Note: the screen-shots below are out-of-date as of Winter 2018. Please contact Daniel Allen with any questions (cs-eval@uwaterloo.ca)
evaluate.uwaterloo.ca is an online survey system currently used by the majority of faculties on campus.
The online survey system allows students to complete surveys with any internet-enabled device both in and out of class, and should remove much of the administrative hassle associated with the old paper survey system.
For the most part, the requirements from you, as an instructor, will not be changing. Below are some general suggestions in order to ensure your class is aware that there are surveys to complete, and some tips on maximizing survey participation.
What do I need to do?
Preparing your class
You should tell the students in your class to bring a laptop, smartphone, or tablet with them to class the day you will be running the survey, as they will need an internet-enabled device in order to complete them.
Students will also be able to complete surveys on their own time, but the majority of students who complete surveys do so in the time given in class.
Let your students know that you value their feedback, that you do read and listen to the comments and that constructive feedback is helpful to you for imporoving your course and teaching.
In-class surveys
On the day you will be running the survey, ask the students to log into evaluate.uwaterloo.ca and follow the instructions to complete the survey. A list of their courses with uncompleted evaluations will be provided upon login. It is strongly suggested you write the url on the board.
It is recommended that you let the students know why they are filling out these surveys, and assure them that the results are completely anonymous. The log in is neccessary to ensure the correct students access the correct surveys. If there are more involved questions, you may inform students that they can contact the developer and maintainer of the system in Science Computing, whose email in on the front page of the evaluate website.
Allow a reasonable amount of time for students to show up, then leave the room and give the class 10 minutes to complete the surveys with their devices. Without the need to distribute, collect, or submit the paper surveys, this process should be very quick and not cut into class more than the 10 minutes.
Long-term experience shows that performing the surveys at the beginning of class correlates with improved response rates. If you wait until the end of class students will tend to rush the surveys or simply pack up and leave the classroom.
Viewing the results for this term
- You will receive notice from the faculty that evaluations are available.
Log into evaluate.uwaterloo.ca with your WatIAM credentials. You will see a tab on the right listing all your courses taught this term. Click on the desired course.
The page for each course will appear as follows, and contains statistics and graphs based on all student responses.
- Organization
- Explanations
- Questions
- Visual Presentation
- Oral Presentation
- Availability
- Ability to hold Interest
- Effectiveness
- Attendance
- Assigned Work
- Printed Notes
- Textbook
- New Material
- Assigned Work Amount
- Hours Per Week
The question order is as follows.
The formulas behind the statistics are unchanged from the paper evaluations. They are calculated as follows:
- Number of Students: total count in the course as of after the drop-date
- Surveys Completed: students who answered at least one question
- Prof. Score (Tompa Score): 25% preparation + 25% delivery + 50% effectiveness
- Course Score: not used in the Math Faculty
- Delivery: average for Question 2 - Question 6
- Effectiveness: 20% Question 7 + 80% Question 8
- Attendance %: average for Question 9, maximum 90%
- Preparation: 80% Question 1 + 20% Question 10
- Hrs Work/Week: weighted average for Question 15
Viewing results for previous course terms
- From any page, choose "My Courses" in the left-hand menu to view a list of terms and courses.
For assistance, please contact Daniel Allen, CSCF (cs-eval@uwaterloo.ca).