As the semester winds down, most students look forward to the one day in class when the professor leaves 15 minutes early so the class has time to fill out Student Perception of Teaching course evaluations.Although many students see this 15 minutes as a get-out-of-class-early pass – one minute to randomly pencil in some bubbles, then it’s a rush to the door – it should be taken seriously.

Course evaluations come just once a semester, and it is the students’ chance to voice their opinions, likes, dislikes, compliments and complaints about the class they’ve spent 42 hours in over the past 14 weeks. Use this time wisely.

This semester, don’t blow off evaluations. Although it is tempting to simply fill in a row of bubbles, it’s important for the professor and his or her future students that the evaluations be as complete as possible. This means filling out the free responses in the comment section, too.

It’s true. The professors read these evaluations and seriously consider the critiques. Any student who has ever complained about a class now has the opportunity to have his or her voice heard by the person who can actually do something about it.

This 15 minutes, though it could be spent perusing Frog Bytes or getting a jump on the line at The Main, could potentially enhance an already good course, or could save next semester’s student from the torture you endured for the past four months.

Get in tune with the holiday spirit, take the 15 minutes to fill out SPOT course evaluations, and give a gift to professors and to the student who will be sitting in your seat next semester.

News editor Bailey Shiffler for the editorial board.