The Role of Course Evaluations

I very much appreciated your recent article describing Professor Maitland Jones’ distinguished career and controversial dismissal from NYU. I would like to ask: Where does Princeton stand on questions of pedagogical freedom and student rights vis a vis coursework?

As a student, I always found course evaluations helpful in deciding which classes to take, and from whom. For example, I took “Differential Equations” from Professor Howard Stone in large part because the course had been positively reviewed; those reviews spoke highly of Professor Stone’s commitment to his students, his creativity in presenting topics, his fairness, and above all, the difficulty and the value of the material. Although there are many complicating factors, I worry that Professor Jones’ recent experience at NYU reflects what I have heard called a “customer service” mentality in higher education. I hope that Princeton does not fall victim.