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Frequently Asked Questions (and Their Answers)
When is the last day I can opt
out of the centrally administered process?
The last day to complete the
opt out form to
remove your course from the list of those receiving an automatic
survey is Friday, November, 18 at 5:00 pm.
What does the centrally
administered survey look like? What questions does it contain?
An example of the survey used can be seen by
clicking here.
The survey only includes the core eight questions and a text box for
additional comments.
What results will I receive, if I
participate in the centrally administered process:
When the survey has expired,
Institutional Research will run a program that compiles the results
of each section's student evaluations. The report provided to
the instructor will essentially contain the following information:
- Number of students enrolled in
the course
- Number of students who
participated in the survey
- Percentage of students who
participated in the survey
- Likert scale response
statistics for each question (mean, frequency of each scale
value)
- Compilation of all comments.
There will be no aggregate summary
of results, nor will any specific results be reported to anyone
other than the faculty members, themselves.
These questions are the same as
those used on the cafeteria forms. Are there plans to evaluate
these and/or change them? This was one of the issues for
moving away from the cafeteria forms as it was presented in the
senate documents.
Yes, this are the same questions that were on the cafeteria
forms last year. Yes, there are plans to move away from these
questions. Part of this process will be to start a discussion
within each of the schools/departments to determine what quality
teaching looks like within that discipline. From there the
group will be encouraged to develop questions that measures those
qualities and characteristics. Once determined, these
questions will then make up the core questions for that
school/department. The reason we are using the old eight
questions is because at this time there are no other "approved"
questions to use and this will provide those going up for tenure
soon some consistency in reporting.
I am concerned that my response
rates will not be as high as when I used the old cafeteria form.
What should I do?
Moving the evaluations online does come with some risk; however,
there are some things you can do to help improve your response
rates. They include sending reminder notices to students,
offering a small incentive, and, most importantly, completing a
survey mid-semester and informing the students of the results.
For more details and ideas, review the information on
Improving Response Rates.
Do I have to come to one of the
training sessions?
No, the
training sessions are
for those people who want to know more information, have specific
questions, or want to develop their own surveys.
I am going up for promotion and
tenure this year or early next year. What do you suggest I do?
While there isn't a single answer for all cases, if you are
going up for promotion and tenure soon, I would suggest using the
paper
process. This will provide the closest replication
of what you have done in the past. However, I would also
strongly encourage you to talk with your department head, in order
to determine their perspective.
What algorithm will be used to
evaluate the results and in what format will faculty receive
feedback?
The faculty will receive a table that contains the question, the
number of responses for each option, the mean, and a compilation of
all comments. This is still being finalized by Institutional
Research.
Will department heads be able to get
the evaluations for guest lecturers?
At this time, all data is considered "owned" by the instructor
teaching the course. It is planned that all results will be
mailed to the department in care of the specific instructor. I
would suggest working with them to review the data or have them sign
a release so you can open the results when they are sent to the
department.
What results will be sent to me, if
I use the paper process?
The results sent to you, if you choose the paper process, will
include a histogram for each question and a page of statistical
analysis for each question. A sample of the reports that will
be sent to you can been seen by clicking on these links:
histogram and
statistical analysis
Will I be able to use these options
for my summer classes?
Yes, these options should be available for you to use in the
summer.
How do I know for sure that my
course has been excluded from the centrally administrated option?
The list of courses that have opted out of the centrally
administered process is available by
clicking here.
Will students that have dropped from
the course still be able to complete an evaluation?
Only students that will receive a grade on their report card can
complete the survey. This means that students who withdrew and will
receive a "W" on their report card can complete the survey. |
