Online Course Evaluation System Overview

Transcription

1 Online Course Evaluation System Overview Updated Sep. 15, 2010 Maintained by Eli Snir General Information Beginning in Summer 2010 nearly all Olin course evaluations are conducted online, using the system developed by the university. Access to the evaluation system, including historic results, is available to all active university members, including students, faculty, and staff. To log on to the system, go to: using WUSTL Key username and password. For step-by-step instructions on using the system, please see the appendix. Each audience has a customized screen when entering the system. For faculty the welcome screen has various search options. The most useful are: Search only the following college s courses (here choose Business) Any part of an Instructor's LAST Name, OR Course Name OR Course Number When searching for historical results, remember to choose either a specific semester or All Semesters. It is probably better choose the latter, since courses are not always attributed to the correct semester. For each section of each course Chart Averages, Details and Student Comments are available. All users can see Chart Averages and Details. Student Comments are only seen by the individual faculty member and administrators. By default, average scores are presented. Median scores are included only in the Details page, once a course is archived. An overview of the relevant pages: Chart Averages: Averages for each question (on a score of 1-10); Detail Averages: Averages and median scores for each question, average scores for all users of the same evaluation template during the relevant semester (denoted by S), and the average score comparisons within the department in the relevant semester (denoted by D). This page also displays the number of students designating each score. Note: median scores are only available after a course is archived; Comments: A compiled list of general comments from students. At times the system is quite slow. Be patient when waiting for pages to load. [1]

2 After the Archive period (see below) median scores are included in the Details page and a PDF report is available for the Details page. Availability of Results Results of student evaluations are currently unavailable until the semester is archived. This usually occurs at the end of each complete semester (Fall, Spring, Summer). We are looking into methods for disseminating evaluations in a timelier manner. PDF reports and median scores are only available when the semester is archived. Course Evaluation Period The timeframe for evaluating each course varies by program. Different programs have different class and exams schedules constraining the evaluation timeframe. A few general issues for all courses: Students should be encouraged to bring laptops to the last class session and have time in class to submit their on-line evaluation. The following timeframes are general guidelines. At times the evaluation period may vary due to factors specific to a course. If a faculty member would like to change the evaluation period, please contact the relevant program office. Currently EMBA Shanghai classes are not using the online system. Students are notified regarding the course evaluation period by the program office. They also receive reminders to complete the evaluation. Timeframes for evaluating courses: BSBA / Ph.D. For all semester courses the evaluation period is 2 weeks prior to the last reading day. For mini courses the evaluation period is the week prior to the last day of class. MBA / PMBA / Specialized Masters Semester-long and Mini courses: The evaluation period is the week prior to the last class meeting. Week-long: The evaluation period is from Thursday afternoon until Friday Weekend: The evaluation period is from Saturday afternoon until Monday night [2]

3 EMBA Courses: Evaluations will be available from the last day of class for 10 days. Themes: Are currently not evaluated using the online system. In classes that meet on-campus students are strongly encouraged to complete the evaluations in class during the last session. Kansas City classes cannot complete evaluations in class for technical reasons, at this time. Other Issues: Evaluation Template Currently a single template (i.e., questionnaire) is used throughout the business school. This is the same questionnaire that was used in the paper forms. Custom Questions A faculty member can add questions to the online questionnaire for each section of the course. Up to three custom questions can be added. To add/edit custom questions in the online form follow these steps: Log in and find the relevant course by entering your last name in the box next to Any part of the instructor s LAST name, OR Course Name OR Course Number. Select the appropriate course. Click EDIT SECTION. Click EDIT SECTION again. Enter your custom question(s), and click SAVE CHANGES. Student Anonymity Students responses are anonymous. It is nearly impossible to identify which student submitted which set of answers. Data Analysis The online system can generate a flat-file (i.e., Excel file) with evaluation results. This file is usually not disseminated. Upon request the data for a specific section or course may be given to the instructor. In any case, student comments cannot be attributed to specific questionnaires. [3]

4 Incentives for completing evaluations At this time we are not using any form of incentive (or penalty) to encourage students to complete on-line evaluations. Various forms of incentives may be considered including: a raffle among participants; donations to charity; part of the course grade may depend on completing an evaluation. It has also been suggested that completing course evaluations be included in the Olin Code of Professional Conduct. One method that currently cannot be employed is delaying a student from seeing his or her grade in the course if he or she did not complete the evaluation on time. The university has not implemented this option. Archive Archive is a technical term in this system that is discussed occasionally. It is the date when a semester is closed and evaluation results are archived. This process has various technical implications, which are managed by the programs. From a faculty perspective archiving involves three important aspects: all historical evaluations are available; PDF reports of the Details page can be printed, and median scores are reported on the Details page. The archive date is currently once each semester, at the end of the semester. In the future results may be archived at the end of each mini. [4]

5 Appendix: Washington University Course Evaluations Login with your WUSTL Key Main Menu Instructor Shortcuts Courses: Evaluation Reports: Students: Edit Course Requirements: View your courses for the current semester, see the questions a student will be asked and add custom questions. This must be done prior to the first day evaluations are open for students. You can view your evaluation results from previous semesters. You can students in a current course who have not yet completed their evaluations. You can edit the basic course requirements so future students will know what to expect in your course. [5]

6 Courses 1. Select Courses from the Main Menu 2. Find your course by entering your last name in the box next to Any part of an Instructor's LAST Name, OR Course Name OR Course Number and select Search. 3. Select the title link for your course. 4. Your Course will display. In this view you can see the history of the course in the evaluation system. 5. Select View Section to view your section for the current semester. To see the questions students will be asked: Select View Sample Evaluation [6]

7 To Add Custom Questions Select Edit Section Type your Custom questions and any Custom Instructions. (TIP: Type your questions in an or another word processing document before entering them on your evaluation.) While you re on this page you can also edit your basic Course Requirements under Questions for Instructors Select Save Changes when finished. *IMPORTANT NOTE* The Students Evaluate date range should not be altered unless approved by the College/School. Do not edit anything in Section Info. [7]

8 Evaluation Reports 1. Select Evaluation Reports from the Instructor Shortcuts on the Main Menu 2. Select the semester you which to view and Run Report 3. Report will generate as a pdf that you can save or print. [8]

9 Students 1. Select Students from the Instructor Shortcuts on the Main Menu 2. Select the course that corresponds to the students you wish to . Enter a Subject for the and body text. Select Send to Course. The system will send it to all students in this course who have not yet completed their evaluation. [9]

10 Edit Course Requirements While you can edit Course Requirements through the Course link as noted below you can also edit them directly from the Main Menu by selecting Edit Course Requirements. Select the Edit link next to the course you wish to edit. Enter your Course Requirements and select Save If you have additional questions or need assistance: Contact your program administrator. For technical assistance with the site contact the Evals Team at [10]