Course evaluations are open!
Fall 2024 deadlines:
- December 4 (condensed evaluation period)
- December 21 (default evaluation period)
Fall 2024 deadlines:
This page contains a summary of the Guidelines and Recommendations for the Interpretation of End-of-Course Evaluation Results [.pdf].
As a Teaching Assistant you are at the beginning of your teaching career and so stand to benefit significantly from feedback from students. These guidelines, especially on interpreting written comments, will help you benefit from the feedback; consultation with the instructor, academic unit head or trusted peers is strongly encouraged.
The sum of the “Total Number of Completed Evaluations” and the "Total Number of Declined Evaluations," divided by the “Total Enrollment in the Course or Course Section," expressed as a percentage.
The number of students who selected one of the options provided for the question.
The number of students who did not select an option for the question. Blank responses are NOT included in any calculations.
The number of students who entered a comment for the question.
The sum of all “valid responses” divided by the number of “valid responses”. Note: The closer the mean is to 5, the closer it is to “strongly agree/ excellent."
When using course evaluations to improve and enhance your teaching, numerical results are most useful for identifying strengths and weaknesses while comments provide insights for reflection. When looking at the results it is important to consider the following:
(e.g., “Overall Ěýthis instructor is an excellent teacher”; “I learned a great deal from this course”). Responses to these questions are found to correlate most consistently with measures of actual student achievement. Generally, results below 3.5 should be of concern, while 3.5 to 4 represent solid results, and mean scores over 4 are considered strong. As well, it is advisable to follow-up on any result that is more than .5 below or above the comparison mean (department, Faculty by level or class size).
Rating | Meaning (in general) |
---|---|
< 3.5 | Of concern |
3.5 - 4 | Solid |
> 4 | Strong |
When interpreting the numerical results, consider information such as the distribution of responses by item as well as the variation in responses. To understand the range of opinion, one should interpret the mean in conjunction with the shape and frequency of responses along the scale. Generally, differences that are less than .5 above or below the mean should be regarded as functionally equivalent.
If follow-up analyses are carried out on the data, do not look beyond 1 decimal place. Factors that have a statistically significant impact on course ratings do not usually result in meaningful differences.
This is because they can provide insight into why some students had difficulty learning or, conversely, why others succeeded. Written comments often help clarify and illuminate some of the observed numerical response patterns. (See the section below on Interpreting Students’ Written Comments.)
To help derive the most benefit from your results, we encourage you to discuss them with the course instructor, a trusted colleague, your academic unit head or someone from Teaching and Learning Services (TLS).
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Use this template to report on a specific course or course over time; simply download the file and enter the data in the appropriate cells. Note that there are multiple sheets (tabs) in this document. View the Guidelines for Interpretation for additional recommendations on how to report numerical results (specific course, specific term, and patterns over time).
Making sense of students’ written comments can be a daunting task; however, comments provide the insights and richness that help in understanding and interpreting student feedback. Approaching the comments in a systematic way can make the process easier and more meaningful.
Comments concerning clarity and difficulty, teaching strategies, course activities, assignments and assessments address areas that the instructor has the most opportunity to adjust and improve. For example, the comment: “He should present the material in a more structured and organized manner,” refers to course design and organization, aspects that the instructor can address.
Comments that fall in this area often reflect a shared responsibility between the instructor and the students and include topics such as interest and communication. For example a student’s course experience that elicits the comment: “Some students were just not interested in learning the material of this course” may have just as much to do with their motivation to learn in this area as it has to do with the instructor’s ability to facilitate an interesting course. An open discussion with students can help identify how these areas may be improved.
Comments related to organization and structure as well as the physical environment often require a concerted reaction from the instructor and the program administrator (i.e., Dean, Chair or Director). For example, the comment:Ěý “This course should be open to students in their first year” should be brought to the attention of the administration for consideration in program design.
Comments about the personal traits (for example, accent or apparent unfriendliness) of the instructor understandably often elicit strong emotions. These should be reflected upon and where appropriate and possible, potential strategies should be discussed with a trusted colleague or teaching support specialist.
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This document helps instructors make sense of students' comments and provide a framework for making decisions about appropriate next steps. This document contains the comments analysis worksheet.
While this web page is accessible worldwide, Â鶹Çř is on land which has served and continues to serve as a site of meeting and exchange amongst Indigenous peoples, including the Haudenosaunee and Anishinabeg nations. Teaching and Learning Services acknowledges and thanks the diverse Indigenous peoples whose footsteps mark this territory on which peoples of the world now gather. This land acknowledgement is shared as a starting point to provide context for further learning and action.