Abstract

It is essential to run a continuous improvement system for the Plan-Do- Check-Action cycle to be achieved and sustained. It is inevitable to consult stakeholder opinions to determine the improvable aspects of the activities carried out in the quality process. Student opinions, the main subject of educational activities, are one of the most critical data sources for continuous improvement. It is recommended to consult students’ views in all processes from the planning to the output of courses, which are the cornerstones of education programs. When the field is examined, it is seen that the number of studies in which students’ opinions are sought to evaluate the quality of the courses is quite limited. This study, built around the main problem “How to design a lesson effectively in all processes, from planning to assessment and evaluation?” is a scale development study. It is thought that a lesson plan designed with the data obtained based on student opinions will increase the quality of the lesson. It is known that the programs which carry out the quality and accreditation process use different questionnaires in the continuous improvement mechanism to measure the quality of courses. 636 students from Hitit University participated in this study in 2022. The scale's validity was evaluated using exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis. The scale has a four-component structure with 24 items, according to the results of the exploratory factor analysis. Confirmatory factor analysis revealed that the fit indices were within a reasonable range. The reliability coefficients the factors were 0.93, 0.91, 0.86, and 0.93, respectively, with a Cronbach’s Alpha coefficient for the full scale of 0.94. This finding indicated that the scale items had a high degree of internal consistency and that the scale was made up of objects with a strong tie. According to the correlation study, all of the scale’s variables had a tangible link. It can be said that the “Course Evaluation Scale (CES),” which was developed as a result of all these analyses, is a valid and reliable measurement tool consisting of 24 items that can be used to measure the effectiveness of a course taught in higher education, according to student opinions.