Teaching Evaluations

Special Changes to Winter 2020 Teaching Evaluations

Due to the unexpected shift to remove instruction, several modifications are being made to the Winter 2020 teaching evaluations. The following three questions were added to all end-of-term evaluations:

  • How did the unexpected change to remote course format affect your learning experience in this course this term?
    Responses are quantitative with a scale ranging from "Very Positively Affected" to "Very Negatively Affected".
  • What teaching methods worked well? [e.g. videoconferencing, asynchronous interactions; etc]
    Responses are open-ended.
  • What were your greatest challenges in remote learning for this course? [e.g. internet connectivity; personal motivation; managing life stresses; etc.]
    Responses are open-ended.

In addition, the eight university-wide questions have been expanded to include space for qualitative comments. Information about these questions can be found on this page under the “Allowable Evaluation Questions” section.

Results will be shared with instructors for developmental learning. They will not be considered as part of promotion and tenure decisions. Results may be reported through individual school or college reporting systems at the discretion of the dean. Winter 2020 course evaluation data will not be accessible to students through ATLAS, a tool available for students, instructors, and staff to view curriculum data.

More information about the decisions made to the Winter 2020 evaluations can be found here.

Blue Teaching Evaluation System

In Spring 2018 the University transitioned to a new Teaching Evaluation system called Blue. Instructors and staff will use Blue to set up evaluations and view reports. Students can access evaluations either in Blue or through Canvas.

Key Dates

All dates are guidelines that most evaluations follow.

  • Spring 2020 Term Evaluations

    Key Dates for Spring Evaluations

    • May 12-May 28: Departments order evaluations
    • June 2-June 9: Instructors preview evaluations and optionally add questions
    • June 10-June 24: Students take evaluations
    • July: Reports available to instructors
  • Spring/Summer 2020 Term Evaluations

    Key dates for Spring/Summer Evaluations

    • May 12-July 22: Departments order evaluations
    • July 23-August 4: Instructors preview evaluations and optionally add questions
    • August 5-August 19: Students take evaluations
    • September: Reports available to instructors
  • Summer 2020 Term Evaluations

    Key Dates for Summer Evaluations

    • July 2-July 22: Order Departments order evaluations
    • July 23-August 4: Instructors preview evaluations and optionally add questions
    • August 5-August 19: Students take evaluations
    • September: Reports available to instructors

Ordering Evaluations

Department staff will receive an email directing them to Blue, where they will find a list of the courses offered by their department(s). See above for ordering deadlines for each evaluation period.

New staff who will need access to reports should should work with their Unit Liaison to request the role SR EVALUATION ORDER USER and appropriate academic org secondary security in the Online Access Request System (OARS).

Instructors will receive an email from Blue inviting them to preview their evaluation and optionally add up to three custom multiple choice questions and two open-ended questions.

Updates and Changes to Templates

Contact ro.evaluations@umich.edu with any requests for new questions, new templates, or changes to existing templates. The Office of the Registrar’s Evaluation team will make the changes for you. Information to include in the email:

  • Subject
  • Template Name (for changes) or indicate if it is a new template
  • Description of the change
  • Your contact information (email and phone number)

When core evaluation templates need creating or modifications, instructors working with their evaluation coordinators can design their core evaluation templates by selecting the questions from our Question Catalog. A maximum of 12 questions can be added to the template.

  • Allowable Evaluation Questions
    Allowable Evaluation Questions
    Eight new university-wide core questions

    • This course advanced my understanding of the subject matter. Q1631

    • My interest in the subject has increased because of this course. Q1632

    • I knew what was expected of me in this course. Q1633

    • I had a strong desire to take this course. Q4

    • As compared with other courses of equal credit, the workload for this course was (Much Lighter, Lighter, Typical, Heavier, Much Heavier). Q891

    • The instructor seemed well prepared for class meetings. Q230

    • The instructor explained material clearly. Q199

    • The instructor treated students with respect. Q217

    8 Questions

    (Mandatory)
    Old required university-wide questions (keep through 2020)*

    • Overall, this was an excellent course. Q1

    • Overall, the instructor was an excellent teacher. Q2

    2 Questions

    (Mandatory)

    Twelve Department Selected Questions**    		 Questions can be selected from the question catalog. Any combination of quantitative (ranking) questions and qualitative (comment) questions is allowed.
    Email ro.evaluations@umich.edu with requests for new questions or templates.
    12 Questions (Optional)

    Five Instructor Added Questions    		 Instructors have the choice of entering existing questions from our catalog or creating their own questions. ***
    They can add up to 3 quantitative questions and up to 2 qualitative questions.
    5 Questions (Optional)
        Maximum allowable questions: 27

    * Question #3, "I learned a great deal from this course.", was replaced by Q1631.

    ** If a department chooses to have fewer than 12 questions, the system is not able to compensate with additional instructor-added questions.

    *** The questions being added by instructors do not copy over from term to term. They have to be re-entered.

Reports

Reports for any evaluations taken in Spring 2018 or later will be in Blue. Evaluations from Winter 2009 through Winter 2018 will be in Faculty Center.

Instructors and department staff will receive an email from Blue when reports are ready one week after the last day of exams.

There are two standard reports:

  • Instructor with Comments Report - a combined summary report that includes both quantitative ratings and student comments;
  • Individual Response Report - a detailed report that displays individual student ratings and comments.

For Additional Information

Office of the Registrar – Evaluations
Email: ro.evaluations@umich.edu
Phone: 734-763-2622