Evaluation of Teaching

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University Policy

The University of Minnesota requires that all faculty, including adjunct instructors, be evaluated via (1) Student Rating of Teaching (SRT) and (2) peer review. (U of M policy Details). These requirements are intended to help faculty identify teaching strengths and areas in which teaching can be enhanced to improve student learning.  

Student Rating of Teaching (SRT)

The Student Rating of Teaching (SRT) survey, administered by University Survey & Assessment Services (USAS), is designed to support the University's Student Learning Outcomes. The University requires that all courses be evaluated using the SRT every time the course is taught, with the exception of directed studies and internships.

The SRT consists of six Instructor-related questions and seven course-related questions, plus two open-ended feedback questions.  Evaluations are administered online via the Student Rating of Teaching link in the left menu bar of your Canvas site.  The link will show a list of all outstanding evaluations for the individual student.

Classes that end in the first half of the semester will be evaluated during weeks 6-7; all other evaluations are completed in the last two weeks of class.

SRT Procedure for Students

Students will receive an e-mail inviting them to complete their course evaluations at the start of the evaluation period; instructors will also receive this email. During the evaluation period, students will receive reminders if they have yet to complete the evaluation. 

Faculty can check SRT response rates by logging in to the SRT platform, Explorance Blue. Response rates can be very low, so please encourage your students to complete an evaluation.

USAS provides suggestions for improving SRT response rates.

Reviewing SRT Responses

Within 4 weeks of the end of the semester, a summary of the responses will be made available to you via the Blue evaluation system. You will receive an email from USAS when this is ready.

To access your individual report(s) using your University account and password, log in at the SRT website. Scroll down to the Reports section, search for your class number, and click the 'Show child reports' slider to show the individual semester reports currently available.

The APS office tracks SRT responses, which are reviewed by your faculty director and will form part of the 3-year review of your course..

Students can see the results of the course-related questions to assist them in course selection.

Informal Course Feedback

Opportunities for informal feedback are provided via two short four-question surveys in modules 3 and 7 of your Canvas site. These surveys are seen only by you and are an opportunity to make minor course changes in the given semester or to plan for larger revisions in the future.

Improving Teaching with Early Term Feedback

While summative methods are designed to evaluate teaching, formative methods of evaluation offer feedback to improve teaching during the semester. The instructor may set aside five minutes at the end of class (two or more times during the semester) to ask students for their written feedback on how the course is going, what challenges they are facing in the course, and what they need to improve. A helpful set of suggestions is presented by the Center for Educational Innovation Early Term Feedback on Teaching.