Special Changes to Fall 2020 Teaching Evaluations
Due to the unusual nature of the Fall 2020 semester, the following three questions have been added to all end-of-term evaluations:
How did you participate in this course?
- __ Attended most sessions synchronously online (e.g., in a zoom meeting)
- __ Attended most sessions asynchronously online (e.g., completing modules/videos)
- __ Attended most sessions in person
- __ Attended some of the class sessions in person and some class sessions online
Given the format of the course (e.g., fully online, in-person, etc.), what teaching methods worked well?
- Responses are open-ended.
What were the greatest challenges to your learning in this course format?
- Responses are open-ended.
These three questions are in addition to the eight university-wide questions that typically appear on all evaluations. Information about these eight questions can be found on this page under the “Allowable Evaluation Questions” section.
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.
- Winter 2021 Term Evaluations
Key Dates for Winter Evaluations
- January 22 - March 23: Departments order evaluations
- Question Personalization opens 12 days before evaluation opens
- April 7 - April 22: Students take evaluations
- May: Reports available after all evaluations close
- Midterms Winter 2021 Evaluations
Key Dates for Midterms Winter Evaluations
- January 22 - February 16: Departments order evaluations
- February 18 - February 22: Question Personalization opens
- February 23 - March 2: Students take evaluations
- Early/Mid March: Reports available
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/or SR EVALUATION REPORT 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). Q89
- 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 Summer 2021)* - 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.
There are three standard reports:
- Instructor with Comments Report - a combined summary report that includes both quantitative ratings and student comments;
- Instructor Report - a detailed report that displays quantitative ratings;
- 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
