University of Connecticut students now have the ability to give feedback on their classes and professors through the Student Evaluation of Teaching (SET) surveys.
The surveys are due by Friday, Dec. 7, according to the SET Survey Fillout Task List. They ask students for their expected grade in the class and current GPA, before asking them to rate their interest in a class, how much time they spent preparing for that class, the performance of that class’ professor, the usefulness of that class’ textbooks and other study materials and more.
“The University is interested in your views of your courses and the teaching by your instructors. You feedback is extremely important to the improvement of teaching here at UConn,” the SET surveys says. “The aggregate summary of all the responses will be used for teaching and course improvements as well as the PTR process for your instructors.”
At the end of the survey, students are asked the most positive aspect of the professor’s teaching and the ways in which that professor could improve their teaching, as well as for any general comments they have about the course or course materials.
Students’ participation in the SET surveys is voluntary. They take about five minutes of students’ time and are kept confidential, the SET surveys say.
“Responses are not identified with any individual respondent,” the SET surveys say.
Alex Walsh, research analyst at the Office of Institutional Research and Effectiveness, said that the average response rate of SET surveys over the past five years is 42.97 percent.
Results of the SET surveys are shared with the instructor of the course, Walsh said. A similar report is sent to the instructor’s department head, the dean of their school or college, their regional campus director if the instructor teaches at one of the satellite campuses and the Provost’s Office, Walsh said.
“The difference is, this report does not include answers to the open-ended questions at the end of the survey,” Walsh said. “These are shared with only the instructor. The results of the SET survey are used by faculty to improve their teaching.”
Walsh said instructors seek feedback from their students because it provides them with ideas to improve their classes.
“Response summaries are used by the university to improve teaching and course offerings,” Walsh said. “The more responses a survey receives, the more the information that can be utilized when making improvements in future semesters.”
Gabriella DeBenedictis is a staff writer for The Daily Campus. She can be reached via email at gabriella.debenedictis@uconn.edu.
