YOUR FEEDBACK MATTERS!
The information students provide from Student Experience Surveys is extremely important.
- Instructors use the information to improve their courses and teaching methods.
- Department heads review survey data to get feedback about the teaching and learning elements of the courses offered in their department.
- University committees use the data as part of faculty reviews for promotion, tenure or teaching awards.
At the University of Oregon, surveys about student learning use an online system called CollegeNET. This system allows students to provide anonymous feedback about their learning experience.
There are two opportunities for students to provide feedback about their learning experience, the midway Student Experience Survey (M-SES), approximately halfway through the quarter or semester, and the end-of-course Student Experience Survey (E-SES) during the last week of the quarter or semester.
Students and instructors can access the surveys through the Course Surveys link in Duckweb DuckWeb. Note: The course survey link is not a tab. It is a link on the landing page once logged in.
Click the "Course Surveys" link
History
Beginning Fall 2007-Summer 2019, the University of Oregon implemented a numerical online student feedback survey called Course Evaluation.
Some concerns had arisen regarding the nature and use of the traditional Course Evaluation and student ratings system, and the University Senate took up the issue in spring 2017. Teams of faculty and students, along with support from the Office of the Provost and Senate leadership, redesigned how student feedback is collected and used for continuous improvement of teaching, as well as included in a holistic evaluation of teaching that includes input from students, peers and the faculty themselves. For current information see the Office of the Provost’s webpage about revising UO's evaluation of teaching.
Current Scheduling of Surveys
During the academic year students in courses with 5 or more students are invited to complete a M-SES and E-SES (not including overseas or individualized study courses). Summer differs because courses begin and end on over 200 different schedules. Starting summer 2019, students in more than 94% of courses will be provided the E-SES during four periods, specifically for courses ending in weeks 4, 8, 12, and session C8. Law summer E-SES are for courses ending weeks 5 and 10. The M-SES is not included in summer courses, since the courses are variable in length.
For courses on the quarter system the following schedule is used for the surveys:
- M-SES: Open Week 4, Monday 8:00am through Friday 6:00pm
- E-SES: Open Wednesday, Week 9 at 8:00am through Monday, Finals Week at 6:00am
For Law courses on the semester system the following schedule is used for the surveys:
- M-SES: Open Week 7, Monday 8:00am through Friday 6:00pm
- E-SES: Open Wednesday of Week 14 at 8:00am through Monday of Week 16 at 8:00am
For summer courses at least three weeks in length and ending in week 4, 8, 12, and session C8, the E-SES will be open Monday 8:00am through Friday 6:00pm during the final week of the courses. For summer law courses within session ending weeks 5 and 10, the E-SES will be open Monday 8:00am through Friday 6:00pm during the final week of the course.
How to Complete the Student Experience Surveys
Students are notified via their UO email when the online system opens and are sent reminders during the survey period. You must have a UO email account set up or you will not receive these reminder emails.
Students log into the course survey system through DuckWeb, and then pass securely through a portal to the CollegeNET servers, where their Survey data is gathered and maintained per faculty legislation. Anonymity is protected, and access to the results tightly controlled through security permissions per faculty legislation.
During the survey period, students who have not completed or opted out of (declined) each of their course surveys are sent an email reminder, asking that they log in and finish their surveys. Courses that have not yet been evaluated are listed in the email reminders. Student can also view incomplete surveys in DuckWeb.
When Can Instructors View Student Feedback? Data Availability
M-SES feedback is available to instructors at noon on the Monday after the survey closes; Monday of week 8 (law semester) and week 5 (term).
After grades are submitted, E-SES feedback becomes available to instructors. Instructors are notified via email when reports are ready for viewing. Instructors login to the system through DuckWeb, clicking on Course Surveys in the main menu, which allows them to pass securely through to the CollegeNET servers to view their student feedback reports.
There is more information available through these pages. Look at the tabs at the top of the screen to find answers to frequently asked questions, and other resources. Questions not answered in the FAQ may be emailed to the Registrar’s Office.
Student Experience Survey Questions
Both the midway and end-of-course Student Experience Surveys ask students to provide feedback on a list of important teaching and learning elements including:
- Organization
- Instructor communication
- Assignments or projects
- Inclusiveness
- Accessibility
- Relevance of the course content
- Clarity of assignment instructions and grading
- Feedback
- Active learning
- Level of challenge
- Support from the instructor
- Opportunities for student interaction
Students provide feedback on whether each of these elements is "beneficial", "neutral", or "in need of improvement" for their learning. Then, students select one element that is "most beneficial for their learning" and one element that is "most in need of improvement for their learning" and provide specific qualitative feedback about each.
Students also provide feedback about their own engagement in the learning process, including how often they attended class, how many hours per week they spent outside of class, and how many times they met with the instructor outside of class.
Student feedback on the midway Student Experience Survey is only available to the instructor, and provides an opportunity for mid-course adjustments or for clarifying goals and expectations with students. Student feedback from the end-of-course Student Experience Survey is available to the instructor, unit head and various review committees such as for tenure, promotion or awards.