Course evaluations are a valuable form of indirect evidence used in the study and assessment of student learning. Course evaluations can be used in both formative (Mid-semester course evaluations) and summative assessment (End-of-term course evaluations). On behalf of the Trinity College and in collaboration with academic departments, the Office of Assessment administers end-of-term course evaluations for eligible undergraduate courses. The Office of Assessment does not administer mid-semester course evaluations on behalf of the college. In instances where an instructor or department wish to collect mid-semester feedback or wish to collect feedback for a course that does not meet the formal end of term evaluation eligibility requirements it may be useful to create a short survey to distribute to course participants. To this end you may wish to use the Qualtrics survey bank developed by the Office of Assessment.
The Qualtrics survey bank includes course feedback questions related to:
- Course Content
- Course Instruction
- Classroom Dynamics
- Course Assignments and Feedback
- Course Policies
- Instructional Technologies
Mid-semester course evaluations should typically aim to answer the following question:
- What aspects of class are going well and what needs improvement?
- What changes in the course would benefit student learning?
- What are the mid-semester benchmarks to help you interpret end of term data?
End-or-semester course evaluations should typically aim to answer the following questions:
- Provide instructors with feedback about the quality of the course.
- Inform future course experiences and offerings.
- Help assess movement towards intended learning outcomes.
Many instructors will find an online, anonymous survey of their students to be the most effective way of gathering mid-semester and end-of-semester feedback. For information on the types of questions that are available within the Qualtrics Survey bank, and to review alternative methods of gathering mid-semester course feedback please visit the Midterm Assessment Strategies page of our website.
If you have any questions regarding the appropriateness and use of these question in the ongoing development of your course(s) please contact the Office of Assessment at Assessment@duke.edu.