Yu, Kwok W.Mincieli, LisaZipser, Nina2023-02-092020-09-09Yu, Kwok W, Lisa Mincieli, and Nina Zipser. 2021. “How Student Evaluations of Teaching Affect Course Enrollment.” Assessment and Evaluation in Higher Education 46 (5): 779–92. https://doi.org/10.1080/02602938.2020.1808593.0260-29381469-297Xhttps://nrs.harvard.edu/URN-3:HUL.INSTREPOS:37374296This paper examines the relationship between student course evaluations and course selection by quantifying how changes in undergraduate course ratings correlate with changes in enrollments at a large research university in the northeastern United States. We find that an improvement in a course’s overall course rating (from year t-1 to year t) tends to be followed by an increase in a course’s enrollment (from year t to t+1). The magnitude of this effect differs by course type, with the strongest effect observed in the general curriculum and a smaller effect found in departmental courses. This supports other research that finds a correlation between unofficial course ratings and enrollments in general curriculum courses. We also find that an increase in a course’s difficulty rating (from year t-1 to year t) tends to be followed by a decrease in a course’s enrollment (from year t to t+1) for general curriculum courses, but not for departmental courses. Therefore, selection of general curriculum courses is much more sensitive to student evaluations than courses offered in a field of study.en-USEducationJournal Article2023-02-0910.1080/02602938.2020.1808593