Course Evaluations
Evaluation and Assessement invites you to use our course evaluation services at any time during the semester. Course Evaluations may be administered on paper or online.
The purpose of the course evaluation system at St. Olaf is to improve
instruction. Course evaluation results are provided only to the instructor
and are not used for faculty performance reviews, such as reappointment,
renewal, or tenure and promotion reviews, although instructors are free
to share results with chairs or other colleagues for purposes of professional
development. E&A provides alternative survey instruments and uses
a different sampling design for student surveys undertaken as part of
a faculty performance review.
In-class paper evaluations
You may download and print paper copies of all
forms on the E&A website, including the Gold
Form and the General
Feedback Form, to administer in your class at your convenience.
Please remember to download and follow the General
Instructions for Administration of Gold Form Evaluation if you are
using in-class paper evaluations (whether you are using the Gold Form
or some other paper form).
No matter what questionnaire you choose to use, it is essential to ensure the anonymity of student responses and to wait to review the completed forms until after you have submitted grades. Select a student in the class to collect and return the forms to a third party (i.e., the E&A office or the department AAA) after students have completed their questionnaires. The forms will be returned to instructors after grades have been submitted. Please note that E&A does not summarize data from individual course evaluations. However, the online format in Form Creator described below can provide summaries automatically.
Any-time online evaluations
You may use Form Creator to customize and administer your course evaluations online. The online course evaluation template is titled "Gold Form" in Form Creator. Form Creator is a user-friendly online survey creator program available to faculty and staff at St. Olaf College.
There are many benefits to using Form Creator for your course evaluations:
- You can use an online version of a paper form you may have used in the past, such as the Gold Form or a form specific to your department or program.
- You can administer an existing survey form as is, or modify an existing form by adding, subtracting, or editing questions.
- You can create a unique form tailored to your specific course.
- You can administer the evaluation at any time during the semester, which gives you the opportunity to respond to student feedback while you are still teaching the course.
- Form Creator automatically summarizes the data.
- Anonymity is automatically maintained.
- It is not necessary to use class time to administer an evaluation online.
