Ohio State students spend much of their time trying to ace midterms, papers, presentations and finals. But at the end of each quarter, the tides turn, and students get to give out the grades.

Student Evaluation of Instruction forms, better known as SEIs, are a way for students to rate their instructors based on different aspects of the instructors’ performance. SEIs provide teaching assistants and professors with an overall assessment of their teaching methods and are often used when it comes time for annual reviews, promotions and tenure decisions, according to the University Registrar’s testing administration and scanning services Web site.

Some regard SEIs as a valuable tool that applies to many different classroom settings and disciplines, said Terri Childers, an SEI administrator in the Office of Enrollment Services and Undergraduate Education. However, others view SEIs as generic and altogether ineffective.

“I don’t feel that SEIs are beneficial to the teachers,” said Jeff Dillaman, a sophomore in industrial and systems engineering. “The questions are very broad, and the Scantron form is very limiting to giving effective feedback.”

Some of the questions addressed in SEIs involve the organization and preparation of the instructor, whether the instructor seemed interested in helping students and how effectively the instructor communicated the material.

Professors have claimed students do not have the expertise required to evaluate teaching, said Alan Kalish, director of faculty and TA development. However, Kalish said he does not agree.

“The things that SEI asks, such as whether you believe the instructor communicated clearly with you and was intellectually stimulating are things that only students in the class can judge,” Kalish said.

Although students provide the information collected through SEIs, many know very little about them.

“We are kind of kept in the dark on how the SEIs are actually used,” Dillaman said.

Many departments distribute SEIs at the end of each quarter. After the forms have been completed, they are sent to the registrar, where the data is collected and sent back to the instructor in question. Professors and TAs can use the summarized data as an indication of personal progress and areas in which improvement is still needed.

“Most instructors take student feedback very seriously and try to make improvements based on student comments,” Kalish said.

All departments are required to allow students to express their experiences in the classroom. However, SEIs are not the only means of fulfilling the requirement. Some departments administer their own evaluations in addition to SEIs, which often leave room for more student input.

“We can use (SEIs) to see how our classes are going,” said Ada Draughon, administrative assistant in the Department of Women’s Studies. “We can see if the students are enjoying our classes through their comments and recommendations.”

Other departments administer similar evaluations. The Department of Biomedical Engineering gives students open-comment forms, where they can talk about anything involving their experience in the class.

SEIs are administered in paper and electronic form. Childers said around 20 percent of the data come from online SEIs, where students can leave additional input in comment boxes.

“Comments go directly back to faculty. However, this doesn’t happen until grades have been posted, and it is completely anonymous,” she said.

Repeated negative feedback has varying consequences for instructors.

“It is possible that consistently bad SEIs, along with other measures of ineffective teaching, could lead to denial of tenure or promotion,” Kalish said.

Hannah Tyler can be reached at [email protected].