OFFICIAL: Important changes to student evaluation process

April 16, 2025

Dear Colleagues,

The University is updating the administration process and content of student evaluations of instruction, effective immediately. These changes will align our processes with recent state legislation and will affect future semesters, including summer terms.

New Student Evaluation Administration Process:

Student evaluations of instruction for spring semester open on Friday, April 18, and close on Saturday, April 26, at 11:59 p.m.

For all courses meeting face-to-face or synchronously online, instructors and faculty are required to provide at least 15 minutes at the beginning of one class during the week of April 21–25 for students to complete the teaching evaluation instrument.

To Administer the Evaluation:

  1. Instruct students to log into Pilot using their cellphone, laptop, or other device. Course evaluations can be accessed from the top of the landing page.
     
  2. Inform students:
    “Evaluations are COMPLETELY anonymous. Instructors are not given results until all grades (from all instructors) have been submitted for the semester. Instructors are not given any student names or UIDs. If a student is unable to complete the evaluation during the time allotted, their individual response remains open to them until the end of this week.”
     
  3. Instructors must exit the room for the 15 minutes set aside for student evaluations.

For fully online courses, instructors/faculty should set a daily reminder for students in the LMS starting Friday, April 18, through the end of the evaluation period. Additional guidance for fully online courses will be provided beginning in summer 2025.

How to Review the Evaluation Survey:

  1. Log in to the Course Evaluations (EvaluationKit) system
  2. In the Manage Courses widget, click on the current term
  3. Select View
  4. Click Preview to view the evaluation survey

Or watch a video to preview these steps.

New Student Evaluation Content:

We have made several updates to the student evaluation instrument for the spring semester, including:

  • A required question:
    “Does the faculty member create a classroom atmosphere free of political, racial, gender, and religious bias?”
     
  • Five new Likert-style questions focused on teaching effectiveness and student learning
     
  • Three open-ended questions to collect qualitative data for future faculty evaluations

Future evaluation instruments will include questions developed by the chancellor of the Ohio Department of Higher Education focused on teaching effectiveness and student learning.

Per state law, beginning with the annual faculty performance evaluations conducted by departments and colleges during fall 2025, student evaluations must account for at least 25% of a faculty member’s annual teaching evaluation.

Reports of results to faculty and administrators will include comparative data, including department, college, and university mean scores.

If you have any questions or need assistance, please don’t hesitate to reach out.

Thank you for your attention to this important update and your continued commitment to student success.

Best,

Jim Denniston, Ph.D.
Acting Provost