Course Perception Surveys (CPS) are surveys of student opinions of their instructors and courses which are intended to help faculty members improve their teaching.
All Course Perception Surveys are administered through Qualtrics beginning in fall 2019. For a demo of the current Course Perception Surveys click here. Formerly known as Student Evaluations of Teaching (SET) or Course Evaluations, this survey is distributed to currently registered students each semester. The name change was recommended by Faculty Senate in April 2019 and the current survey questions were endorsed by Faculty Senate in June 2018.
FAQs
How are Course Perception Surveys used?
Course Perceptions Surveys serve as an important tool and source of information for faculty members assessing their teaching effectiveness. They may also be considered as a part of the evidence reviewed in reappointment, promotion, and tenure portfolios.
Note: Per the Provost’s Office, Spring 2020 AND Fall 2020 CPS reports are not required to be submitted or used in any performance evaluations of faculty members including merit, reappointment, tenure, and/or promotion reviews. Faculty members still have the option to include their Spring 2020 and Fall 2020 Course Perception Survey results in their reappointment, tenure, and/or promotion materials.
What courses will receive Course Perception Surveys?
Course Perception Surveys are created for every course except student teaching, internship programs, field experiences, and independent study courses. Courses with enrollment of less than 6 will not be sent to protect student confidentiality. Instructors are evaluated regardless of their tenure status. All instructors will receive an email in the beginning of the semester including a list of their courses which will receive Course Perception Surveys for that semester and the dates that the survey will run for each course.
When do Course Perception Surveys occur?
All Course Perception Surveys must be completed before the end of the course and will end at 11:59 A.M. (noon) on the end date listed on the Calendar. Course Perception Surveys are conducted at the end of each regular class, including 5-week, Bi-term, and semester long courses.
How will the courses be surveyed?
All Course Perception Surveys are administered online via Qualtrics Survey Software and distributed via invitation emails which are sent to each student's "@eagles.usi.edu" USI email address. Students will receive an invitation email containing an active link that they may click on to open the Course Perception Survey for that course in an internet browser (this can be performed from a desktop, smartphone, tablet etc.) The instructor's name, course ID, and course title appear in the invitation email and within the survey. Reminder emails will be sent to students who have not completed the survey at least once before the survey period ends. Course Perception Surveys will no longer be accessible in the course area of Blackboard.
Can instructors give extra credit to students for completing their Course Perception Surveys?
Per the Provost's Office - Instructors are not permitted to incentivize students to complete their Course Perception Surveys, including but not limited to giving extra credit in the course.
How to access the results of my Course Perception Surveys in Qualtrics?
Course Perception Survey results are available in a dashboard format in Qualtrics. Access Qualtrics via myUSI and look for the Red "Q" icon. If you do not have access to Qualtrics, email opra@usi.edu. Once in Qualtrics, you will see USI Course Perception Survey Dashboards on your project list. After opening the dashboard, you can navigate using filters to view your results for specific courses, sections, semesters, etc. You can download and print dashboards and open-ended comments. Click here for additional instructions.
Watch this informative 25 minute walkthrough presentation of the Course Perception Survey Dashboard and the Response Rate Dashboard below:
How can instructors access reports/results from the old Scantron Class Climate System?
You can request a PDF of your Scantron Class Climate course evaluation (Student Evaluation of Teaching or SET) reports for Fall 2014 through Spring 2019 by emailing opra@usi.edu.
Can instructors get a report combining the Scantron Class Climate results with the new Qualtrics results? How does this impact promotion and tenure and contract renewal portfolio submissions?
Because the survey questions and platforms (Scantron Class Climate to Qualtrics) have changed, it is not possible to combine results from the two. Please note that the Deans and Provost are aware of this limitation and do not consider this an issue for those being reviewed for promotion and/or tenure as this is a transitional period. Going forward, as more semesters of data are collected, additional dashboard views in Qualtrics will be added that provide multiple semester/over-time analysis. Please contact your respective Dean if you have specific questions about how to present evaluation results from the two systems as part of portfolio submissions.
Note: Per the Provost’s Office, Spring 2020 AND Fall 2020 CPS reports are not required to be submitted or used in any performance evaluations of faculty members including merit, reappointment, tenure, and/or promotion reviews. Faculty members still have the option to include their Spring 2020 and Fall 2020 Course Perception Survey results in their reappointment, tenure, and/or promotion materials.
Additional Resources:
Calendars
Summer 2022 Course Perception Survey Calendar (PDF)
Spring 2022 Course Perception Survey Calendar (PDF)
Fall 2022 Course Perception Survey Calendar (PDF)
Instructions
How to download and print CPS results from Qualtrics (PDF)
How to navigate, download, and print CPS results from Qualtrics (Video)