Price, Kindle, Nesbitt recognized for leadership in student impact

Roby Hill
June 10, 2021
Yuri Peterson and Shannon Drayton drawing names
Yuri Peterson, chair of the Assessment Committee, and Shannon Drayton, assistant dean for the curriculum, draw names for evaluation participation prize

Katelyn Price, Ashley Kindle, and Luke Nesbitt were recognized on June 8 for their leadership in shaping the future of the MUSC College of Pharmacy, from influencing its curriculum to improving its classes to impacting the careers of its faculty.

How did these students accomplish such herculean tasks? They filled out their evaluations. Filling out evaluations is such a routine part of modern education, it is easy to lose sight of just how important they are… and how much difference they make.

“Student participation in our evaluations is vital to maintaining the highest quality curriculum and the Assessment Committee uses the evaluation data extensively,” said Yuri Peterson, chair of the committee. “MUSC pharmacy students get to have a lot of impact on the very education they receive. We’re grateful to all students who participate in evaluations, and to Katelyn, Ashley, and Luke for setting the standard this year!”

Shannon Drayton, assistant dean of curriculum and assessment, encouraged participation by offering a $50 gift certificate to the student in each of the didactic classes who had the highest evaluation participation. A number of students in each class tied for the honor, so Peterson and Drayton drew the winning names out of a hat. Or rather, the mortar and pestle.

In addition to using student evaluations in deliberations by the Curriculum Committee and the Assessment Committee, individual faculty use the evaluations to shape their own courses. Faculty and course evaluations are also part of the review process when a faculty member goes up for promotion.

“One of the highlights of the semester for me is to go through and read student comments, both good and bad,” Drayton said. “It is fun to see how they have passion for a course and how they could improve it for the future. And it’s not always about improvement – faculty are incredibly appreciative to find out how much a student enjoyed a course.”