Student Feedback Survey
Student Feedback on Courses
History
In 2013, SMC began the transition from paper to online course evaluation. This transition began during the Spring with two schools, Science and Education. In the Fall of 2013, the system was introduced to the Schools of Liberal Arts and Economics and Business Administration to complete the entire campus conversion. Over the next two years, the SMC community adjusted to the new online process.
In the Fall of 2015, the Academic Senate formed the Academic Senate Course Evaluation Task Force (the Task Force) to study the course evaluation form and the evaluation process. After a three-year process of committee meetings, a faculty survey, a student-course pilot study, in Spring of 2018 the Task Force presented it's final report to the Academic Senate. The Academic Senate adopted the Task Force recommendations to course/teaching evaluations, as a departure from standard previous approaches at SMC and many other institutions. Instead of focusing on the course or the instructor, as did the previous course evaluations, the Student Feedback Survey focuses on student learning. The new form was rolled out campus-wide during the Fall 2018 terms.
Process
SMC uses Explorance Blue learning experience management software to automate and implement the student feedback survey. This online system allows students to access their surveys from any Internet available location and confidentially rate their SMC learning experience. Undergraduate faculty are asked to conduct the Student Survey online in class during the last two weeks of classes before finals. Timing for graduate and professional programs are varied. After surveys close and course grades are distributed, the aggregate ratings and feedback from the survey responses become available to SMC faculty and administrators in a report format. Please review the process(es) at a glance below:
Full Semester-Length Courses
→ Open for 2 weeks (UG courses)
→ Week 14: Survey opens, but only faculty will get notification.
→ Week 15: Students will get email reminders.
→ Sunday following Week 15: Survey closes
→ Reports are released after the date grades are due for the term.
Short Semester-length, Quarter, Jan Term, Summer
→ Opens at 88% completion of the course length
→ Faculty notification at 87% completion of the course length
→ Survey will stay open up until 2 days after the last day of class; meaning full-length quarter courses will have it open for about 10 days while half-quarter will have it open for 4-5 days.
→ Reports are released after the date grades are due for the term.
Student Feedback Questionnaire
SMC uses Student Feedback Survey form for all courses.
Courses Included
Currently policy is for all courses to be included in the feedback survey. Courses with fewer than 3 enrolled students (i.e. independent study, internship, special study) or courses that did not reach 3 responses are not reported to the faculty but are available to administration.
Access to the Student Feedback System
All students receive an invitation and reminder emails containing links to access surveys for the courses they are enrolled in. They can also access the surveys via Canvas (Go to "Account" under SMC logo, Click "Student Feedback Form").
Undergraduate Students will be invited by their faculty to participate during class time in the last two weeks of regular classes. The survey will close before the final grades are due.
Faculty are invited to view their course information through SMC email; the email contains a link to the survey information page. The link will lead to a survey completion tracking dashboard.
Statement for Student Volunteer to Read Before Students Take the Survey:
"The purpose of the “Student Feedback Survey” is to reflect on our experiences and learning in this course. Significantly, this survey provides the instructor with greater insight into student learning so that the instructor can improve the course in the future. This is intended to be an opportunity for growth for both students and the instructor. Consequently, it is important to take this survey with the seriousness that it deserves. Please take your time and answer questions fully with honesty, responsibility, and fairness. This is an anonymous survey. It is important that you fill it out individually (that is, not in conference with others in the class) and the results of the survey will not be traced back to any one student either by the instructor or Saint Mary’s College.
Now you may start the survey."
Questions?
Please email courseevals@stmarys-ca.edu