In support of Columbia Business School's commitment to teaching quality, the Samberg Institute offers students information about the results of Course Evaluations for all electives for the current academic year.
Students complete evaluations each semester for every course in which they are enrolled. The evaluation forms have both quantitative and qualitative questions. The data for the quantitative questions is analyzed by the Samberg Institute. The results of the electives are made available to all students. The best way for us to receive feedback about faculty is through the evaluations at the end of the class (especially the qualitative comments).
The ratings for each of the quantitative questions are calculated using a bounded influence estimator, BIE, which diminishes the role of outliers but does not eliminate them. Briefly, the BIE is calculated using an iterative process. First the arithmetic mean is calculated. Then a closed interval with boundaries 1.4 units above and below this mean is generated. All outliers lying outside this interval are moved to the closer boundary, and a new arithmetic mean is calculated. This procedure is followed either until two consecutive means agree to one decimal place or three iterations have been completed. In practice, almost all BIEs converge after two iterations.
Additional Course Evaluation Information