Workload and student course ratings in dental school

Many faculty members express concern that the workload or difficulty of a course influences student ratings of the course. Research conducted in this area, however, shows that greater workloads are associated with higher course ratings and the workload/difficulty dimension of teaching does not seem to constitute a bias in student ratings. This study examined the extent to which workload was related to dental student course ratings. Over a three-year period, student course ratings were collected in 191 didactic courses. Based on student ratings of comparative workload, these courses were categorized as having high, medium, or low workloads. Courses with low workloads received significantly higher ratings from students for 11 of the 13 rating items. In contrast to previous research at the undergraduate level, student ratings in the dental school were significantly affected by the workload of a course. In the dental school setting, therefore, workload may serve as a biasing factor of student ratings. These findings have implications for providing rating feedback to course directors, administrators, and curriculum committees.