Course Evaluations

Course Evaluations

Online teaching evaluations are required for each course and provide an opportunity for students to give anonymous comments on their classes and instructors. At UMSI, the evaluations are thoroughly reviewed and can be helpful for providing direct feedback. During the semester, you will be prompted to go online and can add specific questions to the evaluation form via the faculty center in Wolverine Access (this is optional). You will be prompted when it is time to promote the evaluation for students to fill out as well. 

At UMSI, we seek to have high course evaluation participation and you may want to talk with other faculty about best practices to encourage students to fill out the evaluation. Information about course evaluations is online at https://ro.umich.edu/faculty-staff/teaching-evaluations.

University-Mandated Questions

There are eight (8) University-wide mandated questions:

• This course advanced my understanding of the subject matter. Q1631

• My interest in the subject has increased because of this course. Q1632

• I knew what was expected of me in this course. Q1633

• I had a strong desire to take this course. Q4

• As compared with other courses of equal credit, the workload for this course was (Much Lighter, Lighter, Typical, Heavier, Much Heavier). Q891

• The instructor seemed well prepared for class meetings. Q230

• The instructor explained material clearly. Q199

• The instructor treated students with respect. Q217

UMSI-Mandated Questions

These are UMSI-mandated questions for the BSI, MSI, and MHI courses:

• The instructor set high standards for students. Q241

• The challenge presented by this course was too little. Q572

• Students felt comfortable asking questions. Q892

• The course requirements were clearly defined. Q897

• Which aspects of this course did you like best? Q902

• How would you change this course? Q907

Here are the UMSI-mandated questions for MADS courses:

• The technology used by this course was reliable and easy to use. Q1941

• In case of technical issues or problems there was responsive technical support. Q1942

• The instructional team for this course provided useful supplemental resources and assignment support. Q1943

• The instructional team for this course facilitated an effective online learning experience for me. Q1944

• The instructional team created an engaging and inclusive online learning community. Q1945

• The recorded video lectures were effective at helping me learn. Q1946

•  _______________ effectively managed course logistics and the overall course experience. Q1947

• Online interactions with _______________ were effective at helping me learn. Q1948

• _______________was available and responsive. Q1949

• Do you have any additional feedback? Q1972

Program Committee Questions

The Faculty-led program committees have also mandated questions for certain courses (e.g., Capstone and Mastery).

Instructor-added Questions

Instructors are prompted by the UMSI Registrar each semester to add questions to the evaluations.  Instructors should add questions judiciously.  

Evaluation Response Rate Note

Students can be faced with 100 or more questions across multiple evaluations from 4-5 courses per term.  For example, if you teach a lecture course with over 50 students and a GSI, a student will have 2 evaluations for your course, one for you and one for the GSI; therefore for a residential course that is a minimum of 17 questions.  If you multiply that by 4 or 5 you will have 68 questions minimum but many instructors add more.  It is suggested to chat with your colleagues to get ideas about how you might increase particiption in this form of feedback.