ABSTRACT
Evaluation at the end of a course is used to ascertain how effective the student learning has been, to give an indication of the quality of the teaching and to assist in planning the course for the next time it is delivered. Evaluation can also be conducted by external agencies such as, in the United Kingdom, the Office for Students which has introduced the Teaching Excellence and Student Outcomes Framework at institutional and subject levels. Students may be the most appropriate source of information on some topics – clarity of the materials, access to resources – but they are not best-placed to comment about the currency and accuracy of the content. Nor can they gauge the standard/level of the material, and this type of information is more usefully gained from peers – which could be colleagues from within and/or beyond the institution, such as external examiners and panels that include employers or professional body representatives.
