before going online, class evaluations have always been designed to aid instructors with improving their courses and teaching. “I’ve had professors tell me before that it helps them know what to change for next year and to learn how to change their teaching style,� Osterhoudt said. “It really lets them know what is effective and what isn’t.�
Osterhoudt also said he believes that students have a responsibility to provide their professors with advice through the ClassEval system if they are dissatisfied. “If I want to complain about my professor, I also need to critique him. Just like if you want to complain about our president, you also need to vote on him,� Osterhoudt said. Although students may not see the immediate results of critiquing their instructors, some say they need to understand the importance of ensuring a brighter future for their colleagues. “It’s going to help the next group of students that will have the professor rather than helping me personally,� Peng said. As it stands, the reviews can are confidential, viewable by professors only after all grades have been posted. “I don’t think they should ever be public because they might have some really angry students write about the professors,� Peng said. ClassEval will close Monday at 8
Earth Day plans in motion to ‘synergize’ campus Students give input, ideas on future sustainability events for 2009 Laura Azarelo Correspondent
Students representing different colleges on campus met Thursday evening with David Dean, outreach coordinator for the Office of Sustainability, to discuss plans for the extended Earth Day events that will take place starting on March 11, 2009 and running through Earth Day on April 22, 2009. The Office of Sustainability and Waste Reduction & Recycling are organizing the event and working to make it even bigger than last year, with several colleges and organizations within campus already committing their involvement as well as gaining sponsorship from Duke Energy and Progress Energy. “Earth Day isn’t really just one day a year. What we want to do is create a broader culture of sustainability through education,�
TIM O’BRIEN/TECHNICIAN
William Winner, a professor of environmental science, brainstorms ideas with Joey LeCompte, a junior in professional golf management, at the Earth Day planning meeting Thursday night.
Dean said. Colleges and organizations are already preparing projects and
events that will each be highlighted to showcase their contributions to the Earth Day cause.
e n ss d s l a a n i M F NC State Bookstores
Friday, Dec. 5th 12pm to 8pm
Among the colleges, the College of Textiles will be displaying an Art to Wear’s showcase April 22
Sa le!
in the Brickyard. Other contributors will be the Farmer’s Market, Centennial Campus, Campus Dining and Campus Recreation. Dean said another goal of Earth Day is to “educate the community about what our projects are� since the events will also be linked to Raleigh Earth Day. The Earth Day event for 2009 is already ahead of schedule as far as preparations, according to Dean. “For our 2008 Earth Day event, we didn’t start meeting until January,� Dean said. He also said the committee members plan to make crucial decisions about specific events involved in Earth Day before Christmas. Early stage ideas being considered include junkyard olympics and also e-games, which is a competition in which students can compete in selling their own entrepreneurial ideas. The Office of Sustainability will be sending out a press reEARTH DAY continued page 3
This year’s UNC Campout, scheduled to take place Jan. 16, will do so with a budget of half of what the 2008 Campout had. Morgan Donnelly, chair of the Student Senate Campus Community Committee and junior in political science, said the reduced budget has impacted planning for the event. “I think it was budget-related,� Donnelly said. “I don’t think anyone really knows why. One thing is that Student Government has more programs going on.� The 2008-2009 Campout’s budget is $1,000. Donnelly said despite the impact of the budget being cut in half that the Campus Community Committee is still trying to make sure the event is fun for students. “We want Campout to be student driven and benefit the outside community as well as the N.C. State community,� she said. “It’s not just campers being involved. It’s the whole N.C. State community and the Raleigh community.� Adam Compton, senior class president and agricultural business mangement major, said another goal of this year’s Campout is the way students will receive tickets and check-in throuhgout the night. Compton said Campout volunteers will use scanners to scan student IDs. “We’re going to use scanners to scan student ids,� he said. “But we don’t know yet how to figure out how coordinate that with a computer. There is not a computer program that can do what we want it to.� Compton said the size of Campout makes it difficult to centralize how students are kept up with throughout the night. “There are so many people out there,� Compton said. “Last year we checked names off manually on a list. We’re trying to make it easier.� Donnelly said the Campout will include a blood mobile for students to give blood and potentially a battle of the bands for student bands. “We’re having the blood mobile out there and a lot of philanthropic evetns,� she said. “We’d CAMPOUT continued page 3
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America’s ‘watching from the sidelines’story. See page 4.
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