On this page:
- University Policy
- APS Faculty Guidelines
- Student Rating of Teaching
- SRT Procedure for Students
- Reviewing SRT Responses
- Improving Teaching with Formative Feedback
University Policy
The University of Minnesota requires that all faculty, including adjunct instructors, be evaluated via (1) Student Rating of Teaching (SRT); (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.
APS Faculty Guidelines
The APS program strives to provide high-quality academic courses to foster professional competency and currency in core discipline areas and to prepare graduates with knowledge and skills to enhance business quality and innovation. Our approach is learner-centered; thus, we envision teaching as a process that fosters and facilitates learning. Instructors are committed to facilitating student learning by continuous improvement of their teaching practice.
APS Faculty Guidelines were developed to specify University expectations for faculty as applicable to part-time instructors. Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI) initiatives support faculty in achieving the guidelines.
Student Rating of Teaching (SRT)
The Student Rating of Teaching (SRT) form, administered by the U of M Office of Measurement Services (OMS), 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 five Instructor-related questions, and five course-related questions. OMS will release the course-related responses to students to help them select classes. 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 which end in the first half of 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. The official class list from PeopleSoft is used to ensure that students are prompted to complete an evaluation for all classes in which they are enrolled.
Response rates can be very low, so please encourage your students to complete an evaluation.
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 OMS when this is ready.
To access your individual report(s) using your University account and password, log in at: https://srt.umn.edu/blue/. 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 your 3-year course review.
Improving Teaching with Formative 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, what they need to improve. A helpful set of suggestions is presented by the Gwenna Moss Centre for Teaching Effectiveness at the University of Saskatchewan.