| Online Course Evaluation
Frequently Asked Questions
General
* What is Online Course Evaluation?
* Which
courses will participate in online course evaluation?
* What are the questions on the evaluation?
* Who will read these evaluations?
* Will students be able to see the evaluation
results?
* What will faculty see and when?
* How long will the evaluation results be available to view?
* When can I complete an online evaluation?
student
* Why should I complete the online course
evaluation?
* How do I access the evaluation form?
* Do I have to complete the evaluation?
* Can I be sure that my comments are
anonymous?
* I already filled out a paper evaluation
for one of my courses. Do I still need to do the web evaluation?
* How do I view the evaluation results and when can I view them?
* Why
don’t I see the responses to questions one and two when
I look at the course evaluation results?
* I am a student in one of the professional schools. Do I have to
participate?
* I’m an undergraduate, but I
am taking a Graduate School course. Will I be able to evaluate
it?
* One of the courses that I’m
taking does not appear in my list of courses to be evaluated, or I’m
being asked to evaluate a course that I am not enrolled in.
What should I do?
* Should I prepare my answers before
logging on to the evaluation site?
* Can I change my mind about an evaluation?
* Is it possible to evaluate the same
course more than once?
* What kind of computer do I need to
complete the evaluation?
* Can I access the evaluation from
off-campus?
* What if my computer crashes before
I submit my evaluation?
* Several of my courses have more than
one instructor. Do I complete a separate evaluation for each?
* How do I view my grades online?
* Why do some courses show course evaluation
results and others do not?
faculty
* When and how can I see
the results of the evaluations?
* Why can I only see the responses to certain questions?
* How do I print my evaluations?
* Why would a Graduate School course
that I am teaching not appear on my pull-down list?
* Can I change any of the questions
on the evaluation, or can I add additional questions?
* I have always used a paper form of
my own design. Can I continue to use it?
* Who should I contact with comments
about this program?
General FAQs
What is Online Course Evaluation?
The Graduate School online course evaluation system is designed
to provide a quick, efficient method to gather valuable feedback
and make the results available to the course instructor and
students. The evaluation is web-based and anonymous; the results
will be displayed on a secure web site. Schools using online
course evaluations include Yale College, the Law School, and the
School of Public Health.
Which
courses will participate in online course evaluation?
All
eligible Graduate School courses – lectures, seminars, and labs
with number 500 and above – will be a part of the online
evaluation, including Graduate School courses that are cross-listed
with courses in other schools at Yale. The minimum eligible
enrollment for courses to participate in online course evaluation
is four. Included in this number are graduate students and registered
auditors enrolled in the course as well as graduate students
enrolled in a non-Graduate School course that is cross-listed
with a Graduate School course. A minimum enrollment of four
was chosen in order to protect the desired anonymity of students
enrolled in small classes.
What are the questions on the evaluation?
1. Looking back on [course name], what is your overall assessment
of the course? What are its strengths and weaknesses, and in
what ways might it be improved?
2. Please evaluate each instructor
of [course name]. What are the instructor's strengths and
weaknesses, and in what ways might his or her teaching be improved?
3. How would you summarize [course name] for a fellow student?
Would you recommend [course name] to another student? Why or why
not?
4. For each of the categories below, please check one box that
best describes this course.
| Work Load |
Pace |
Difficulty |
Preparation for Departmental Requirements |
| o Light |
o Slow |
o Easy |
o Not helpful |
| o Appropriate |
o Appropriate |
o Appropriate |
o Somewhat helpful |
| o Heavy |
o Fast |
o Hard |
o Very helpful |
| |
|
|
o Not applicable |
5. What is your overall
assessment of this course? (Scale:1=poor, 2=below average, 3=good,
4=very good, 5=excellent).
6. How
did this course deepen your knowledge of your discipline/profession?
To what extent did this course contribute to your dissertation/research?
Top
Who will read these
evaluations?
Evaluations are made available to the instructor(s) of the course
and the department chair.
Will students be able to see the evaluation results?
Students will be able to view responses to questions three through
six for all evaluated courses. Results will be available
several weeks after final grades are due.
What will faculty see and when?
Course instructors will be able to view the evaluation results
for their courses several weeks after final grades are due. They
will have an opportunity to post a response to the evaluations
and shortly thereafter the evaluations will be available to students.
How long will the evaluation results be available to view?
The evaluation results will be available year-round
and will not be taken down by a certain date.
When
can I complete an online evaluation?
For Fall 2005 courses, the application will go live on Friday,
December 9th and will remain available through Tuesday, January
2. After that time, it will not be possible to evaluate a course
online.
Top
student FAQs
Why should I complete the online course evaluation?
Course evaluations provide valuable feedback that can improve
teaching and learning. The greater the level of participation,
the more useful the results. This is your opportunity to make
your voice heard on an important issue: the quality of teaching
at Yale.
How do I access the evaluation form?
Point your browser to www.yale.edu/gsevaluate and login with
your NetID and password. Students can evaluate courses
only during designated periods at the end of each semester.
Do I have to complete
the evaluation?
Completing the evaluation is voluntary, but your feedback is
important and we encourage you to go to www.yale.edu/gsevaluate and
fill out the evaluation; it should not take more than five to
ten minutes per course. In order to view your grade during the
evaluation period, you will need to either evaluate the course
or decline to evaluate the course.
Top
Can I be sure that
my comments are anonymous?
Your evaluations are completely anonymous and confidential. They
are stored in their own database from which they will be made
available to your instructor with no identifying information,
serial number, or other data that would allow your answers to
be traced back to you. A separate database records the fact that
you have submitted an evaluation but contains none of the content.
I
already filled out a paper evaluation for one of my courses. Do
I still need to do the web evaluation?
Yes. Some instructors will ask you to complete a paper evaluation
that contains questions specific to his or her course. These
evaluations will be for the professor’s use only and, unlike the online evaluation, will not be
made available to other students.
Top
How do I view the
evaluation results and when can I view them?
The results of all course evaluations will be available several
weeks after final grades are due. When they are available you
will get an email that will contain the URL for the evaluation
results
Why don’t I see the responses to questions
one and two when I look at the course evaluation results?
Question 1 “Looking back on [course name], what is your overall
assessment of the course? What are its strengths and weaknesses,
and in what ways might it be improved? and question 2 “Please
evaluate each instructor of [course name]. What are the instructor’s
strengths and weaknesses, and in what ways might his or her teaching
be improved?” are designed to provide specific and confidential
feedback to the instructor. We want students to address their observations
to the instructor, and to be frank in a way that might not otherwise
be possible if they thought the feedback was available for all to
see. The other questions are also a rich source of information about
the course and these are available to all registered graduate students.
I am a student in one of the professional schools. Do I have
to participate?
Professional school students who are enrolled in courses that
have a Graduate School number which meet the course eligibility
criteria will be permitted to evaluate these courses on line.
I’m an undergraduate, but I am taking
a Graduate School course. Will I be able to evaluate it?
Yes. If you are a Yale College student registered for a Graduate
School course which meets the course eligibility criteria you will be
able to evaluate the course by pointing your browser to www.yale.edu/gsevaluate and
log in with your NetID and password.
Top
One of the courses
that I’m taking does not appear in my list of courses
to be evaluated, or I’m being asked to evaluate a course
that I am not enrolled in. What should I do?
Only Graduate School courses with an eligible enrollment of
four or more students can participate in online evaluations.
If you think that an error has been made, email gradevals@yale.edu with
your name, NetID, and full course number, including section and
other details.
Should I prepare
my answers before logging on to the evaluation site?
While it is not necessary, it may be useful to do so if you plan
on lengthy or detailed responses to the questions. Prepare your
responses using a text editor (Microsoft Word, Notepad, SimpleText,
etc.), and save them to your Pantheon space. When you log in
to the evaluation site, you can copy and paste into the response
areas, and perform further review and editing as needed. The
application will time out and you will lose any entered text
if you stay on a page for more than 60 minutes without submitting
it, even if you are entering and editing text. Also, please note
that there is a limit of 4000 characters (approximately 600 words)
for each response that you enter into a text box.
Top
Can I change my mind
about an evaluation?
While editing your responses for a particular course, you can
edit all of the questions in that evaluation. Once you have submitted
the evaluation for a course, changes to that evaluation will
no longer be possible. Thus, it is critical that you make sure
that your responses are those intended for the course you are
currently evaluating, and are not confused with those for another
course or instructor.
Is it possible to evaluate the same course more
than once?
No. The system records your completed evaluation for a course
and will not present further opportunities for evaluation of
that course.
What kind of computer
do I need to complete the evaluation?
Any computer that has a web browser supported for Student Information
Systems and Online Course Selection, and is connected to the
Internet will work. For a list of browsers please go to http://www.yale.edu/sis/browser.support.htm
Can
I access the evaluation from off-campus?
Yes. The URL at http://www.yale.edu/gsevaluate is available from
network-connected web browsers anywhere.
Top
What if my computer crashes
before I submit my evaluation?
Any information that you entered into the evaluation is lost.
You will need to restart your browser and login to http://www.yale.edu/gsevaluate again.
Several of my courses
have more than one instructor. Do I complete a separate evaluation
for each?
No. Within the course evaluation you will be provided with a separate
text box for each instructor teaching a course with multiple instructors.
Enter your responses under the appropriate faculty names.
How do I view my grades online?
Using your netid and password, log on at www.yale.edu/sis. Select “Grades
for One Term.” If your grades have been reported, you
can view them.
Why do some courses show course evaluation
results and others do not?
Evaluations are shown for courses with four or more students
eligible to be evaluated; also, for some courses it is possible
that all students declined to complete an evaluation.
Top
FACULTY FAQs
When and how can I see the results of the evaluation?
Several weeks after the beginning of the next term, evaluation
results for the previous term will be available for you to
view. Students will be given access to the evaluations
one week after course instructors. This one-week period is designed
for instructors who may wish to post a response to the evaluations.
Faculty will be notified when the evaluations are ready for
viewing and will be given the evaluation data URL. Department
chairs will also receive a printed copy of a complete set
of course evaluations for all courses offered through their departments.
How
do I print my evaluations?
You have the following choices:
~ If you are viewing your evaluations by respondent, you can
choose to 'Print
one evaluation' or 'Print all evaluations.’
~ If you are viewing your evaluations by question, you can 'Print
all responses to selected question.'
A separate print window will appear. Click on the word PRINT
in that window. After printing, please close the print window to
return to reading your evaluations.
Top
Why would a Graduate
School course that I am teaching not appear on my pull-down list?
Only Graduate school courses--lectures, seminars, and labs
with number 500 and above— with an eligible enrollment of four or more
are part of the online evaluation. Graduate students enrolled in a non-Graduate
School course that is cross-listed with a Graduate School course are included
in the four or more enrollment threshold. If the enrollment in your Graduate
School course met these criteria and it does not appear on your list, please
email gradevals@yale.edu with
your name and full course number, including section and other
details. You may also see a course on your pull-down menu
that does not have any evaluation results. In this case,
the course was eligible but no students completed an evaluation.
Can I change any of
the questions on the evaluation, or can I add additional questions?
You can't change any of the questions but you may add one custom
question per course. You will be notified by the registrar when
this function is available.
Top
I have always used
a paper form of my own design. Can I continue to use it?
Individual course instructors may use their own hard-copy evaluation
forms if they wish. This, however, will not exempt the students
who are enrolled in these courses from evaluating them on line.
Who should I contact with comments about this program?
Email gradevals@yale.edu with
comments and questions.
Last Modified: 4.12.05
Copyright © 2004, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06520
Top
|
