Online Course Evaluations: Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Students
Instructors
Department Administrators

Students

Course Evaluations system login: https://www.udel.edu/course-evals

1. Are my responses really anonymous?
   Please be assured that your responses in the Course Evaluations system are not associated with your name. All student feedback submitted for the course is reported together. Your anonymous course feedback, together with other students’ anonymous feedback, is shared with the course faculty and department chair.

2. Was my evaluation submitted?
   The Course Evaluations system counts a completed evaluation as any percentage greater than zero. Students may continue to edit their responses until the evaluation is closed.

3. I missed the deadline. Can the evaluation be opened again?
   UD IT can only reopen an evaluation at the request of the instructor or department course evaluations administrator. After a deadline has passed, please talk to your instructor. Each instructor would make this decision for classes they teach.

4. I dropped a course, but can I still complete an evaluation?
   Students on the course roster with a status of "withdrawal" are unable to participate in online course evaluations for the dropped class.

Instructors

Course Evaluations system login: https://www.udel.edu/courseevaladmin

1. I’m a new faculty member. What do I need to do?

• Confirm your courses are listed under the “Courses I Teach” section.
• Confirm your courses have questions assigned.
• Coordinate communications to your students with your department’s course evaluations administrator.
• Support your students with their non-technical questions about course evaluations.

Your department administrator can provide support for your Course Evaluations questions. You can report technical concerns to IT with this form: http://www.udel.edu/courseevalhelp
This will create a support ticket.

2. What happens if there are several instructors or TAs?
   Each course number has only one evaluation, even if there are multiple instructors. The students answer the evaluation questions in sections. First they are asked to evaluate “instructor A” and are asked all of the instructor questions. Next they are asked to evaluate “instructor B” and answer the same questions again. This cycle continues depending on the number of instructors selected to be evaluated. Finally, students are asked to evaluate the course and are asked the course questions.
   
   When the evaluation results are provided, instructor A can only see the answers from when the student was asked to evaluate them and the answers from when the student was asked to evaluate the course. Instructor A cannot see answers provided to the questions about instructor B and vice versa.

3. I’m also a student. How do I complete evaluations for my classes?
   When you login to http://www.udel.edu/course-evals/ and see the instructor page, look for the tab at the top titled “Respond”. This will allow you to complete your evaluations in your role as a student.

4. The system says 2 students responded, but I can’t see the results.
   Instructors will not be able to view student responses right away if less than 3 students completed evaluations. The system makes those responses available to instructors after the next semester (Spring or Fall).
   
   Instructors can make a request to their department chair if they need to view the responses earlier. If the chair approves the request, then the department administrator should be able to generate a report of the evaluation responses and share that information with the instructor. We rely on the department chair’s discretion to release the results since the chair knows the overall situation.
   
   UD IT does not set policies for departments about sharing these results. We can only suggest that you consult with your department chair.

5. Can an evaluation be reopened for a student who missed the deadline?
   The instructor determines if they would like to reopen online evaluations and then would request a course evaluation to be reopened with this form: http://www.udel.edu/courseevalhelp
   
   Please note, we do not allow evaluations to be submitted after grades have been distributed. Students should not be allowed to edit their evaluation based on the grade they received.
   
   IT also can’t open an evaluation for a specific student. Evaluations would be reopened for every student in the course.

Department Administrators

Course Evaluations system login: https://www.udel.edu/courseevaladmin

1. I’m a new department administrator. What do I need to do?

• Check the courses in your department that should be participating in course evaluations.
• Confirm that all participating courses have the correct instructors and TAs flagged to be evaluated. Instructors and TAs are read from UDSIS. If an instructor or TA is wrong or missing, correct the error in UDSIS.
• Confirm that cross listed courses are shown as expected.
• Confirm that all of your participating courses have questions assigned.
• Remind your faculty to login to the system before evaluations open to make sure that their courses are listed under the “courses I teach” section. Also remind your faculty to check that their courses have questions assigned.
• Manage communications to students about your department’s course evaluations.
• Support faculty and students in your department with their non-technical questions about course evaluations.

You can report technical concerns to IT with this form: http://www.udel.edu/courseevalhelp
This will create a support ticket.

2. How do we change the evaluation dates for a specific course?
   IT can customize the dates that course evaluations open and close. Provide the course number(s) and dates with this form: http://www.udel.edu/courseevalhelp

3. An instructor or TA is missing from a course.
   Course information is loaded into the Course Evaluations system from UDSIS. A missing instructor is an indication that something is not set-up properly in UDSIS. If you are not able to update the UDSIS information, then please contact the Registrar’s Office.

4. How do I get access to Course Evaluations?
   Access requests must be authorized by the department chair. Please ask your department chair to submit this form to authorize your access as a department course evaluation administrator: http://www.udel.edu/courseevalhelp

5. Can IT change the question assignments for our department?
   IT supports technical problems with the Course Evaluations system, but each department is responsible for managing their evaluations. The administrator interface for Course Evaluations can be cumbersome, but IT does not have access to any “shortcuts” or automated methods for changing question assignments.
   
   Step-by-step instructions for managing question assignments are provided on this help page: https://services.udel.edu/TDClient/32/Portal/KB/ArticleDet?ID=454