Feedback from students in the form of course evaluations offers valuable insights for making changes and improving classes.
Explore answers to common faculty questions about the course-evaluation process.
Starting in Summer 2017, PNW began using Blue by eXplorance to conduct course evaluations. Blue is a powerful evaluation platform that is being used by many higher education institutions to evaluate more than 1 million courses per year.
How do I access my course evaluations?During the 2016-2017 academic year, a faculty committee drafted new course evaluation questions for a unified PNW course evaluation. The five scaled items and one open-ended item that will be included in all PNW course evaluations are listed below:
During the time when you can add additional questions to your survey, you can also preview all questions included in your course evaluation survey to see exactly what your students will see. To preview your survey, click the “Preview Questionnaire” button. You will need to register responses and click the “Next” button through the screens to see all questions (the responses you submit will NOT be included in your results).
Are the questions historically used at my campus included automatically?Because new questions for a unified PNW course evaluation were drafted by a faculty committee, the 8 core questions historically used by the Hammond campus and the 6 core questions historically used by the Westville campus will NOT be automatically added to your course evaluation survey.
How do I add questions to my course evaluation?Faculty can add questions during a limited timeframe before surveys become available to students.
You will receive an email notifying you when you can add additional questions and providing a link to complete the task.
Only instructors marked as the “Primary” instructor in Banner will be automatically set for evaluation.
If additional instructors need to be evaluated for a given course with a unique CRN, please contact your department.
If a student drops my course, will that student get to complete a course evaluation?Students will not be able to complete an evaluation for a course from which they have withdrawn or been dropped.
How do I monitor my response rates?Once the course evaluations are live to students, you will receive email communications with a link to monitor your response rates.
You can also monitor your response rates through Brightspace. Login to Brightspace and click on “Course Evaluations” in the “Course Tools” drop-down menu to access your course response rates.
Can I tell which students did or did not complete the course evaluation?No. You are not able to tell which specific students have or have not completed the course evaluation. Instead, you will be told how many students and the corresponding percentage of your class enrollment have completed the course evaluation. You are able to monitor response rates in real-time while surveys are available to students.
How can I increase my response rate?The evaluation schedule is determined by the course end date listed in Banner.
Full semester (16-week) course evaluations run the last 2 weeks of the semester (prior to finals week). Evaluations for shorter parts of the term begin on the Monday of the last week of class and continue throughout the following week after the class ends.
How do students know that course evaluations are available for them to complete?There are several ways that students will know that the course evaluation survey is ready for them to complete.
What is in the subject line for the email the students will receive asking them to do the evaluation and who sends the email?
Students will receive 2 reminder messages throughout the evaluation timeframe. Once students complete their course evaluations, they will not receive reminder messages.
Course sections that are cross-listed in Banner will be cross-listed in the course evaluation system as well. The results of cross-listed sections will be combined into a single course evaluation report.
Course sections that are not cross-listed in Banner but which should have a single course evaluation report including results from multiple sections can be “merged” in the course evaluation system. Please contact your department to request that course sections be merged.
Can my Department/Unit Head and Dean see my course evaluation results?Yes, your Department/Unit Head will receive a copy of the individual course report as well as an aggregate report of evaluation data for the courses in their unit(s).
How will I receive my results?For the summer 2017 semester and beyond, your results will be available to you online by logging into https://pnw.bluera.com/pnw/ with your Purdue Northwest credentials (if prompted, select “Users” as the data source). You will receive an email notification with a direct link to your results when they are available for you to view.
You can access your evaluation results through Brightspace. Login to Brightspace and click on “Course Evaluations” in the “Course Tools” drop-down menu to access your course evaluation reports.
When will I receive my results?Course evaluation reports will be available 48 hours after final grades have been submitted (or the first business day that the campus is open after that date).
You will receive an email notification when the course evaluation results are ready to view.
Is there a minimum number of responses that I need to get in order to view my results?Faculty will see the evaluation results as long as there is at least 1 response.
How do I interpret my results?Emily Hixon, Professor of Education and Director of the Center for Faculty Development and Leadership, is available to assist faculty with interpreting their course evaluation results.
How do I print my results?You will have access to a PDF file of the report for each course you teach which you can print. You are also strongly encouraged to save your course evaluation reports in your electronic files.
How do I obtain a copy of my results from previous semesters?Course evaluation reports from summer 2017 through the current semester can be accessed in the following ways:
If you are looking for evaluation reports from a semester prior to summer 2017, please reach out to Institutional Research. In your request, please include the year, semester (spring, summer, or fall), and course name, number, and CRN if available, for each report.