FAQs for Faculty and Staff Course Evaluations at WSU and the New Online System in Blue Updated 3/8/2016 I. COURSE EVALUTIONS AT WSU Students are asked for feedback about their experience in their WSU courses, via a course evaluation with questions determined by the college or department offering the course. Over two years, WSU is moving into an online course evaluation system. In 2014-15, about half of WSU s classes moved into WSU s online student evaluation system, using the question sets determined by their college. About half of the colleges still used other formats, such as scantrons or paper questionnaires. By Fall 2016, all classes are expected to offer course evaluations in WSU s online system. 1. Which classes are using the new online student course evaluation in Blue? In Spring 2016, most classes in the following colleges are offering course evaluations in WSU s new online system, which represents more than half of WSU s total courses: College of Agricultural, Human, & Natural Resource Sciences Carson College of Business College of Nursing College of Pharmacy College of Veterinary Medicine Honors College Voiland College of Engineering Murrow College of Communication College of Arts & Sciences (limited number of departments): Chemistry, Fine Arts, Foreign Languages, History, Math/Stats, Psychology, Criminal Justice, Asia Program Online courses offered though Global Campus 2. What about online classes? Academic courses offered online through Global Campus use the new system for course evaluations. 3. Will my class get an online course evaluation or a scantron/paper form? Please review the list of colleges in question 1 above and check with your college or department if you aren t sure what kind of course evaluations you ll get this semester. 4. I m using the paper method; do I have to move to online? All classes offered by WSU will move to online course evaluations by Fall 2016. Note that question sets, reports, and delivery dates are coordinated at the college-level. 5. What questions are on my course evaluation? Questions are determined by your college. The new online system is flexible, with a wide range of question types available. Over time, your college may choose to offer separate sets of questions by department within the college, or specific question sets for specific sections (such as lab sections, lecture sections, and online sections, for example). Beginning spring 2016, instructors may add their own questions, as determined by each college in coordination with ATL and ESG. Please check with your college for more information. Updated 3/8/2016 Office of Assessment of Teaching and Learning page 1
6. What are the benefits of transitioning to an online course evaluation system? The many benefits include: Faculty have electronic records of their course evaluations, including comments. Student confidentiality is better protected online than as written comments on paper. Students have more time to complete thoughtful responses and provide meaningful comments. Students get email reminders to complete course evaluations. Students can use mobile devices to complete course evaluations, in class or outside of class. The new system allows for more flexibility in reporting and analysis. Faculty who prefer to not schedule time during class for paper evaluations will no longer need to do so. Beginning in Spring 2016, faculty will be able to add their own questions if permitted by their college. 7. Who is supporting the transition to online course evaluations? ATL and ESG are supporting colleges in their transitions to the new system. Office of Assessment of Teaching and Learning (ATL) is available to colleges to consult on these aspects: Designing or refining course evaluation question sets in your college Interpreting results Developing design of reports for instructors, chairs, deans, and others Developing college-level policies and protocols Using some results in program-level assessment (curricular effectiveness, student engagement, etc.) Analyzing response rates Developing question banks and validating question sets Enterprise Systems Group (ESG) is leading the technical planning, implementation, training and questions about using Blue, including: Setting up a course evaluation in your college Generating basic reports from course evaluations in Blue Checking response rates on live course evaluations Faculty, staff and student help and customer support Training for your college s course evaluation coordinator General training on use of Blue or education about Blue features for faculty, students, staff Rollout over time of new features 8. What about response rates? I hear they go down with online evaluations. Online response rates vary significantly among universities, and technology alone does not determine response rates the engagement of instructors and academic leaders can have a significant impact on student participation. More than 2,500 classes at WSU used Blue for course evaluations in Fall 2015, resulting in nearly 55,000 student responses across the Pullman, Spokane, Tri-Cities, Vancouver, and Global campuses. The overall response rate for all WSU courses using Blue was 63%. More than half (53%) of classes received response rates of 60% or higher Overall response rates by college ranged from 74% to 58% There are many strategies that help improve online response rates. The single most effective way to boost response rates is for instructors to let students know that they read and consider the course evaluation responses each semester, and make changes based on student input. Some instructors also give a small amount of extra credit to students who complete course evaluations. ATL can consult with WSU colleges about good practices in our local context and is collecting and sharing good practices as part of the transition to online evaluations. The new course evaluation system sends reminders to students and gives faculty access to see live response rates. Additional FAQs about the specifics of using Blue begin on the next page. Updated 3/8/2016 Office of Assessment of Teaching and Learning page 2
II. FAQs about using Blue, WSU s new online course evaluation system 9. How will students get to the online course evaluations in Blue? Students may access their online course evaluations in two ways: A. Email invitations: These are sent to students WSU email address (the preferred email address in mywsu). B. mywsu to Blue Dashboard: Students log into mywsu and choose the Blue Dashboard to see the online course evaluations for courses they are enrolled in. Evaluations will show up in the dashboard as they are opened by each college (see screenshot on last page). C. Since students can use a laptop or mobile device, instructors have the option of giving time in class for course evaluations. ATL provides slides to your college coordinator which instructors can use to guide their class through the new process. 10. Can I share the link to my online course evaluation in my class? Instructors who want to share a link in class can direct students to log into mywsu, select the Blue Dashboard in the center column and select your class. Link to post in class: my.wsu.edu Screenshot of the students Blue dashboard in mywsu appears at the end of these FAQs. 11. Can students do the online course evaluation during class, just like a paper-based evaluation? Since students can use a laptop or mobile device, instructors have the option of giving time in class for course evaluations. ATL provides slides to your college coordinator which instructors can use to guide their class through the new process. Inclass delivery works well, with an adaptive display for any laptop or device (no app needed), provided your classroom has adequate wireless access. 12. Will I be able to monitor response rates while my online course evaluation is open for students? Yes. The instructors of record for each course can login to mywsu to review response rates while the evaluation is open (see screenshot on page 5). Final response rates will be included in the summary reports in Blue. If you want to give credit to students who complete your course evaluation, contact your college s course evaluation coordinator to confirm if this option is available in your college. If so, you will be able to access the list of students names after the window has closed for completing course evaluations for the semester, via your Blue dashboard, accessed via mywsu (screenshot on page 5). 13. Can I check my online response rate using a mobile device? Yes. WSU s new evaluation system adjusts the display for laptops, smart phones and tablets, as well as desktop computers. Each instructor has a Blue dashboard that can show live response rates. Log in to mywsu (see page 5 for instructor screenshot). 14. Can I add my own questions to the online evaluation? The new online system can allow instructors to add additional questions for each course. This optional feature is being phased in over time, as determined by each college in coordination with ATL and ESG. Updated 3/8/2016 Office of Assessment of Teaching and Learning page 3
15. How do I get my results from course evaluations in Blue? 1. Email notification: Faculty receive an email indicating the instructor summary reports are ready to be viewed. Reports will be available after all grades are submitted. In Spring 2016, instructor reports will be available by May 20. 2. mywsu Instructor Dashboard: Instructors can also view their reports by logging into mywsu and selecting the Blue dashboard in the center column. 16. When will my results be available? In Spring 2016, instructor reports will be available by May 20. 17. How do I save a copy of my course evaluation report? Instructor reports in Blue will include a link to a downloadable PDF file. ATL is working with Blue and college coordinators to provide CSV formats in the future. 18. Who else will have access to the results of my course evaluations done in Blue? This semester there is no change in who can review individual faculty course evaluations in your department or college. The new online system offers great flexibility and control for sharing results with other people; for example, results from specific questions about the course could be useful for a curriculum committee or program assessment. ATL will work with colleges and departments to explore these new opportunities over time and ensure appropriate confidentiality. 19. Who should I contact for support with course evaluations in Blue? Logging into mywsu: If you have trouble logging into mywsu, contact 335-HELP. For help or to report a problem, instructors should email: esg.blue@wsu.edu. 20. Additional questions about your college s course evaluation, delivery window, or reports of results? Please contact your college s course evaluation coordinator. 21. Technical support? Please email esg.blue@wsu.edu 22. How does the December closure impact student course evaluations in Blue? Each college determines the date that their student course evaluations close. ESG staff are not be available to respond to questions or online help requests during the December closure. Updated 3/8/2016 Office of Assessment of Teaching and Learning page 4
INSTRUCTORS I Updated 3/8/2016 Office of Assessment of Teaching and Learning page 5
Updated 3/8/2016 Office of Assessment of Teaching and Learning page 6 STUDENTS