Course evaluations
Course evaluation forms and suggested confidentiality text
St. Olaf does not require the use of any specific questionnaire for course evaluations; however, many instructors use either the St. Olaf Course Evaluation Form or the Gold Form, both of which were developed at St. Olaf. Each can be uploaded as a Word document from one of the links below, and each is also available as a template in Form Creator. All course evaluation forms should include information explaining the purposes and confidential nature of the course evaluation process; sample text is provided below and incorporated in both the college-wide forms.
St. Olaf Course Evaluation Form
The St. Olaf Course Evaluation Form, developed by a faculty-student working group convened by the St. Olaf Curriculum Committee, is suitable for a wide range of courses and teaching styles. This link opens a copy of the form in Word to enable instructors to add course information or to modify or add questions easily.The Gold Form
The Gold Form, so named because it was originally printed on gold-colored paper, was developed at St. Olaf in 1986. Although the content of the Gold Form pre-dates many of the active learning strategies that now characterize undergraduate instruction, some St. Olaf faculty continue to find it helpful. This link opens a copy of the form in Word to enable instructors to add course information or to modify or add questions easily.
Department-specific forms
Examples of course evaluation forms developed by different departments and programs.Sample information about course evaluations for students
The text below is included in both the St. Olaf Course Evaluation Form and the Gold Form, and is recommended for inclusion in instructor-developed forms as well.The purpose of this course evaluation questionnaire is to provide feedback to your instructor concerning your learning experiences in this course. Your candid and thoughtful responses will help your instructor improve his or her teaching, not only in this course but in other courses as well. Your participation is voluntary, and you will not be asked for your name or other identifying information. Your instructor will not review the results until after course grades have been submitted. Results are provided only to your instructor, although he or she may share them with others (such as the department chair) for purposes of professional development. Thank you for your participation in the St. Olaf course evaluation program.
Guidelines for developing course evaluation questions
Information for faculty wishing to add questions to an existing course evaluation form or to develop a form from scratch.
