• About
  • Editorial Board
    • Staff Writers
  • Advertise
  • Join Us
  • Archives
The Wellesley News -
  • News and Features
    • The Wellesley (COVID) 100
      The Wellesley (COVID) 100
    • In memory of Professor Rebecca Summerhays
      In memory of Professor Rebecca Summerhays
    • Trans flag controversy: College power washes staircase after trans flag is painted over Harry Potter spray paint
      Trans flag controversy: College power washes staircase after trans flag is painted over Harry Potter spray paint
    • News
      • News in Brief
      • Nation & World
      • President’s Corner
      • Senate Report
    • Features
      • Alumnae Spotlight
      • Eye on Science
      • Faculty Focus
      • LGBTQIA+ Column
  • Opinions
    • The News in Conversation: Wellesley Against Mass Incarceration
      The News in Conversation: Wellesley Against Mass Incarceration
    • Editorial Board calls for keeping up trans flag murals
      Editorial Board calls for keeping up trans flag murals
    • No, Elon Musk’s Twitter will not restore free speech
      No, Elon Musk’s Twitter will not restore free speech
    • Staff Editorial
    • Letters to the Editor
    • The Elephant in the Room
  • Arts
    • Be/longing Centers Connection and Care
      Be/longing Centers Connection and Care
    • No image
      Birds Falling Upwards: Wellesley College Theater’s The Moors is a Must-See
    • No image
      Sometimes you just need to read a YA “Groundhog Day” to feel something
    • Arts In The News
    • Reviews
    • Music Peek
    • Books Before Boys
  • Health and Wellness
    • February Student Athlete of the Month
      February Student Athlete of the Month
    • Athletics Update
      Athletics Update
    • Victoria Garrick Speaks on Mental Health
      Victoria Garrick Speaks on Mental Health
    • Athlete of the Week
    • Boston Sports Update
    • The Vegan Digest
    • The SHE Corner
  • The Wellesley Snooze
    • Wellesley News Leadership Changes Completely Peacefully Without Any Suspicious Disappearances At All
      Wellesley News Leadership Changes Completely Peacefully Without Any Suspicious Disappearances At All
    • Solve Your Connection Problems With Wellesley Insecure
      Solve Your Connection Problems With Wellesley Insecure
    • Mayhem strikes Wellesley as paper towels removed from campus
      Mayhem strikes Wellesley as paper towels removed from campus
  • Miscellanea
    • President’s Column: The Butterfly Effect
      President’s Column: The Butterfly Effect
    • Administrators shocked to learn that students dislike being left in dark
      Administrators shocked to learn that students dislike being left in dark
    • 50 Lies You Tell Yourself in Order to Survive Until Graduation
      50 Lies You Tell Yourself in Order to Survive Until Graduation
    • The Dose
    • The Olive Branch
    • Multimedia
      • Galleries
      • Infographics
      • Videos
By Amal Cheema, Maya Nandakumar OpinionsMay 5, 2016

Completing SEQs facilitates a helpful dialogue between students and faculty

Photo courtesy of Wellesley College.

Tomorrow, each of us will receive an email inviting us to submit Student Evaluation Questionnaires (SEQs) for the semester. In addition to final papers and assessments, students are asked to reflect on their courses and provide feedback by filling out anonymous SEQs. In many ways, SEQs are our opportunity to enhance our academic experience in a meaningful manner. Our words can have a profound impact on the future directions of a class, a lab or a faculty member’s career. While SEQs are a mainstay of finals period, they are crucial to the academic development of Wellesley and should be completed conscientiously and with respect.

SEQs at Wellesley emphasize the importance of student input in lecture and lecturer evaluation. The faculty member being evaluated, the departmental Reappointments and Promotions (R&P) Committee, and the Committee on Faculty Appointments (CFA) all carefully read the anonymous answers after grades have been submitted and use these responses to influence subsequent decisions on the faculty member’s career.

Unless the student provides identifying information in the SEQs, neither the faculty nor R&P nor CFA will know the writer’s identity. SEQ answers are grouped together in a single report, with each response identified as that of Student A or B. Professors utilize SEQ responses to improve the course and teaching methods. In addition, R&P and CFA heavily consider SEQs when determining a faculty member’s reappointment, tenure, promotion and merit reviews.

Unlike research institutions where quality of teaching may be considered secondary to quality of research, Wellesley emphasizes the competency of a professor in the classroom in assessing faculty. While it may be tempting to use the form for vindication after a particularly hard or time-consuming semester, lambasting a professor for a poor grade or a heavy work-load does not warrant vitriolic comments. Rather, as we would want a professor to be fair to us when writing a recommendation or providing feedback, we too should aim to provide constructive criticism.

In that vein, it is unfair to submit serious allegations against a professor’s integrity over SEQs. If a professor supports racist, sexist or otherwise discriminatory behaviors in the class, the anonymous forum may seem like a purportedly advantageous way to vocalize those charges. However, accusations of those nature should be made through more formal channels. Wellesley employs an Ombudsperson, who is an independent, confidential, neutral and informal resource that will work with students who are at odds with a faculty or staff member. While speaking directly to a professor’s colleague about their conduct could be intimidating, the confidentiality of an Ombudsperson allows for an involved, equitable process to address concerns for all parties.

In addition, this method allows the professor a chance to defend him or herself against serious accusations. Furthermore, there are still other ways in which to provide feedback about a faculty member. Students may submit letters to the Dean of the College, who chairs the CFA, with or without identifying information. Nevertheless, SEQs are useful anonymous forums, but they should not the first channel to address grave concerns about a professor.

Additionally, not completing SEQs is irresponsible. All students are required to complete them, with the penalty of withheld online grades if not completed. Filling out such questionnaires, in many ways is a service and responsibility we have to future students. We often speak about how to improve the Wellesley academic culture, but there’s a distinction between wanting a better climate and working towards one. While we can save time by filling out SEQs with monosyllabic words, we deny ourselves an opportunity to direct the improvements of a class or the teaching of a class. Certainly, each of us has endured a rather arduous course that could have, in our individual opinions, been taught differently. SEQs are a mechanism to ensure that our siblings do not have to go through the same stress.

Although it may be tempting to neglect SEQs, we must provide conscientious and appropriate feedback as a means to improve our academic experiences. As we expect professors to give decent and thoughtful feedback on an essay or presentation per se, we should do the same for their SEQs.

Share on

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Pinterest
  • Google +
  • LinkedIn
  • Email
Previous articleLetter to the Editor
Next articleLetter to the Editor

You may also like

The News in Conversation: Wellesley Against Mass Incarceration

Editorial Board calls for keeping up trans flag murals

No, Elon Musk’s Twitter will not restore free speech

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Email Newsletter

Sign up to receive our weekly digest in your inbox

* indicates required

Top Articles

Sorry. No data so far.

Recent Tweets

Tweets by @Wellesley_News

The independent student newspaper of Wellesley College since 1901.

Sign up to receive our weekly digest in your inbox

* indicates required

  • About
  • Editorial Board
    • Staff Writers
  • Advertise
  • Join Us
  • Archives
COPYRIGHT © 2022 THE WELLESLEY NEWS
Back to top