Illinois Tech conducts midterm and end-of-course (EoC) student evaluations. All Illinois Tech midterm and EoC evaluation surveys use a standard set of Core Questions, approved by the University Faculty Council. The primary purpose of these course evaluation surveys is to provide instructors with student feedback on their courses. All student course evaluations are voluntary.
Midterm Course Evaluations
Midterm course evaluations are distributed to students around the midpoint of a given semester (usually 6 weeks after classes start). They provide instructors with formative student feedback. They allow students to reflect on their courses and what they have learned so far while giving instructors data they can use to make immediate course adjustments if necessary. As a result, midterm evaluation results are shared only with the instructors.
End of Course (EoC) Evaluations
EoC evaluations allow students to provide summative feedback on their course and instructor at the end of the term. Some academic units and programs have additional questions determined by the unit. Survey results are typically made available to instructors after final grades have been submitted. Core Questions results may be summarized and analyzed across Illinois Tech to identify trends, best practices, and opportunities for improvement.
Data Visibility
All evaluation data and reports are hosted in Blue. Midterm evaluation data and reports are only available to instructors. EoC narrative data (i.e., student comments) is shared only with instructors, not with departments according to UFC recommendations. EoC Non-narrative data is available to departments, Deans, and Provost. Instructors who wish to further share individual reports or narrative data may share their reports using the PDF download in Blue. Visibility to data follows faculty reporting hierarchies, as indicated in the chart below.
| Individual faculty | Department chairs (where relevant) | Deans + other leadership requested by a dean | Provost and Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs |
|---|---|---|---|
Individual course reports with all comments from students (Faculty cannot access any other faculty member’s reports) | Departmental reports Individual faculty course reports, without student comments. | College-level reports Departmental reports Individual faculty course reports, without student comments. | University-wide report College-level reports Departmental reports Individual faculty course reports, without student comments. |
Illinois Tech course evaluations use “Core” questions approved by the University Faculty Council (UFC) so students may evaluate the course and instructor. Some colleges and programs include additional questions specific to their college or program. Non-narrative EoC evaluation data may be rolled up, reported, effectively analyzed, with the potential to result into actionable goals across university levels. Courses with more than one instructor repeat the EoC instructor questions for each instructor. None of the questions on either evaluation are required.
Midterm Survey Questions
Midterm responses are shared only with individual instructors.
Instructions: The goal of the midterm survey is for you to have an impact on the courses you are currently taking. You will have an opportunity to evaluate your course and your instructor/s separately. Your responses will be shared only with your instructor/s.
Please indicate your level of agreement with the following statements. (Scale: Strongly Agree, Agree, Neutral, Disagree, Strongly Disagree, Not Applicable.)
Evaluation of the Course
- Class meetings begin and end on time.
- I can hear/read the lecture material clearly.
- Assignments, quizzes, and exams reflect the material covered in the course.
Comments on the Course (open text)
- Please provide any additional context or feedback on any course-related topics, such as your favorite or least favorite aspects of the course thus far. (Please save comments about a specific instructor for the next section.)
Evaluation of the Instructor
- The grading criteria and course expectations were clearly explained.
- The instructor is well prepared.
- The instructor welcomes questions.
- The instructor provides meaningful answers.
- Regular office hours were clearly communicated.
- The instructor is respectful of cultural/human diversity and students with disabilities.
Comments on the Instructor (open text)
- Please use this space to elaborate on any of the above questions about your instructor.
Thank you for participating in this evaluation. Student course evaluations apply to the courses and instructors only. If you would like to discuss university services other than courses, please email the Dean of Students’ office, at dos@iit.edu.
End-of-Course (EoC) Core Survey Questions
Please indicate your level of agreement with the following statements. (Scale: Strongly Agree, Agree, Neutral, Disagree, Strongly Disagree, Not Applicable.)
Evaluation of the Course
- Class meetings began and ended on time.
- I could hear/read the lecture material clearly.
- Assignments, quizzes and exams reflected the material covered in the course.
- The learning environment was engaging (e.g., encouraged class participation and/or active learning or related course material to “real world” situations).
- The course material and assignments were useful learning aids.
- Compared to other Illinois Tech courses, the intellectual challenge of this course was above average.
- I would recommend this course to a friend.
- How many hours a week outside of the specified class period did you spend on this course?
(Response options: 0-3, 3-6, 6-9, 9+) - Expected grade in this course. (Response options: A, B, C, D, E)
Comments on the Course (open text)
- Please use this space to elaborate on any of the above questions about the course.
Evaluation of the Instructor
- The instructor was well prepared.
- The instructor welcomed questions.
- The instructor provided meaningful answers.
- Regular office hours were clearly communicated.
- The instructor was respectful of cultural/human diversity and students with disabilities.
- The instructor’s use of technology was effective and appropriate for the course.
- The grading criteria and course expectations were clearly explained.
- Feedback on graded material (comments and/or solutions) helped me learn.
- If given the opportunity, I would take another course with this instructor.
Comments on the Instructor (open text)
- Please use this space to elaborate on any of the above questions about your instructor.
- Please identify the strengths of this instructor’s teaching as well as areas in need of
improvement.
College-Specific Questions follow, if any, then:
Thank you for participating in this evaluation. Student course evaluations apply to the courses and instructors only. If you would like to discuss university services other than courses, please email the Dean of Students’ office, at dos@iit.edu.
- Surveys are conducted regularly during each semester.
- Evaluations are limited to courses with 4 or more students enrolled. Course sections cross-listed with the Registrar's Office are combined to meet this threshold; sections shells merged in Canvas by instructor request are not.
- The following types of courses are intentionally excluded from the survey: Thesis, Independent Study, and Internship courses, ROTC courses.
- Students receive an email containing a link to the survey landing page when evaluations open. The landing page contains links to a survey for each course in which the student is enrolled during the current semester. Additional links and access to evaluations are in Canvas or Coursera, and in the Illinois Tech Portal.
- The Midterm Evaluation launches in the 6th week of the semester and is available to students for 2 weeks. The midterm evaluation is formative assessment. Instructors are encouraged to talk to their students about their interest in student feedback and their plans to use this feedback to improve both their course and their teaching effectiveness. Midterm evaluations reports are only available to instructors.
- The End-of-course survey distribution varies by college or program, yet is typically available to students two weeks before final exams and remains available to students up until final exams begin. Results are made available to instructors after final grades have been submitted.
Blue, by Explorance
With the Fall 2024 EoC evaluations, student course evaluations across all colleges will be administered by the Center for Learning Innovation (CLI), using survey software, (or Explorance Blue). The Blue system automates the digital delivery of surveys, including distribution and reminder emails; FERPA compliant integration with our LMS systems (Canvas and Coursera) and Banner; and customizable reporting features directly accessible to faculty.
When evaluations are available, both students and instructors may access Blue evaluations and personal dashboards in a few ways:
- direct link delivered by email
- direct "Course Evaluation" link in the course learning management system (currently Canvas or Coursera)
- additionally, in Canvas, through a "Course Evaluation" link under Profile.
- "Course Evaluations by Blue" link under Tools in the Illinois Tech Portal. (Search "Blue" and it pops up right away)
Due to changes in the survey platform over time, data from past semesters is stored in a separate system. CLI has compiled much of this data. Those seeking data from past semesters (pre-fall 2024) should fill out the form. Be sure to include as much detail as possible, the specific term, course id (CRN is ideal), instructor, course name, and anything else that might help locate the data. Please allow at least 2 weeks for CLI to search for the data as it is not all stored in the same way and is not easily retrievable.
A growing body of literature suggests that the use of student evaluations of teaching for personnel decisions regarding faculty is problematic. Specifically, these evaluations have been found to be influenced by a host of course characteristics unrelated to teaching effectiveness, such as the time of day the course meets, the subject, class size, whether the course is required, and the gender of the instructor (Feldman, 1978, 1979, 1984, 1992, 1993; Kember & Leung, 2011). Moreover, student course evaluations have been found to be only weakly correlated with other measures of teaching effectiveness and student learning (Boring, Ottoboni & Stark, 2016; Uttl, White & Gonzalez, 2017).
Therefore, academic departments should use a peer assessment process to evaluate faculty teaching performance. This process can include a statement of teaching philosophy, course syllabi review, peer observations of teaching performance using a rubric developed for this purpose, and self reflections on course evaluation results from the student survey. Each academic department is free to design their own process. Also, CLI staff are available to consult with departments who would like our help in developing a process.