Online Course Evaluations
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is PNC piloting an online process for course evaluations?
How will students and faculty be notified about the course evaluations?
Who will know whether a student has completed a survey or not?
Are the survey responses anonymous?
Is it easy for students to complete the surveys?
Do the surveys allow for student comments?
How soon will course evaluation data be available to deans, department heads and faculty?
What do I need to do as an instructor to promote success with this process of online course evaluations?
What if students have technical issues with submitting course evaluations for their courses?
Why is PNC piloting an online process for course evaluations?
Utilizing an online process for course evaluations has several advantages over the paper process. Besides savings in costs and labor, the software being piloted for online evaluations allows for greater flexibility in how data is reported and can provide the results in a more timely fashion. If the product under consideration is adopted, it will also allow departments and/or colleges to add question sets to the survey to address the individual reporting needs of their programs. Additionally, online surveys accomodate the growing number of online and hybrid courses being offered at PNC.
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How will students and faculty be notified about the course evaluations?
Instructors will receive an email informing them that the course evaluation process will be starting. It will let faculty know that the students will receive their first email asking them to participate in the course evaluation process. The email to the students will provide them with the information needed to complete the surveys for each of their courses. Instructors will receive reminder emails every three days to prompt them to encourage their students to participate in the process. Student who have not yet completed surveys will also receive reminder email correspondence.
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Who will know whether a student has completed a survey or not?
The software program sends out the reminder emails to students who have not completed the surveys. Faculty members will not know who has completed a survey or not. However, deans and department heads will have access to survey completion tracking data and will be able to see who has and has not submitted surveys from their department and/or college.
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Are the survey responses anonymous?
The responses to the survey are anonymous. Logins are used only to prevent students from taking a survey more than once. Survey data and login data are not associated in any of viewable reports.
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Is it easy for students to complete the surveys?
While filing out the survey form is really quick and easy - just a click of a radio button - access to the surveys may require some Internet browser adjustments on student home or work computers. A problem with cookies when using Internet Explorer has been reported. Students are encouraged to do one of the following in order to successfully complete their course evaluation surveys:
- Use Mozilla Firefox instead of Internet Explorer. The CoursEval™ Team prefers the use of Mozilla Firefox. Firefox can be downloaded for free. Click here to access the download site.
- Allow cookies in Internet Explorer. Click here for instructions.
- Students may opt to complete the course evaluations from campus computers in the student labs. These computers have Mozilla Firefox installed.
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Do the surveys allow for student comments?
Three areas are available for student comments on the online forms.
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How soon will course evaluation data be available to deans, department heads and faculty?
Reports can be accessed after grades have been submitted. For the spring of 2008, grades are due on May 12. Data will be available on May 13. The dean's secretaries are trained to access reports from the survey software and can assist faculty and administrators with viewing the results.
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What do I need to do as an instructor to promote success with this process of online course evaluations?
You are asked to promote, encourage and motivate your students to complete surveys for your courses. Stress the importance of evaluation data to your students. Inform them of its use in planning, restructuring, and revising courses and programs at PNC and in helping PNC instructors to improve their instruction. You may choose to give extra credit or other incentives for completion of course evaluations. It is up to the individual instructor to use some type of incentives or not. For the spring 2008 pilot, all students who complete surveys will be eligible for a drawing for prizes. The prizes are mentioned in the student email that goes out informing them of the course evaluation process.
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What if students have technical issues with submitting course evaluations for their courses?
Students should contact Madonna Trittle with technical problems. Her contact information is provided on the emails that students receive.
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