Missed PIE Deadline Pardoned for Second Straight Term

After a significant portion of the student body failed to submit and complete the Post-Instructional Evaluation (PIE) surveys this fall, students and faculty alike are questioning the efficiency of PIEs as well as the efficiency of the PIE deadline.The Academy’s Student Council implemented the surveys in order to provide the student body with the opportunity to offer anonymous feedback to instructors following the completion of each term; however, this is the second consecutive term that participation in PIE has waned and been excused.This fall was the third administration of the surveys since their introduction last winter, and the PIEs encompassed a number of changes. The updated surveys were revised from the general template administered for all classes and tailored to fit specific areas such as academic classes, sports and music. PIEs were also streamlined and shortened for students.

“It’s always helpful to get feedback and the PIEs are a helpful reminder for us to be conscious of how students perceive and understand.”

This fall’s survey submission period was two days shorter than that of previous terms, closing at noon on Wednesday, Nov. 25, only one day after finals.Director of Studies and English instructor Brooks Moriarty explained that the completion period was shortened for several reasons. He said that “the students were getting hit with lots of surveys leading into the ‘test’ days” and that he “didn’t want to encroach too much on student vacation time with ‘school business.’”In order to remind the students of the time sensitivity of this fall’s surveys, Moriarty sent out an email to the entire student body on Nov. 20. In the email, Moriarty outlined the submission process and noted that each incomplete PIE would result in an unexcused absence. However, many students were unable to complete the surveys on time due to the comparatively shorter submission period of this fall’s PIEs.“I was so wrapped up in studying for finals, packing and trying not to miss my flight home that I completely forgot to do the PIES,” lower Emily Pelliccia said. “I got eight dickeys and thought I was going to get stricts, which was stressful.”Because of the large number of students who shared Pelliccia’s experience, Moriarty offered an alternative method of submission. After receiving several emails from concerned students after the survey’s closing, Moriarty allowed students to complete the survey on a Word document and submit it via email or print out the completed survey and send it to the Dean’s Office. “In retrospect, more time was needed, so I will make sure that happens in the future,” Moriarty said.Many students, however, failed to complete their PIEs not because of the shortened time period but rather because they had forgotten about the surveys. Lower Emily Green, for example, said, “I had been sleeping for pretty much two days straight when suddenly I realized I had forgotten to do my PIEs.”Some students said the fact that so many of their peers either could not or forgot to complete the PIEs indicates a lack of care for the surveys and questions the efficiency and necessity of the current system.“Mr. Moriarty had to let students make up the PIEs. That just shows how many people didn’t do it and how students don’t really appreciate the surveys,” upper Caroline Davis said. “Students forgetting to complete the surveys shows that they don’t care about them, and as a result, the process is ineffective and inefficient. Since this seems to be the case, what’s the point of [PIEs]?”Others said that even those who do complete the survey do so lackadaisically and seem to not care about the PIEs. Senior Henry Behrens said, “I just open them and click, click, click, then boom. I’m done. I don’t really pay attention to them. I just fill them out because I don’t want dickies.”Lower Gavin Hickey countered the negative feedback given in response to the PIEs. “They’re simple and easy. People should just do them when they first come out,” he said.History instructor Nolan Lincoln said that it’s discouraging as a teacher to hear that students do not seize the opportunity to provide constructive feedback to their instructors. He added that it is even more disappointing to hear that students are completing the surveys without thought, even though the PIEs were originally the student body’s initiative. “As a teacher, when I hear that I think, ‘why should I even care about the PIEs?’” Lincoln said.Lincoln said that he hopes the students who do not recognize the importance of interactions between teachers and students, like PIEs, is a minority at Exeter. He noted that PIEs, if all—both students and faculty—do their part, have the potential to be a valuable resource for the school.“Student experience is essentially what it’s all about. [As an instructor,] you want to know how they’re doing and how they perceive things. It’s always helpful to get feedback and [the PIEs] are a helpful reminder for us to be conscious of how students perceive and understand,” Lincoln said.Lincoln added that the only flaw in the survey might be its generic questions while acknowledging the difficulties in achieving specificity in a school-wide survey. “I think the questions in the surveys are important questions we should be asking ourselves,” Lincoln said. “But because it’s a school-wide review, it has to be a little more general. So it’s harder to be course-specific.”Moriarty said that the PIEs are still a work in progress and that the surveys will be improved to better suit and benefit both students and faculty.“It’s still not perfect, and I would [also] like to allow each department to craft a few questions that are department-specific. For example, English teachers should be able to ask about feedback on papers,” Moriarty said. “I don’t know if I can make these changes happen this year, but I plan to work on that.”