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Now that we're all settling into the rhythms of the semester, it might be a good moment to schedule a Facilitated Course Assessment (FAC). An FAC is a great way to gather some informal, formative feedback from your students about how your course is going.

This Faculty Hub service is facilitated as a dialogue between students and a Faculty Hub consultant. FACs are designed to provide instructors with specific, extensive feedback about student learning in their course. A 25-35 minute conversation takes place without the instructor present, which ensures student anonymity, creating an opportunity for open, honest dialogue about the learning experience. Read the Faculty Hub’s overview of facilitated course assessments for more information.

FACs have been shown to improve classroom climate by building a better rapport between students and their instructors (Redmond & Clark, 1982). They can play a role in increasing students' motivation and desire to excel in class (Hurney et al., 2014).

If you would like to find out more information about this service or schedule a facilitated course assessment in one of your classes, please email facultyhub@richmond.edu.

For further reading: Hurney, C. A., Harris, N. L., Prins, S. C. B., & Kruck, S. E. (2014). The Impact of a Learner-Centered, Mid-Semester Course Evaluation on Students. Journal of Faculty Development, 28(3): 55-62.

Redmond, M. V. and Clark, D. J. (1982). Student group instructional diagnosis: A practical approach to improving teaching. AAHE Bulletin, 34(6). http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED217954.pdf