Along with the stress of finals at the end of the semester comes the ritual of instructor and residence hall evaluations.

For the last few weeks of school, evaluations become a normal procedure for students. Students can be found in the classroom and the residence halls filling out the famous green scan-tron sheets.

“I always give a good evaluation unless I have a really bad instructor because they are teaching you something, aren’t they?” said Christie Eckhoff, a freshman in liberal arts and sciences.

Students are always urged to take the evaluations seriously, and the outcome of the evaluations can make a difference, department chair persons said.

John Eighmey, department chairman for the Department of Journalism and Mass Communication, said evaluations are worthwhile.

“It provides a regular means of gathering important information from students,” Eighmey said.

J.D. Beatty, assistant dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, said teacher evaluations give the professor feedback.

“It lets them know how effective their teaching style works and if there is a need for improvement,” Beatty said.

Beatty said each professor must submit his or her evaluations at the end of the year along with a yearly review. “The evaluations give the administration evidence on the effectiveness of the instructor,” he said.

The evaluations also are reviewed by the department chairs and the Promotion and Tenure Committee, Eighmey said.

“The evaluation looks at the instructor’s teaching, scholarship, outreach and service,” Eighmey said. “[The evaluations] play an important role in the annual evaluation and a predominant part in the promotion and tenure services.”

The journalism department uses two standard questions throughout the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. Eighmey said there are about 10 questions which pertain specifically to the journalism department on the evaluation.

“From my experience as an instructor, I think students take the evaluations seriously, as do the instructors,” Eighmey said. “The journalism department has a strong teaching tradition, and the instructors