Course Evaluation Institute: Call for Proposals
September 20th & 21st, 2023
Faculty Club, St. George Campus, University of Toronto
Call for Proposals
2023 CEI: Emerging Trends in Course Evaluations
We are pleased to announce the Call for Proposals for the upcoming CEI. The Course Evaluation Institute (CEI) is an invitation-only conference for professionals administering and using course evaluation systems in higher education, developed in partnership between the University of Toronto and Explorance. This conference aims to bring together policymakers, researchers, educators, and practitioners to explore and discuss the multifaceted aspects of course evaluations and their impact on higher education institutions. It will serve as a platform for sharing innovative ideas, best practices, and research findings related to course evaluations, with a focus on promoting excellence in teaching and learning and institutional effectiveness.
The theme of the 2023 CEI is “Emerging Trends in Course Evaluations”. We aim to create a space for course evaluation policymakers, researchers and practitioners to carry out deep-level dialogues and draw reflections from the shifting landscape related to course evaluations and teaching and learning in higher education through the past five years since we last met in person prior to the pandemic.
Ideas and Questions to Consider
- What are the best practices for visualizing survey data?
- How can we leverage pre-attentive visual properties in designing course evaluation data visualizations?
- How can we apply the “Design Thinking” framework to create course evaluation data visualization products that provide meaningful and relevant experiences to academic administrators, faculty, and students?
- How do we know whether the course evaluations are providing accurate and useful information for their intended purposes?
- How can we combine the practice of establishing criterion validity, face validity, content validity and construct validity into an integrated evaluative judgement as per Messick (1992)[1]’s argument?
- What are the techniques for establishing validity by driving constructs from naturalistic qualitative research?
- Are reliability analyses such as Cronbach’s alpha and confirmatory factor analysis still relevant to the course evaluation instrument?
[1] Messick, S. 1992. The interplay of evidence and consequences in the validation of performance assessments. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the National Council on Measurements in Education. San Francisco, CA: April.
- What are best practices for working with responses to open-ended course evaluation questions, especially when handling student comments of concern?
- What supports does your institution provide for instructors and administrators reviewing student comments (e.g., written guides, worksheets, text analysis tools)?
- What are the alternative approaches to visualize qualitative results from course evaluations other than using Word/Theme Cloud?
- How are course evaluation data used at your institution (e.g., for processes of promotion, etc.; for program review; for student course selection)?
What system design choices support the use of course evaluation data for institutional improvement (e.g., design of reports, creation of dashboards)?
- How can we manage the data input and data output processes more efficiently?
- How can we reduce the amount of manual data management when dealing with a large volume of evaluations with resource constraints?
- What are the best project management tools for improving process efficiency?
- How can institutions comply with data protection regulations while utilizing technology for evaluation purposes?
- How can evaluation tools and systems integrate with existing institutional technologies, such as learning management systems, student information systems, or data analytics platforms?
- What improvements could be made to course evaluation frameworks and systems to advance EDIA, considering both students and instructors?
- In what ways do course evaluations currently serve and advance EDIA, and how can we enhance those outcomes?
- How can course evaluation practitioners promote discussion around course evaluations and EDIA in evidence-grounded ways that are responsive to the communities we serve?
Proposal Guidelines
- Proposals should include a title, an abstract (a minimum of 250 words but not exceeding 300 words), keywords (up to 5) and a brief biographical statement of the presenter(s).
- Presentation formats may include podium presentations, panel discussions, interactive workshops, and course evaluation report showcases.
- Please specify the preferred presentation format and indicate any specific requirements.
- Please include two to three key takeaways from your session (if someone were unable to attend your session, what key research findings/practical experiences would you want them to know?)
- Proposals should be submitted via this form or by scanning this QR code:
Proposal Format
Podium Presentation: 20 minutes (15-minute presentation, plus 5-minute discussion period)
Share an approach, present empirical findings, examine theoretical or methodological issues in one of the listed topics or suggest your own topic.
Featured Podium Presentation: 45 minutes (30-minute presentation, plus 15-minute discussion period)
An extended version of the Podium Presentation. Please note that we have limited spots for this type of presentation. If you haven’t connected with the 2023 CEI Planning Committee to discuss your proposed topic, we encourage you to do so before submitting your proposal.
Panel Discussion: 60 minutes
With a panel of colleagues, address different topics related to the conference theme and/or its sub-questions. Topics may raise issues and include insights from practice, research, or both. Panels may relate to one discipline, or several disciplines, or integrate insights gained from working in an interdisciplinary/multi-disciplinary way. Panels should involve three to five panellists and a moderator and should include a discussion period of 15 – 20 minutes.
Interactive Workshop: 90 minutes (a minimum of 30-minute interactive activity must be included)
Take participants through the process of designing and implementing a strategy or approach that you have used, and the insights gained and/or the research and literature behind those strategies or approaches. Workshops should include interactive activities and provide opportunities for participants to consider the application to their own institutional use of course evaluation data.
Course Evaluation Report Showcase: 10 minutes (5-minute showcase, plus 5-minute discussion period)
Share an example of a course evaluation report for different types of stakeholders in your institution. It doesn’t have to be a Blue generated report. We expect you to share your thoughts, experiences, the rationale behind the practice and feedback from stakeholders.
Proposal Review Criteria
Proposals will be reviewed based on the following criteria:
- Relevance of the proposal to the conference theme.
- Demonstrated understanding of issues related to course evaluations and teaching and learning.
- Extent to which proposal ideas are situated within the relevant literature or best practices.
- Relevance across disciplines.
- Clarity of intended session objectives/learning outcomes.
- Appropriate engagement of conference participants (for workshops and panels).
- Overall clarity of the proposal.
Important Dates
- Proposal Submission Deadline: June 30th, 2023
- Notification of Acceptance: July 17th, 2023
We encourage policymakers, researchers, educators, and practitioners from all disciplines and educational settings to contribute to this conference. This is an excellent opportunity to share your insights, experiences, and research findings with a diverse audience and to engage in meaningful discussions that can shape the future of course evaluations.
We look forward to receiving your proposals before June 30th and to welcoming you to the CEI in September.
