Course Evaluations

Course Evaluations at QC

Queens College routinely conducts online course evaluations via CoursEval (an Anthology platform) using a questionnaire designed by the Committee on Teaching Excellence and Evaluation of the Academic Senate in 2008.

All students and faculty may access the CoursEval system at http://www.qc.cuny.edu/evaluate using their QC CAMS credentials.

Enter the Anthology CoursEval System
Purpose

Course evaluations give students the opportunity to reflect on their own learning, and provide a forum for students to share about their experiences. The data and feedback from these evaluations serve a number of important functions:

 

    • They can be used by instructors to improve course design and student learning.
    • They can be used by students to make informed decisions about what courses to take in an upcoming semester.
    • They can be part of the supporting materials put together by faculty for reappointment, tenure, and promotion.
    • When analyzed across a department/school, course evaluation data can help faculty to improve program-level curriculum.
Timeline

The course evaluation period begins three weeks before the start of finals and ends no later than the last day of term. Students receive emails inviting them to submit their course evaluations, and instructors receive emails inviting them to encourage their students to submit. During the evaluation period, instructors may track the count of students that have submitted evaluations by logging into the CoursEval system. Instructors are granted access to their anonymized reports approximately one week after course grades are officially available.

Reporting and Confidentiality

Course evaluations are anonymous. Hence, instructors’ evaluation reports do not identify students in any way. However, students may notify their instructors that they have submitted an evaluation by selecting the “send proof” option in CoursEval. This option triggers an email notification confirming that a student has evaluated a course. Sending proof is optional for students and may not be required under any circumstance.

Data and Dashboards

Reports are not released until after all grades are posted. Upon release, instructors will be able to see response rates for each course and individual course reports, including quantitative summary data (counts and average ratings for each survey item) and students’ unedited comments. Note that department chairs have access to quantitative data only (but not to comments) for all courses in their respective departments.

To access your CoursEval Reports:

  1. Log in to http://www.qc.cuny.edu/evaluate with your faculty account
  2. On your home page, select View Report for each of your courses
  3. To view past reports, go to the Reports menu and select Evaluation Reports
  4. Set the filters for the year and period and set all others to Show All
  5. Check each report you would like to view (in the Includes column)
  6. Click View above the list of results to view your reports

 

Summary data and institutional averages from 2010 on are available via interactive Tableau dashboards.

Summary data from 2001 to 2010 are available to view at https://apps.qc.cuny.edu/courses/.

Tips for Increasing Response Rates

Higher responses rates lead to more reliable information. Instructors may consider the following options to improve response rates:

 

    1. During class time, announce the date when course evaluations will open.
    2. Assure students that the process is completely anonymous. Let them know that, as faculty, you will not be able to see results until after grades are posted and that no identifying information will be included with their responses.
    3. Explain the value of students’ feedback by sharing an example of past feedback you have used in course redesign.
    4. Let students know how they can access the CoursEval system and how to find their CAMS credentials.
    5. Use class time to have students complete their evaluation of your course on a mobile device.
    6. Run through the survey items with your students and explain the questions’ context as it relates to your class.
    7. Offer extra credit to students that select to “send proof”, confirming that an evaluation was submitted.
    8. Grant extra credit to the entire class if the course response rate reaches a certain percent (e.g., 80%).
Questions and Support
  • For technical support, please contact the Help Desk at support@qc.cuny.edu.
  • For help with your QC CAMS password, please visit: cams.qc.cuny.edu or contact the Help Desk.
  • For questions about the course evaluation process, contact the OIE at evaluate@qc.cuny.edu.
CoursEval