Course/Faculty Assessment (CFA): a Student Team Approach to Course and Faculty Assessment

Abstract

At SUNY Downstate, something different has been implemented—the Course/Faculty Assessment program (CFA). The CFA is a student team assessment program which evaluates both courses and associated faculty instructors. The goal of the CFA is to examine the curriculum as experienced by students. In other words, the CFA gets at what the learning experience is like for those doing the learning. Participants are asked to take ethnographic notes, recording anything noteworthy as they attend classroom sessions and labs. This process sets the CFA program apart from many conventional assessments in that students write down their concerns in situ, as they go through their day, rather than relying on recall at the end of the course and then group members meet to discuss their findings throughout the course. More than 80% of student recommendations have been put in place. This high number indicates that students comments are on-point and students make excellent recommendations. Futher, schools are listening and those meaningful suggestions are put into practice. The Course/Faculty Assessment Program has successfully created a culture of assessment. Faculty and administrators are more than simply receptive to student views, they eagerly await their comments. The CFA has changed the way data is gathered and how it is used. It has changed our students, faculty, and administrators.