Why choosing smart electives in high school matters

In addition to challenging academic classes, college-bound students need to take

electives that cultivate their interests, strengths, and special talents.
by: GreatSchools Staff | January 28, 2016
Your high school freshman gets good grades in all her required classes, so she
should be able to follow her fancy in choosing electives, right? Not necessarily. Many
high schools minimum requirements are not rigorous enough to satisfy college
admission officials, so youll want to be sure that your child selects a high school
course of study that meets college standards.
Freshman year is not too early to meet with a guidance counselor and begin
charting your teenagers college preparation course plan.
Freshmen need to work out their program of study even before they begin high
school to ensure they will have room in their schedules to cover all the courses
colleges require, says Iris Schrey, a college counselor at William Jones College Prep
in Chicago, where 100 percent of the first graduating class is college-bound.
College requirements
Specialty colleges may have specific requirements. Some colleges will consider
students who have not necessarily completed the traditional core curriculum but
have challenged themselves to the best of their abilities. You and your child can use
College Search or purchase the College Handbook to see what specific colleges are
looking for. As a general rule, however, students should maintain a well-rounded
and challenging schedule.
Striking a balance
Handling four or five academic courses each semester doesnt leave a lot of room
for extras. Still, students should pursue a course of studies that will maintain their
interest.
I tell students they need to create a course selection for each year that is going to
challenge them and keep them healthy, says Marybeth Kravets, a college
consultant for Deerfield High School in Deerfield, Illinois, and a former president of
the National Association for College Admission Counseling. Colleges first and
foremost look for the core curriculum, but they also like to see breadth and depth in
the high school experience, says Kravets.

Electives over and above the core curriculum, such as art, fine art, music,
journalism, computer programming or business can provide an interdisciplinary
overlap with more traditional courses, creating a richer learning experience, adds

Kravets. In fact, research indicates that students who take courses in fine and
performing arts often perform better in school and on standardized tests.

Schrey tells her students to follow their passion in pursuing electives. Some schools
offer elective courses in journalism or band that correspond with extracurricular
activities and reduce the students after-school time commitment. A fun class can
break up a rigorous schedule and help students avoid burn-out.

Beyond what high school offers

If your childs high school doesnt offer the courses she seeks, local colleges or
community colleges may. Taking an economics, philosophy or business course at a
local college helps give high school students a taste for what college will be like,
says Schrey.

Courses might also be available via the Internet or by correspondence course, but
parents should ensure that any course their student enrolls in not only covers the
desired topic but provides high-caliber learning. Kravets points out that parents can
also play a role in helping to ensure high schools offer quality electives.
Unfortunately, during budget crunch times, electives are often the first to get cut,
says Kravets.

Interests and strengths

Some experts advise students to not only follow their interests, but also focus on
their strengths when choosing electives. A student who excels in foreign languages
could boost her grade point average and class standing by enrolling in a fourth year
of French. Advisers also warn students not to stock up on light classes their senior
year, because colleges will look for the students ability to maintain four years of
academic course work.
All experts agree that preparing for college takes hard work and dedication.
Electives provide your child a chance to show her flair and develop interests and
abilities. You can help your child prepare for college by working with the schools
guidance counselor to map out not only a challenging core curriculum but also an
enriching selection of electives that will maintain her interest and diversify her
learning.
Sources:

The College Guide for Parents, Charles J. Shields, College Board, 1994. Preparing
Your Child For College, A Resource Book for Parents, 1996-97 Edition, U.S.
Department of Education

Student perspectives on the value of rural electives

Ian Coupercorresponding author1
Author information Article notes Copyright and License information
This article has been cited by other articles in PMC.
Go to:
Abstract
Background

Medical students in the Faculty of Health Sciences at the University of the

Witwatersrand (Wits) in Johannesburg have the opportunity to do electives at the
end of the first and third years of a four-year graduate-entry medical programme.
Upon their return they are required to write a short portfolio report. Over the period
2005 to 2011, 402 students chose to do rural electives.
Aim and setting
To understand the value of rural electives from the perspective of medical students
in the Faculty of Health Sciences at Wits, as derived from their assessment reports.
Methods
A review was conducted of 402 elective reports. Common themes were identified
through repeated reading of the reports, and then content analysis was undertaken
using these themes.
Results
Major themes identified were the reasons for choosing a rural facility for the
elective, including going to a home community; benefits of the elective, especially
in terms of clinical skills and personal growth; relationship issues; the multiple roles
of the rural doctor, who is often a role model working in difficult conditions; and the
challenges of rural electives.

Conclusion
The electives were overwhelmingly positive and affirming experiences for students,
who developed clinical skills and also learnt about both themselves and their
chosen career.
Go to:
Introduction
Exposure of undergraduate medical students to rural health care during their
training is recognised to be an essential strategy in the eventual recruitment of
doctors to rural areas.1-3 Various models exist for this exposure, which include both
compulsory and voluntary placements in rural health facilities and practices. The
role that rural electives can play in encouraging students to consider rural practice,
as well as in their general educational development, has not been explored in the
literature.

The University of the Witwatersrand (Wits) in Johannesburg introduced a new

medical curriculum in 2003, in the form of a four-year graduate-entry medical
programme (GEMP). GEMP years 1 and 2 focus on problem-based learning in
systems blocks, with weekly clinical skills and hospital exposure. GEMP years 3 and
4 consist of a series of clinical rotations in all major disciplines. Two elective periods
are included in the programme: the first is a two-week period at the end of the first
GEMP year, which may be undertaken anywhere in Southern Africa, whilst the
second is a four-week exposure (that may be split into two two-week periods) at the
end of GEMP third year, which may be undertaken anywhere in the world. Students
are required to submit a two-page portfolio report reflecting on their elective
experience, based on objectives set prior to the elective in consultation with a
faculty supervisor, in order to sit the final examinations in the second and fourth
GEMP years.

As part of its strategic goals, the Centre for Rural Health in the Wits Faculty of
Health Sciences aims to recruit, educate and support human resources for rural
health care. Through the academic division of Rural Health it offers the opportunity
for students doing electives to gain rural experience, mainly in rural district
hospitals, all over South Africa and even in other countries.

A steadily increasing number of students signed on for rural electives between 2003
(when GEMP 1 rolled out) and 2008, increasing from 5 (2.3% of the GEMP 1 class) to
85 (19.8% of the combined GEMP 1 and 3 classes), with a current steady state of
6080 students (about 12% 18%) signing up for rural electives. The initial increase
in numbers, which occurred largely due to interpersonal communication, and the
ongoing level of interest suggests that students were gaining something important
through the rural elective experience.

Aim and objectives

It was decided to ascertain what the value of these rural electives is in the eyes of
the students themselves. A review was conducted of the student elective reports
received over seven years from 2005 to 2011Go to:
Methods
A qualitative review was conducted of the portfolio reports submitted by students
completing rural electives over the period 20052011. A total of 402 electives were
undertaken. Of these, 371 were undertaken in rural public health facilities in South
Africa, in all of the nine provinces, and 3 in urban district hospitals (due to lastminute difficulties encountered by students, such as lack of finances to travel); 13
were completed with rural private general practitioners in South Africa. Twelve
students completed their electives in rural areas outside of South Africa, 11 of these
in other African countries and one in the Northern Territory of Australia. Three
students worked in non-governmental organisations, one of which was in Swaziland.
The majority of students (72%) completed these electives at the end of GEMP 1.
All 402 reports submitted over the seven years were included in the review.
Common themes were identified through careful reading of the reports over the first
five years. A content analysis of each report was then undertaken using these
themes, to ensure that all major issues mentioned by students were covered, and
copies of the reports were divided into the themes using cut and paste. The reports
for the latter two years were reviewed in the light of the above themes; no
additional themes were found, but relevant comments by students were added to
the database.
Students are required in their portfolio reports to explain why they chose the
particular site, what learning occurred and how this related to the objectives set
with the internal (faculty) supervisor. These reports are assessed by this supervisor,
and therefore reflections were likely to be more positive in nature, creating an
inherent bias. However, this is mitigated by the fact that the mark has a negligible
impact on overall grading the main requirement is to submit a report.

Furthermore, the reports are not seen by the external (host) supervisors, so honesty
about the experience is also promoted.

College Choice Literature Review

The decision making process is complex and subject to multiple influences that not
only
interact with each other but also change over time. This is especially true with
major life
decisions such as choosing a college to attend. In fact, this is actually a nested set
of choices
where the first choice is whether or not to attend a college or college-like institution.
At this
information gathering stage, advice of friends, counselors, and parents has great
influence. The
next level of decision making (assuming the choice is to obtain education or
training) is the type
of institution to attend. Choices include universities, two-year colleges, technical
schools,
community education, private tutoring, and so on. Listed below are factors
mentioned as

influential in a selected set of literature. The number of times a factor was mentions
is noted in
parentheses if greater than one. Prevalent factors include parental influence,
college reputation,
and cost of attendance. The number of times a factor was mention indicates it
appears in several
different studies but does not necessarily imply they are more important as the
prevalence of
certain factors could result from researcher preferences of factors to examine. A
review of this
list does give a global sense of factors appear to be relevant and information about
specific
factors should be gleaned from the literature provided in the reference section.
Finally, while it
is natural to expect that these factors would relate to Gavilan College, not all of
them necessarily
will apply and there may be other relevant factors not listed here.
College Attendance Factors
Getter better jobs
Gaining general knowledge
Enhancement of self esteem
College Information Sources
College students
Friends
High school counselor
Parents/family
Importance of sources varies at different stages of decision process
1
College Choice Factors

 General Community College

o Parental direct influence (x5)
o Parental education level (x2)
o Reputation of college, both local and global (x4)
o Cost, degree of influence varies by socioeconomic class (x3)
o Availability of desired programs (x2)
o Faculty reputation (x2)
o Financial Aid (x2)
o Location of courses (x2)
o Quality of programs (x2)
o Social life (x2)
o Athletics
o Campus climate
o Counselors recommendations
o Days/times of needed classes
o Friends attending same college
o Friends advice
o Friendliness of staff
o Perceived student/institution fit
o Residency status
o Size of college
o Spousal considerations
o Work
Vocational College
o Friends and relatives
o Reputation

o Location
o Childcare
Special Groups
o Safety and academic issues more important to women than men
o 3 themes for African-American and Hispanic women: familial influences, the
American dream, striving to overcome
o Athletes most important factor was head coach followed by academic support
services, and location. Winning championships is also a positive factor.
o First generation students
Cost (parent)
Academic reputation (parent)
Personal attention (parent)
Social activities (student)
o Second+ generation students
Students and parents agreed more on selection factors
o BA holders mostly but not exclusively choose community college to facilitate
career change
Prepared by Terrence Willett, October 1, 2004

Posted: Sunday, January 3, 2016 12:00 am

BY SHANNON KNIGHT | 0 comments
Many students feel that courses they are taking in high school are not relevant to
the field of study they would eventualy major in at a higher level of education.
Should a student who hopes to major in journalism be forced to take classes such as
chemistry, physics and calculus in order to graduate? Should a student who hopes
to major in biochemistry be told he must take three years of Spanish and four years
of English in order to get his diploma?

Instead of putting the focus on what really matters, preparing students for the real
world and life after high school, students are required to take that take up their
effort and time. And as any high school student knows, it is hard to make time for
hours of homework while trying to balance their health, a job and sports.
The problem with our current education system is that students are spending too
much time in classes that will get them nowhere and not enough time in classes
that will actually help them in life and their careers.
Students should be able to choose their own classes because it would prepare them
better for the real world. Students would have more motivation to learn and come to
school if they were given the opportunity to choose their own classes instead of
being required to take certain classes in order to graduate.
When students have the ability to choose what they would like to learn about, it
makes them more eager to engage with the material.
"Real learning thrives when students have real choices," says Huffington Post
columnist Blake Boles. "Give high school students the same freedom as college
students, and we'll take education a step in the right direction."
Students only want to take courses that would help them later on in life. Very rarely
do students feel they need to take advanced chemistry or calculus because it is
going to help them in real-life situations. Most students only want to take courses
that will prepare them for the real world. When high schools offer courses like
personal finance, public speaking or independent living, students are more willing to
take these classes because they know what they take away from these classes will
actually help them later on in life. When the students can apply their knowledge
learned in high school classes to their real life, that is a successful outcome.
Students have different minds with different interests, and it's unfair to
"universalize" the courses that every student at a school has to take. If a student
does well in and has a passion for English courses but struggles in math and science
courses, that student should have the freedom to take more literature so he or she
can thrive and learn about a subject that he or she loves.
Too many students are failing classes that they should never had to take in the first
place. Shannon Knight is a student at Mansfield High School.
Letting College Students Choose Their Own Courses
Written by Stacia Garland
letting college students choose their own coursesNo one knows more than a
teenager, just ask them and theyll tell you. Talk to a gifted teenager and you may
even get additional attitude. What happens when the child-who-knows-everything
wants to start college by choosing their own courses?

Reasons for letting college students choose their own courses:

The student is legally an adult by some definitions.
They are the ones who will have to do the work in the classes.
It is their career in the making, not the parents.
They are the ones who will have to live with their choices.
Reasons why you should have input on your childs college schedule:
The student may be an adult, but college is a whole new animal. They may be too
young or lack the wisdom in navigating their way through the college maze.
The student, in many cases, is not the one paying the bill. The parents may not
want to pay for a class on underwater basket weaving.
The average college student changes their major several times before deciding on a
career path, so without guidance from the parents they may waste a lot time.
Getting the basics out of the way first, while boring, at least does not waste time.
Additional Considerations:
Liberal Arts schools are notorious for encouraging students to take a diversified
schedule in order to explore many areas of study. Why should the college be overly
concerned if it takes your child five years instead of the traditional four to finish
their degree? Whats an additional $25,000 dollars between friends?
It is difficult for a parent who wants what is best for their child to pull back and let
their college age student independently make decisions. To what degree you
participate in your childs college decisions depends on whether or not you are the
one paying for the classes or more importantly, your particular parenting
philosophy. Some parents believe when their child goes off to college their parenting
job is essentially done and the child is now qualified to make their own choices.
Others believe they have an obligation to play the uncomfortable role of the active
parent, despite the childs natural tendency to rebel against parental participation in
their life. Realistically, it is difficult enough for students to make choices in a
supportive home environment with parents and trusted teachers. However, it is
quite another matter to make important educational decisions in a new, stressful
environment in which one is pulled in many directions and expected to make wise,
intelligent decisions without the experience to do so.
What You Can Do:
Though a broad range of course work may have its benefits for some college
students, other gifted students find their occupational passion early, so a more

focused curriculum will make them a more competitive candidate when seeking
graduate training. In that light, exposing your child to a wide variety of career
choices during high school can help them narrow their college academic focus.
For example, this may take the form of encouraging your child to volunteer their
services, take a part-time job during the school year and/or in the summer or talking
with individuals who work in fields in which they have some interest. In addition,
appointments with the high school guidance counselor may be wise as they are
generally skilled in helping the student to develop a broad view of career choices in
light of their own particular interests and abilities.

Activities which help your child to focus on their future before college will make it
less likely you will have to play as strong a role when they actually reach campus.

Keeping the gifted student on track can be challenging because while they are
learning and maturing by leaps and bounds, they are often the student who hops on
the horse and rides off in five directions. As your child is exposed to new areas of
study they may veer off in a various directions.

However, the gifted teenager has a lot to contribute to this world, and hopefully
with some early parental planning and guidance, they will find their niche. One in
which they feel passion and where they can use their potential to the fullest. Then
mom and dad can relax, or so it is said.

Student Blog: Should students choose their course content?

Blogger Laura Warner reflects on the UK governments higher education Green
Paper and argues that student choice and feedback are important, but only with the
right aims in mind

January 11 2016
students_speak.jpg
Student feedback
Laura Warner blogger By Laura WarnerEmail laurawarner93@gmail.com
What do we want? A simpler system with students at the centre.

And how are we going to achieve this? Improve teaching quality, open up the
higher education sector and drive value for money.
This is what the government Green Paper on higher education suggests and
encourages British universities to aspire to. Current debates in the higher education
sector are complex and wide-ranging: from fees to employability, from free speech
to student feedback. These are all contentious issues, and its virtually impossible to
establish a one-size-fits-all model, but theyre also all worthy of discussion, debate
and challenge.
I want to talk about one of the most recent developments in these discussions:
Should students have a say in their course content?
As much as we like to challenge the idea of students as consumers, arguing that
they are learners and that universities are not just service providers, education
is progressively becoming a commodity that we are buying into. As a result, todays
fee-paying students are beginning to demand more than ever before, forcing
universities to deliver a better service and value for money. One element of this
is: are students chosen courses allowing them to study what they want to study?
Your course is one of the most important parts of your university experience;
arguably it should be one of your main motivations for applying to, and accepting
the offer of, that university. As the content is what you will study for at least three
years, it should be interesting to you. It should challenge your existing knowledge
and advance your potential understanding. It should teach you new skills and hone
those you already have. It should teach you to think, whether thats about a
practical skill or a philosophical concept. It should motivate you and inspire you to
work and want to work.
But does this mean that students should have a say in their course content? I dont
think so. All students apply for a course: one that may not remain entirely
consistent throughout the duration of the degree, but one that follows the same
basic ideas and strands of teaching. That particular course may have particularly
appealed to the interests of some students, or be especially focused on a career

path desired by others, so should it be able to be altered once students have

embarked on it just because it doesnt fit some students preferences?
I chose my course because I was very interested in the geopolitics element: if, after
my first year, students had been allowed to vote that out of subsequent years, I
would have been angry and disappointed. Similarly, course content tends to match
the research interests of the universities and the teaching staff within them. It is
unrealistic to assign students the power of ultimate choice: it is impossible to
continually manipulate the teaching frameworks and lecturers within institutions
based on a year groups predilections.
Student choice does remain an extremely positive feature within some courses,
however. I was attracted to my university course because of the ability to choose
which modules I took, allowing me to specialise and pursue my specific interests,
even choosing to take a module from a different department. I wholly advocate such
flexibility, which allows students to tailor a generally interesting course to their
individual passions and gives them an opportunity to take increased responsibility
for their own learning.
Student feedback and student choice, however, are not the same thing. Student
feedback is not something that should receive the same scepticism. Since students
have chosen a particular course, one for which they are paying up to 9,000 a year,
they deserve to be considered and attended to as part of the ambition to achieve
teaching excellence. I believe that there should be platforms for students to voice
their opinions, be it through questionnaires, discussions or committees, and for
universities to take reasonable action as a result. Universities are constantly
encouraging students to improve their standards, their essays, their presentations
and students should be permitted to push universities to do the same. If the content
of a course is substantially different from what was advertised or expected, they
should be held accountable for that. If a course is disappointing and unengaging,
the department should be aware of that. If the course was too difficult or too easy, it
should be recognised. This is where choice is important for the student to improve
their academic university experience, and for the university to offer a more
inspiring, engaging and challenging educational setting.
Its not about a culture of demanding a prescribed service just because you paid for
it. Its about encouraging institutions to be better: to motivate a better education,
to support better students and create better environments for teaching and
learning.

Should students be given more freedom to choose their own courses and/or
teachers?
longzijun / 21 January 2011
This question is adapted from one suggested by Joyce, Amy, Garfield and Jenus (2E).
In our secondary school, the courses for junior form students are fixed, though in
Form 3, they can choose to take design and technology (D & T) or home economics
(HE). In Form 4 (Grade 1o), students enter one of four streams. If they perform well
in Form 3, they can get their first choice of stream, but do not have freedom to
choose courses within the stream. Should students be allowed more freedom in
choosing their own courses? If so, how much freedom should they be given? What
courses should be mandatory (i.e., every students must take the course)? How will
students know which courses to choose?

Also, I find that junior form students here study a LOT of subjects (15 to 17
subjects). Looking back at my education in Canada, I cant remember ever studying
more than nine subjects at one time. Is it really necessary to study so many
subjects at once? Are there any subjects that can be combined (e.g., Chinese and
Putonghua), alternated (e.g., geography in Form 1, history in Form 2) or offered as
electives

Course Selection Decisions by Students on Campuses With and Without Published

Teaching Evaluations
Wendy Bryce Wilhelm, Western Washington University &
Charles Comegys, Merrimack College

In spite of students increasingly vocal demands for access to official student

evaluations of teaching (SET), little is known about the relative importance of SET in
course selection decisions, and whether such evaluations are viewed by students as
a valuable source of information about an instructor or course. Using conjoint
analysis and a web survey to assess SET importance, we found that business
students on campuses with published SET rated course evaluations as less
important in course choice than students on campuses without published
evaluations. Moreover, student perceptions of the amount of useful knowledge
gained in the course and how lenient the instructor is in his/her grading practices
were found to have the greatest influence on course choice within the business
major.
College students in the U.S. first began evaluating faculty in 1926, but it was not
until the 1960s that student evaluations of instructors teaching effectiveness began
to be formally initiated on many campuses (dApollonia and Abrami, 1997). Today,
90-100% of colleges and universities across the U.S. engage in this practice (Trout,
2000).

The primary purpose of student evaluations of teaching (SET) is to provide faculty

with feedback to assist them in improving instructional quality. SET are also heavily
used by administrators when making personnel decisions involving tenure and
promotion (Haskell, 1997a; Marsh, 1987). A third critical user group is students,
who may use SET, when publicly available, to help them select which courses and
instructors to take.

In spite of students increasingly vocal demands for access to official SET (Foster,
2003; Tarleton, 2003), little is known about the relative importance of SET in course
selection decisions, and whether such evaluations are viewed by students as a
valuable source of information about an instructor or course. The course selection
process is an important area of investigation because of the serious impact course
choices have on the overall quality of and students satisfaction with the education
received, and on the career direction students take.

The present study replicates and extends a recent conjoint study conducted by one
of the authors that examined the relative influence or importance of SET and other
instructor attributes on business students preference for a set of hypothetical
courses in their major. The present study extends this original study -- which only
surveyed students from one university that does not publish their SET in any form -to business students from several U.S. universities that vary with respect to the
availability of published, online SET. This larger and more diverse sample allowed
us to examine the relative influence of SET on course choice for students who do
have access to published SET versus those who do not enjoy such access.

We first review the existing research on course choice and state the research
question investigated in this empirical study. We then describe the methodology
used -- choice-based conjoint analysis and the study findings. The paper
concludes with a discussion of the implications the findings have for understanding
and improving the course choice process and several limitations that reduce the
generalizability of the findings.

LITERATURE REVIEW and RESEARCH QUESTION

Validity of SET as a Measure of Teaching Effectiveness

Because of their widespread use and influence on promotion and tenure decisions, it
is not surprising that in higher education the most prevalent area of research has
revolved around the question of whether SET are valid measures of teaching
effectiveness. Well over 2000 articles having been written on the topic (Wilson,
1998). Some researchers report that student evaluations are generally statistically
reliable and valid predictors of overall teaching effectiveness (Braskamp,
Brandenburg and Ory,1984; Marsh, 1984; Whitworth, Price and Randall, 2002), while
some suggest that SET are primarily a measure of instructor popularity (Marks,

2000) or a measure of how hard/lenient the instructors grading practices are

(Greenwald and Gillmore, 1997). The current controversy over the validity of SET
may have a negative impact on students perceptions and use of evaluations in
course choice.

The Course Selection Process

Complexity of the Course Selection Process. Selection of the right course(s) may
be described as a high involvement, high risk decision-making situation because the
cumulative effect of the series of choices students make each semester/quarter
may impact their college major selection, their ability to take additional course
work, as well as their career direction and future employment opportunities. There
are a plethora of factors that students may consider in their course selection
decisions as they choose between competing and attractive course alternatives,
including perceptions about a courses workload, the instructors grading leniency,
the usefulness of the knowledge gained in the course, the instructors reputation,
and the times/days the course meets. According to Babad, Darley and Kaplowitz
(1999): In course selection, not one, but multiple, sequential and interdependent
decisions must be made concurrently. The projected utilities are sometimes
contradictory. . . and different courses are selected with different objectives in
mind (p. 157).

When a students objective is to select a course in his/her major that is taught by

more than one instructor, it is reasonable to expect that more time and effort will be
expended in order to assure a satisfactory outcome. This is confirmed by Babad et
al. (1999): Students reported their decisions about different courses are based on
different considerations, with most serious thought being devoted to selecting
among courses within their major field of study for upperclassmen, and to deciding
on courses that might help them test out a possible major for underclassmen. It is
on decisions about those (primary) courses that the students expend most thought,
and come closest to the optimum of rational decision making (p. 167). A rational
decision making process might also include a search for a heuristic or highly
credible information source to simplify course selection decisions.

The Role of SET in Course Choice. There are many sources of information available
to assist students in selecting a course. These include college bulletins, academic
advisors, course descriptions, course syllabi, student published course guides or
Web sites, informal word of mouth, and official, published SET. With respect to

making official SET available to students, many colleges and universities are
currently debating whether to publish evaluations of teaching effectiveness (Babad,
Darley & Kaplowitz, 1999).

Coleman and McKeachie (1981) found that instructor/course evaluations had an

impact on student selection of courses. Their results showed that students choose
the highest rated course in spite of its reportedly heavy workload. Several studies
have found that faculty reputation influences student course selection. In a study
involving section selection in multi-section courses, faculty reputation was found to
be a primary reason for section choice, and the most frequently cited source of
instructor reputation information was reports from other students (Leventhal,
Abrami, Perry and Breen, 1975). Borgida and Nisbett (1977) found that brief, faceto-face comments from students influenced course selection. Further, they
concluded that statistical student rating data had little impact on the course
selection decision. This finding is consistent with those of several other studies that
have reported that students prefer more concrete, anecdotal course information
over student evaluation data collected by formal, university-sanctioned instruments
(Borgida,1978; Coleman and McKeachie, 1981; Hendel, 1982).

In general, there appears to be some ambivalence surrounding the usefulness of

SET in course choice, with student-produced guides and word-of-mouth frequently
preferred over SET as an information source about an instructors teaching ability.
However, most of these studies were conducted in the 1970s and 1980s, and their
findings did not distinguish between students who had had direct experience with
using SET in course choice versus those who had not. It is conceivable that
students who have had access to and have used published SET to make course
choices over time may feel more or less positive about the diagnostic value of SET
than students who have had no direct experience with them.

Student Demand for and Availability of Published SET

Students across the country are now highly interested in making SET available
online (Haskell, 1997b; Tarleton, 2003). A recent survey of students to determine
their level of interest in published student ratings of instruction concluded that
students favor published ratings of instruction and rate the likelihood of potential
benefits from published evaluations as high (Howell and Symbaluk, 2001).
Numerous colleges and universities have responded to this call by publishing their

formal faculty evaluation data on-line. Other institutions have not prevailed in court
when they attempted to deny student access to SET (Haskell, 1997b, note 55).

Widespread student demand for instructor and course evaluation feedback online
for use in making informed course/instructor selections is further evidenced by the
recent emergence of Internet sites such as: pick-a-prof.com,
professorperformance.com, ratingsonline.com, RateMyProfessor.com,
ratingsonline.com, reviewum.com, whototake.com and teacherreviews.com. A
recent article in the Chronicle of Higher Education states: Students at . . . colleges
are increasingly seeking electronic access to their classmates evaluations of
professors. When administrators at some institutions fail to meet this demand, PickA-Prof often swoops in to woo student-government leaders (Foster, 2003, p. A33).

These sites generally present a compilation of informal and anonymous student

reviews and comments on faculty and courses, describe professional quirks, and
present testing and grading patterns (Lewin, 2003). Lawsuits have been filed
against several of these sites claiming defamation and intentional infliction of
distress (Anonymous, 2000; Carlson, 2000; Fisher, 2001). Resolution of the debate
on how the First Amendment applies to Internet speech with respect to potentially
libelous and slanderous postings on such sites will most likely have to be decided in
the courts.

Validity of Students Internet Site Evaluations of Professors as a Measure of Teaching

Effectiveness

Research on the validity of the information students record online concerning

teaching effectiveness is lacking. However, the limited evidence suggests that
online SET are primarily a measure of a professors popularity, findings similar to
those reported by Greenwald and Gillmore (1997) and others. For example, a
recent study by Felton, Mitchell and Stinson (2003) suggests that students highquality ratings of their professors posted on RateMyProfessors.com may not be a
valid measure of teaching effectiveness because these data are significantly
influenced by other factors. These authors concluded that the instructors
appearance and how easy he or she makes a course play a role in students ratings
of their professors quality of teaching.

The questionable validity and reliability of the instructor ratings provided by such
online sites suggests that university administrators might do well to develop their
own, potentially more valid SET instruments and make them publicly available to all
enrolled students. Such an investment on the part of universities requires evidence
that SET are a useful and important tool in course choice.

Replication and Extension of Original Study

In 2003, the first author investigated the relative influence of published SET,
grading leniency, course workload, and course worth (whether the faculty member
provides useful knowledge relevant to the students major) on hypothetical course
choice within a students major (Wilhelm 2004). The selection of these key
attributes was based on a review of the literature and on several pretests with
students. The study, involving undergraduate third and fourth year business majors
from an institution that does not publish SET, revealed that course worth, grading
leniency and published SET were the most important factors influencing course
choice or preference. These findings are consistent with earlier studies that
concluded that SET information plays a key role in course selection but is not
necessarily the most significant factor considered in the students decision making
process (Borgida, 1978; Borgida and Nisbett, 1977; Coleman and McKeachie, 1981;
Hendel, 1982; Leventhal et. al., 1975). However, as noted earlier, the
generalizability of these findings is limited by the fact that most respondents had no
real-world experience using actual SET to make course choices.

Research Question

The present study replicates the original study in an effort to further our
understanding of which attributes most influence student preference for a particular
course, and extends that research in an important way by surveying students from
universities that publish SET online as well as students from universities that do not
publish SET. If student experience with published SET has been positive (negative),
then we might expect SET to exert more (less) influence on course choice, relative
to the influence reported by students on campuses without published SET.

Research Question: Will the SET attribute be perceived as a more or less important
influence on course choice by students from campuses where SET are published
online versus students from campuses that do not publish SET online?