Evaluation Instruments and Good Practices in Online Education

Chickering and Gamson’s (1987) Seven Principles for Good Practice in Undergraduate Education offers extensively researched and validated tenets for best practices in higher education. After a review of the literature, twenty-eight evaluation instruments currently used to design and review online courses in higher education institutions were collected and divided into categories, based on geographical reach and the type of institution for which they were developed. This study investigates how evaluation instruments used in higher education assess the Seven Principles for Good Practice in Undergraduate Education, and what other items are addressed in the evaluation of courses. Findings show that national and statewide evaluation instruments were less institute specific and more closely aligned to the principles of good practice, and that evaluation instruments often measure extraneous items (e.g., student services, navigation, resources, or institutional support). Additional findings and conclusions based on the analysis of the instruments are discussed.