Student evaluation web sites as potential sources of consumer information in the United Arab Emirates

International Journal of Educational Management

Volumn 25, Issue 5, 2011, Pages 410-422

  Wilkins, Stephen ^a   Epps, Alun ^b  

^a UNIVERSITY OF BATH   (United Kingdom)

^b UNIVERSITY OF DUBAI   (United Arab Emirates)

Author keywords

Consumer information; Function evaluation; Higher education; Student attitudes; Student evaluation web sites; Students; United Arab Emirates; Web sites

Indexed keywords

EID: 79959216419     PISSN: 0951354X     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1108/09513541111146341     Document Type: Article

References (39)

1. Abbott, R.D., Wulff, D.H., Nyquist, J.D., Ropp, V.A. and Hess, C.W. (1990), “Satisfaction with processes of collecting student opinions about instruction: the student perspective”, Journal of Educational Psychology, Vol. 82 No. 2, pp. 201–6.
2. Ahmadi, M., Helms, M.M. and Raiszadeh, F. (2001), “Business students' perceptions of faculty evaluations”, International Journal of Educational Management, Vol. 15 No. 1, pp. 12–22.
3. Arbuckle, J. and Williams, B.D. (2003), “Students' perceptions of expressiveness: age and gender effects on teacher evaluations”, Sex Roles: A Journal of Research, Vol. 49 Nos 9/10, pp. 507–16.
4. Badri, M.A., Abdulla, M., Kamali, M.A. and Dodeen, H. (2006), “Identifying potential biasing variables in student evaluation of teaching in a newly accredited business program in the UAE”, International Journal of Educational Management, Vol. 20 No. 1, pp. 43–59.
5. Baldwin, G. and James, R. (2000), “The market in Australian higher education and the concept of student as informed consumer”, Journal of Higher Education Policy and Management, Vol. 22 No. 2, pp. 139–48.
6. Becker, R.F.J. (2009), International Branch Campuses: Markets and Strategies, The Observatory on Borderless Higher Education, London.
7. Carini, R.M., Hayek, J.C., Kuh, G.D., Kennedy, J.M. and Ouimet, J.A. (2003), “College student responses to web and paper surveys: does mode matter?”, Research in Higher Education, Vol. 44 No. 1, pp. 1–19.
8. Centra, J.A. and Gaubatz, N.B. (2000), “Is there gender bias in student evaluations of teaching?”, Journal of Higher Education, Vol. 71 No. 1, pp. 17–33.
9. Coladarci, T. and Kornfield, I. (2007), “RateMyProfessors.com versus formal in-class student evaluations of teaching”, Practical Assessment, Research and Evaluation, Vol. 12 No. 6, pp. 1–15.
10. Davison, E. and Price, J. (2009), “How do we rate? An evaluation of online student evaluations”, Assessment and Evaluation in Higher Education, Vol. 34 No. 1, pp. 51–65.
11. Delucchi, M. (2000), “Don't worry, be happy: instructor likeability, student perceptions of learning, and teacher ratings in upper-level sociology courses”, Teaching Sociology, Vol. 28 No. 3, pp. 220–31.
12. Drummond, G. (2004), “Consumer confusion: reduction strategies in higher education”, International Journal of Educational Management, Vol. 18 No. 5, pp. 317–23.
13. Ewing, V.L., Stukas, A.A. Jr and Sheehan, E.P. (2003), “Student prejudice against gay male and lesbian lecturers”, Journal of Social Psychology, Vol. 143 No. 5, pp. 569–79.
14. Felton, J., Mitchell, J. and Stinson, M. (2004), “Web-based student evaluations of professors: the relations between perceived quality, easiness and sexiness”, Assessment and Evaluation in Higher Education, Vol. 29 No. 1, pp. 91–108.
15. Fries, C.J. and McNinch, R.J. (2003), “Signed versus unsigned student evaluations of teaching: a comparison”, Teaching Sociology, Vol. 31 No. 3, pp. 333–44.
16. Gerson, J. (2010), “Inflation of grades is widespread, study says”, The National, January 23, available at: www.thenational.ae/apps/pbcs.d11/article?AID=/20100124/NATIONAL/701239914/0/FRONTPAGE (accessed 20 March 2010).
17. Greenwald, A.G. (1997), “Validity concerns and usefulness of student ratings of instruction”, American Psychologist, Vol. 52 No. 11, pp. 1182–6.
18. Hardy, N. (2003), “Online ratings: fact and fiction”, New Directions for Teaching and Learning, Vol. 96, pp. 31–8.
19. Hemsley-Brown, J. and Goonawardana, S. (2007), “Brand harmonization in the international higher education market”, Journal of Business Research, Vol. 60 No. 9, pp. 942–8.
20. Kindred, J. and Mohammed, S.N. (2005), “He will crush you like an academic Ninja! Exploring teacher ratings on Ratemyprofessors.com”, Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, Vol. 10 No. 3, available at: http://jcmc.indiana.edu/vol10/issue3/kindred.html (accessed 23 March 2010).
21. Langlois, J.H., Kalakanis, L., Rubenstein, A.J., Larson, A., Hallam, M. and Smoot, M. (2000), “Maxims or myths of beauty? A meta-analytic and theoretical review”, Psychological Bulletin, Vol. 126 No. 3, pp. 390–423.
22. McGhee, D.E. and Lowell, N. (2003), “Psychometric properties of student ratings of instruction in online and on-campus courses”, New Directions for Teaching and Learning, Vol. 96, pp. 39–48.
23. Marcus, J. (2010), “Comparethemarket.edu”, Times Higher Education, March 11, available at: www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/story.asp?sectioncode=410679 (accessed 14 March 2010).
24. Marginson, S. (2004), “National and global competition in higher education”, Australian Educational Researcher, Vol. 31 No. 2, pp. 1–28.
25. Marsh, H.W. and Roche, L.A. (2000), “Effects of grading leniency and low workload on students' evaluations of teaching: popular myth, bias, validity or innocent bystanders?”, Journal of Educational Psychology, Vol. 92 No. 1, pp. 202–28.
26. Mazzarol, T. (1998), “Critical success factors for international education marketing”, International Journal of Educational Management, Vol. 12 No. 4, pp. 163–75.
27. Menon, M.E. (2004), “Information search as an indication of rationality in student choice of higher education”, Education Economics, Vol. 12 No. 3, pp. 267–83.
28. Naidoo, R. (2007), Higher Education as a Global Commodity: The Perils and Promises for Developing Countries, The Observatory on Borderless Higher Education, London.
29. Otto, J., Sanford, D.A. Jr and Ross, D.N. (2008), “Does ratemyprofessor.com really rate my professor?”, Assessment and Evaluation in Higher Education, Vol. 33 No. 4, pp. 355–68.
30. Papacharissi, Z. and Rubin, A.M. (2000), “Predictors of internet use”, Journal of Broadcasting and Electronic Media, Vol. 44 No. 2, pp. 175–96.
31. Pounder, J.S. (2007), “Is student evaluation of teaching worthwhile? An analytical framework for answering the question”, Quality Assurance in Education, Vol. 15 No. 2, pp. 178–91.
32. Riniolo, T.C., Johnson, K.C., Sherman, T.R. and Misso, J.A. (2006), “Hot or not: do professors perceived as physically attractive receive higher student evaluations?”, Journal of General Psychology, Vol. 133 No. 1, pp. 19–35.
33. Schmelkin, L.P., Spencer, K.J. and Gellman, E.S. (1997), “Faculty perspectives on course and teacher evaluations”, Research in Higher Education, Vol. 38 No. 5, pp. 575–92.
34. Smith, W.L. and Pino, N.W. (2005), “College students, the academic ethic, and academic achievement”, Virginia Social Science Journal, Vol. 40, pp. 52–67.
35. Sonntag, M.E., Bassett, J.F. and Snyder, T. (2009), “An empirical test of the validity of student evaluations of teaching made on RateMyProfessors.com”, Assessment and Evaluation in Higher Education, Vol. 34 No. 5, pp. 499–504.
36. Symons, R. (2006), “Listening to the student voice at the University of Sydney: closing the loop in the quality enhancement and improvement cycle”, paper presented at the Australian Association for Institutional Research (AAIR) Forum, Coffs Harbour, available at: www.aair.org.au/2006papers/Symons.pdf (accessed 23 March 2010).
37. Timmerman, T. (2008), “On the validity of RateMyProfessors.com”, Journal of Education for Business, September/October, pp. 55–61.
38. UAE Interact (2009), “UAE population likely to cross 5m”, available at: www.uaeinteract.com/docs/UAE_population_likely_to_cross_5m/37283.htm (accessed 12 February 2010).
39. Wachtel, H.K. (1998), “Student evaluation of college teaching effectiveness: a brief review”, Assessment and Evaluation in Higher Education, Vol. 23 No. 2, pp. 191–211.