Academic Affairs

Departments at NTID/RIT can decide to participate in Mid-Semester Course Evaluation via the SRATE/SmartEvals system or use a Qualtrics Survey. The differences between the two options can be found at this link: Qualtrics and SRATE/SmartEvals.

Mid-Course Feedback (MCF) is a process initiated in response to students’ desire to see that their opinions are valued by teachers and can impact what happens in their courses. Students rarely have the opportunity to observe improvements that directly result from their end-of-term evaluations such as NTID’s SRATE/SmartEvals and the Services Rating System (SRS1:1). MCF is a strategy that can lead to more meaningful, mutually satisfying, and potentially higher end-of-term student ratings, while also impacting a course while it is still in progress.

Student feedback solicited several weeks into the semester can lead to mid-course corrections regarding communication, teaching strategies, materials, assignments, pace and rigor. Instructors have the opportunity to improve their teaching effectiveness and student satisfaction in a timely way.

Mid-Course Feedback is a private process conducted between teachers and students and is not intended to be shared with anyone else unless an instructor chooses to do so. MCF is facilitated by the SRS Advisory Group in NTID Academic Affairs but it is not a part of the student rating systems. Unlike the SRS, MCF is an informal evaluation process with no formal data collection or reporting.

Mid-Course Feedback Sections

• See FAQ for information and timelines about the Mid-Course Feedback (MCF).
• See Guidelines for how to share students’ feedback (survey results) with them and make plans for responding to concerns.
• See Research to learn more about the importance and benefits of MCF. 

SRATE Mid-Course Feedback Survey

• See RIT's MCF Survey Sample below for a list of statements and comment boxes used in the MCF SRATE/SmartEvals survey and guidance in creating your own survey.

Qualtrics Mid-Course Feedback Survey

• See NTID's MCF Qualtrics Survey Sample 1 that contains SRATE and SRS questions.
• See MCF Qualtrics Survey Sample 2 that contains a list of twenty popular questions.
• See Instructions to get started with Qualtrics, then follow these steps:
  • Click here to download two templates onto your computer. Note: if you are unable to download, try a different browser such as Chrome or Firefox.
  • To open the selected template, login to Qualtrics.
  • Import the downloaded Qualtrics .qsf file template into the Qualtrics online platform as listed in the Instructions pdf.
  • Modify your MCF survey questions as needed.
  • Add students to your Qualtrics survey; see Emailing a Survey Invitation instructions.
  • Setup single-use access connection by selecting Survey Link Type 'Individual Link' in your survey.
  • IMPORTANT: Ensure your surveys are anonymous for confidentiality by selecting Individual Links with the Anonymize Responses survey option.
  • Setup Distribution and Survey Expirations in your survey.
  • Send your survey to your students using the Email Distribution option setup above. We recommend sending the survey to students during weeks 6 -10.
• For additional Qualtrics support visit https://www.qualtrics.com/support/survey-platform/

WHAT?

Mid-Course Feedback (MCF) is an initiative of NTID Academic Affairs to provide tools for classroom instructors to solicit useful feedback from their students mid-way through the term. The primary tool is an online survey administered to students. The SRATE MCF includes five Likert agreement-scale items, each paired with an optional comment box for students to explain their answers regarding these topics:

• Communication between instructor and student
• Communication among students
• Materials
• Difficulty level and pace
• Homework and projects

Two comment boxes allow students to indicate what is “best” and “worst” about the course.

A Qualtrics Survey will also be made available to faculty, that contains additional questions and opportunities to comment. Qualtrics offers the opportunity for the survey to be customized based on a student's responses, by automatically skipping inapplicable sections or providing additional applicable questions based on a certain prior response by the student. 

MCF is optional, flexible and brief. Instructors can use the SRATE or Qualtrics survey, or they can create their own paper surveys using MCF questions on their own.

WHY?

Mid-Course Feedback benefits both students and instructors.

Students gain because they feel they have some voice, some way to indicate a need for change before it’s too late. Many students indicated in a 2009 attitudes survey about the former course evaluations that they didn’t feel their ratings made any difference for themselves, and they couldn't see any changes over time across the term.

Instructors gain because they have an opportunity to improve their effectiveness (student learning) and student satisfaction in a timely way. A clear majority of instructors indicated in a 2011 survey that they were interested in soliciting and using mid-course student feedback. The MCF is an effort to facilitate that feedback.

Keeps private conversation going between the instructor and the students.
The MCF is not shared with anyone else, unless the instructor chooses to do so. It is not part of any formal evaluation process.

WHO?

Classroom instructors from any academic program can use the MCF. 

WHEN?

Suggested timeline for activities during Weeks 2 through 10 of a 14-week semester-based term:

• Week 2: Student Rating Coordinator sends Qualtrics or SRATE instructions to NTID.
• Week 3: Reminder sent to NTID.
• Week 4: Second reminder to NTID. Deadline for faculty to complete MCF selections.
• Week 5: Student Rating Coordinator submits faculty selections to Registrar.
• Week 6: Registrar processes information to create MCF surveys.
• Week 7: Registrar sends out MCF surveys to students.
• Week 8: Registrar processes student responses.
• Weeks 9-10: Registrar sends out survey results to faculty.

1. Keep it short. Sharing MCF survey results with your students should take NO MORE THAN ten minutes of teaching time at the start of class!
2. Thank the students for participating! A better class can result with their help!
3. Briefly summarize the ratings. Begin with a summary and overall distribution of the ratings for each question. Don’t place any specific positive or negative value on the results. Students shouldn’t think you had an expectation for what the ratings would be. 
   
   IMPORTANT: DO NOT do ANYTHING that would reveal an individual student’s rating or comments! Don’t overemphasize comments from one person.
    
4. Bring up only one or two of the most important items and determine a possible plan of action. Summarize insights and consensus comments. Note the areas you think may need attention. Students need to know you read what they wrote and appreciate their feedback. It’s an attitude that you’re trying to convey. Be objective. Don’t take comments personally. Invite discussion to clarify comments. This can be a shared problem-solving session.
    
   • Examples: 
     
     “I see several of you feel the homework is not helpful. What can we do?” 
     
     “A few people thought the pace was too slow. Would less repetition help?”
      
   • Students need to know you can’t change some things.
     
     Example: A textbook, or a specific test might need to be part of the class.
      
   • Suggest ways students can participate in addressing the concerns.
     
     Example: In-class participation, tutoring, study groups, or meeting with you.
5. Offer one-on-one meetings as a follow-up. Some students may not want to share or disclose their comments in the group situation.
6. Follow up in class in a few weeks. Find out if what you and the students have been doing to address concerns has helped. 

For further information about how to use Comments from Students, see Syracuse University information. 

Seek tips from colleagues and the RIT Teaching and Learning Services at Wallace.

Research about student ratings and mid-course feedback

Benton, S. L., & Cashin, W. E. (2012). IDEA Paper No. 50: Student ratings of teaching: A summary of research and literature. Manhattan, KS: The IDEA Center. 

This IDEA Paper is an update of the IDEA Paper No. 32 Student Ratings of Teaching: The Research Revisited, (Cashin, 1995). It attempts to summarize the conclusions of the major reviews of the student ratings research and literature from the 1970s to 2010. While that literature is extensive and complex, this brief paper offers broad, general summaries and a good number of citations. As such, it is an excellent resource which draws several noteworthy conclusions.

Download the document

Bullock, C.D. (2003). Online Collection of Midterm Student Feedback. New Directions for Teaching and Learning, 96, 95-102.

The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign created an electronic evaluation system (EON) for online courses which includes a mechanism for instructors to collect midterm (formative) feedback as well as end-of-term (summative) ratings. In this chapter, Bullock focuses on the midterm component, beginning with a review of pertinent literature. She describes a pilot program utilizing EON as well as a study that was conducted to gain an understanding of how and why instructors use midterm feedback. They found that instructors preferred this type of online system to paper-pencil evaluations and wanted consultative services for item development and for the interpretation of results.

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Spencer, K. J. & Schmelkin, L. P. ( 2002). Student Perspectives on Teaching and its Evaluation. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 27 (5), 397-409.

The study described in this article explored student perspectives on course and teacher ratings as well as some issues related to teaching effectiveness and faculty roles. Spencer and Schmelkin found that while students were generally willing to complete teacher evaluations and provide feedback they had little confidence that faculty or administration viewed or paid attention to the results. Noting that end-of-term instruments should not be the only formalized way for students to express their views, they support “mid-term formative evaluations.”

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Medina, Brenda. ( 2011). As Emphasis on Student Evaluations Grows, Professors Increasingly Seek Midcourse Feedback. The Chronicle of Higher Education

A growing number of academics are asking students to evaluate their teaching midcourse rather than waiting for feedback at the end of the term. Midterm feedback from students gives professors a chance to adjust their courses to improve learning and student satisfaction.

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