For the past few weeks I’ve been soliciting information from other LIS schools around the country about their course/instructor evaluations. Of the 15 schools that I’ve sent emails to, I’ve got responses from 9 of them (so far). It’s interesting to note that only one of these 9 allows their students to view the completed evaluations (and with heavy restrictions). The rest of them don’t even allow a view of the final reports.
I think we should consider ourselves lucky for having access to both the paper evaluations (outside the Lounge) and the LISSA website (http://gslis.simmons.edu/evaluations).
Evaluations at other LIS Schools
September 21st, 2008 by adminEnhancements to the Online LISSA Evaluations
September 14th, 2008 by adminWe have made improvements to the LISSA’s Online Evaluation website (available at gslis.simmons.edu/evaluations): an extra column was added with a simple average for all the instructors teaching a course (surprisingly, it is called “Course average”) and the averages for Question no. 9 have been tweaked to make them a little bit more descriptive (and hopefully, more useful).
Check them out, (ab)use them, let me know what you think!
New LISSA Officers
September 14th, 2008 by adminHelen Boos, Shanti Freundlich, Molly Caple (Student-Faculty representatives) and Abi Sweeney (Secretary) are the new LISSA officers. Please join me (in thought or in action 
in welcoming them to the Library and Information Science Student Association. I hope that you will use them, as well as the other members of LISSA, as “sounding boards” for your suggestions, concerns, and issues – big and small – during your time at GSLIS.
Welcome aboard !
Professor Allen Smith
September 10th, 2008 by adminProfessor Smith has dedicated many years to the students of GSLIS; his commitment to the teaching profession has been absolute and the hundreds of students that have taken his classes can bear testimony to his excellence.
Please consider making a donation to the ‘Professor Allen Smith’ Scholarship Fund; you can make a check payable to:
Simmons College
Memo: Professor Smith Scholarship Fund
Checks can be mailed to:
Simmons College GSLIS
Attn: Professor Smith Scholarship Fund
300 The Fenway
Boston, MA 02115
Faculty meetings
September 10th, 2008 by adminAs an experiment …
… I am thinking of putting some information on the weekly announcement /blog about the most recent Faculty Curriculum meeting. For example, one of the interesting things was the update on the Simmons College’s project of putting the student evaluations online (some of you have taken part in this pilot this summer). More details are available on the LISSA wiki: http://gslis.simmons.edu/mw/lissa/Summary_of_09/10/08_Meeting
For those that don’t know …
The GSLIS Faculty meets every month to discuss issues related to School – for example, reports from the Rank and Tenure and Technology Committees, hiring of new faculty members, potential collaboration with other schools, etc.
There are also a number of Curriculum meetings, where the focus is on the curriculum evaluation and development (and also Advising Day issues). The students (represented by LISSA) are invited to take part in these meetings and we are also asked to relay any feedback from you to the Faculty.
So, if you have any questions/concerns/comments about the School, do let me know and I will make sure that your voice will be heard.
LISSA Evaluations
September 3rd, 2008 by adminIt seems that very few incoming students are aware of the evaluations that we are all filling at the end of the semester, available in paper format in the binders outside the Lounge, and in electronic format on the companion website (at http://gslis.simmons.edu/evaluations). Take a look at the binders, explore the website, let us know what you think – what you like, what you dislike, what do you find the most useful, etc.
Also …
We (that is, LISSA) strongly believe that you have the right (and responsibility) to make an informed decision when choosing your courses. These tools (along with your adviser and your fellow students) are an invaluable source of information that will make choosing a course a lot less stressful.
…
Here there everywhere
September 3rd, 2008 by adminThis year we have decided to try something new, and we will have a “standing appointment”. During the month of September, 2 LISSA officers will be available in the Lounge, every Monday from 5 to 6 PM (umm, 5:55 PM, we have classes too ). In the beginning, myself and Kim Giedd (LISSA Treasurer) will be there to answer any questions that you might have about all things LISSA (and anything else).
Furthermore…
… starting with the month of October we will change the date when the LISSA officers will be available. This way, we are hoping to “catch” as many of the GSLIS students.
Depending on the level of interest from the students, we will consider expanding these meetings to twice a week.
.
Elections (for LISSA, not the other ones)
September 3rd, 2008 by adminWe are recruiting for a secretary and 2 faculty-student representatives.
Take a look at the descriptions for positions (available here: http://gslis.simmons.edu/mw/lissa/LISSA_Elections). If you’d like to be a part of LISSA, or if you know someone interested, fill out the information on this nomination page.
If you need some more arguments…
Both of these positions offer great visibility in GSLIS, not to mention that you get to talk to the Simmons faculty members outside of the classroom and take a closer look at the inner workings of the School. These positions are excellent stepping stones for bigger and brighter things in LISSA (wink-wink).
For the secretary position, the amount of work required is fairly small and distributed all throughout the semester. Hannah Sears is our current secretary and she can give you some more information.
For the student-faculty representatives positions, the work involves attending the Faculty meetings (always on Wednesdays) and occasional meetings with the Curriculum Advisory Committee. If you want more information on this position, you can contact me (Adrian).
Volunteer early !
June 10, 2008
June 10th, 2008 by adminHello everyone,
This week’s posting will be short: just a few words about myself (only fitting, since you’ll probably be receiving messages from me from now on – might as well know who’s clogging your Inbox with messages) and a few words on the upcoming GSLISCE workshops.
Cheers,
Adrian Mitescu
LISSA President
April 30, 2008
April 30th, 2008 by adminHey Hey LIS Kids,
Whoa whoa whoa, where did the semester go? Well my fellow Library students, classes are ending, people are graduating, the weather is starting to behave itself, and summer is right around the corner. So before you head off to break for the lovely month of May, check out what is happening in your GSLIS neck of the woods.
The following posts include LISSA elections (nominate yourself!), LISSA evaluations, EoS Paar-tay, upcoming workshops, FREE coffee, and a mentoring presentation.
Best,
Cheryl Kohen
LISSA President, Boston