FAQ For Course Evaluations

FAQ FOR COURSE EVALUATIONS

 

1. FAQ's for Course Evaluations

Watch a video of how to access Course Evaluation information on Moodle for Faculty and Students


LOCATION OF EVALUATIONS ON MOODLE:

  1. Log into moodle - MOODLE.STFX.CA
  2. On the right hand side - there is a block "eXplorance BPI Moodle"
  3. The links are as follows:

Course Evaluations - access to the link for students,
Reports - access to reports current and past,
Response rates - real time response rates and timing of evaluations.
 

READING YOUR REPORTS:

CLASS AVG -  refers to your class average (the unique section you taught)

INST-DEPT AVG (XXXX) - refers to the average of the department to which you are assigned in banner, it does NOT mean the department of the subject of the course. (example: if you are assigned to the BIOL department but are teaching a NURS course - your average will be for BIOL)

INST-COLL AVG (XX) - this is the average of the faculty to which you are assigned.

StFX - overall average of the institute

RESPONSE RATES:  Click the reponse rate link in Moodle from the BPI block (located under the calendar on the right hand side) and the approproate course you are looking for (this is how many respondents submitted their evaluation).  The response rate is not given for the overall report as not all students answer all questions.  The total number of respondents is listed for each question in the report.
 

How can I access my past REPORTS?

Reports from Fall 2014 to present can be found using the blue links provided in your email OR you may access they by logging into MOODLE – locate the BPI Course evaluation block (right hand side under the calendar), click Reports and all reports available to you are there.  (if you see threshold not met – it could mean an evaluation wasn’t done OR (if paper based) wasn’t able to scan into the database.

Reports from before Fall 2014 “old card method” – you would have received your two page printout along with the only copy of the verbatim results.  IF you need access to the two page print out or a copy of the old style table of norms – please contact your department chair OR the AVP office


Where can I see my NORMS in the new report format?

The norms are embedded into each question. You will be able to see your own score (CLASS AVG), your department NORM (INST-DEPT AVG (XXXX) –this is the department to which the instructor is assigned not the subject of the course), your faculty NORM (INST-COLL-AVG (XX) – This is the faculty to which the department is assigned), and institute NORM (STFX) – all of the course evaluations done for that time period). 


NOTE TO FACULTY/CHAIRS/DEANS:

Evaluations will be completed online requiring no action from you, or your departmental administrative assistant..

If you would like to encourage participation in class – you can do so the same as if you were administering on paper.  The evaluation is accessible by ANY device connected to the internet.  If the student accidently deleted the link or didn’t receive it – they can access it through their MOODLE account as well.

You can monitor the response rate progress of your evaluation, you may do so through your Moodle account.  This could help you encourage participation over the course of the evaluation period to ensure high quality and rich data.

Due to the data being collected online – the verbatim comments will be in typed-text format – therefore handwriting and scanning will not be an issue.  Reports will be available shortly after marks have been submitted.  Links for reports can be accessed through Moodle, but a link to access the report will also be sent to you via email.

As per the AUT Collective Agreement, Article 2.2.5 Student Course Evaluations, participation in course evaluations is mandatory.  If there are less than 10 students registered in the course or it is your first time teaching the course, you may choose to opt out from the evaluation process.  Please see the AUT Collective Agreement, Article 2.2.5, section 4.1.1 for information.  

If you choose to opt out, you or your department Chair (or admin on behalf of the Chair) must inform me, Martin Capstick – by email (@email) at least 14 days before the end of the course so I may deactivate your course in BLUE.


NOTE TO STUDENTS

As part of our focus on improving the student experience at StFX, we are seeking your feedback for each of the courses you are completing this term.

The surveys are CONFIDENTIAL - at no time will your responses be linked to you.  Results for the reports are shown as sums and averages only.  The open ended comment questions are also not linked to any individual or response pattern. Evaluations results are not released to the professor until final grades have been submitted.

Please remember to click the “SUBMIT” button after you complete each survey.

If you are unable to complete the survey in one session, please make sure to save your evaluation by clicking the “SAVE” button. You can resume a previously saved evaluation by return to your original email containing the link to your course evaluation or access through your Moodle account. If your session times out prior to submitting, please return to your original email.
 
If you have any questions please contact the Survey Administrator, at oia@stfx.ca

 

GENERAL INFORMATION

Why is the University looking to implement new software to conduct course evaluations?

The software supporting the scantron cards for course evaluations that we are currently using is old and is no longer being supported.  If we do not move to a new system, and the current system ceases to function, we will not have a tool available to conduct course evaluations.   Also, in addition to that, the existing process of course evaluations is not working for all faculty, especially those who teach in an online or virtual environment.

What is Blue by eXplorance?

Blue is native Enterprise Feedback Management (EFM) software that provides a complete set of automated tools for authoring, testing, and distributing feedback forms, as well as collating and analyzing responses, and reporting the results in an organized way.

Will there be any change to the student questionnaire?

No, the questions on the survey will be the same as in past years.
 
At this stage, no modifications to the student questionnaire have been proposed and there is not an option for on-line evaluation. The ad hoc joint management-AUT committee on course evaluations may recommend changes to Senate at some point, which would be done in accordance with Article 2.2.5 of the Third Collective Agreement between the StFX Board of Governors and StFX AUT.

What is the new process for Faculty members in conducting course evaluations?

There is no real change to the process for faculty members.  With the course evaluations being done online – the faculty can monitor the response rates for each class through Moodle (https://moodle.stfx.ca).

Can I administer during class time?

If you would like to encourage participation in class – you can do so the same as if you were administering on paper.  An evaluation facilitator is required – same guidelines as before – Instructors are not to be in the room during the completion of the evaluations.  The evaluation is accessible by ANY device connected to the internet.  If the student accidently deleted the link or didn’t receive it – they can access it through their MOODLE account as well.  Students will receive and initial email on the first day of a course evaluation (7 days before the course end date) – and then receive two reminders – at day 7 of 14 of the evaluation period and again at day 11 of 14.

What is the new process for Administrative assistants in conducting course evaluations?

Administrative assistants have no action items for the online course evaluation process.

Do I need to print off evaluations that are for courses ending in April?

There is no printing requirement at all.

What if I teach a distance or online course?

The process is the same for all courses – no matter the delivery method

When will evaluation results be available?

Reports are automatically generated when the surveys have been completed.  The reports will not be accessible until the course is completed and all marks are submitted. An email will be sent to the Faculty member with a link to the report.  Access will also be available through Moodle.  Due to the online collection of data – scanning is no longer required – allowing for a much quicker turnaround of results.

How will the data be stored and accessed, and for what purpose?

The data will be used for the same reporting purposes that it is now.  It will be stored on a server in Montreal that will be leased by StFX.  The raw data from the surveys will only be accessible to the Office of Institutional Analysis, housed within the Office of the Registrar, and not by any third parties.

The student questionnaire provides students with an option to provide written comments as part of their response.  How will qualitative data be treated with the new software?

The written comments will be typed (as we are collecting data online) and stored as a text field.  The qualitative data will be stored in the database and will only be accessible to the Faculty member attached to the course evaluation.  The data will be included in their report that will only be accessible using the link emailed to them or their webFX login or Moodle account.

When will the transition to the new process be complete?

We will be piloting the new software in 2015-16 – The Senate ad-hoc committee will evaluate the fall term in mid to late January 2016 to determine next steps and moving forward.

What are the advantages of moving to this new software?

The new software will improve the efficiency of the course evaluation process as it eliminates the time currently being spent compiling, analyzing and formatting the data.  The template for the report will be designed ahead of time and the data will automatically feed into the report when it is available.

Who do I contact if I have questions?

Research Analyst, Office of Institutional Analysis
oia@stfx.ca 

Contact

Office of Institutional Research and Planning
@email

207 Nicholson Tower
2329 Notre Dame Avenue
Antigonish NS B2G 2W5
Canada