With the semester coming to an end, it’s time for students to fill out surveys of all their professors. However, I’ve noticed that things are a bit different this year. For most of my classes, I have received a survey request in the form of an email.

Basically, they ask me to take 10 to 15 minutes to fill out a Qualtrics survey about my professor. I’m sure most students have received similar emails, but I don’t recall getting them in years past.

Although I’m not sure about whether the professors have the option to choose between online surveys or handwritten ones, I have a problem with the survey in an optional online format.

When every student is required to take a survey in class while the professor waits in his or her office, the sample size is almost as large as it can possibly be and is representative of every student on campus. When the survey is sent via email, the sample size is decreased greatly and is not even close to representative of the entire class.

I say this because I’m considering the way I’ve approached the surveys. Like every other student at this time of year, I’m incredibly busy. When I see an email for an optional survey that could take a quarter of an hour to complete, I’m inclined to ignore it in favor of a more productive or more fun alternative. Of all the surveys I’ve been sent, I have completed only one.

Which brings me to my next point. The one survey I chose to fill out was for my least favorite professor at Eau Claire. I only followed through with it because I want people to know how negative my class experience was.

But what about my good professors? Yeah, I like them, but a good professor doesn’t get me nearly as riled up as a bad one. I’m happy that my professors are good at what they do, but that’s what I pay to expect from them.

Essentially, taking the survey process online turns it into a ratemyprofessors.com form of critique. When I browse that site, the majority of the reviews are negative. Even my favorite professors of all time have negative reviews (written in completely incorrect grammar, of course).

I’d like to go back to the old form of survey with large sample sizes and equal representation. Good professors deserve to be recognized for their work, and bad ones will be identified regardless.