New Course Evaluation Framework and Online Administration System

TO:         Principals, Deans, Academic Directors & Chairs

FROM:       Edith Hillan, Vice Provost, Faculty and Academic Life

RE:         New Course Evaluation Framework and Online Administration System

Please circulate to all pre-tenure and pre-promotion faculty.

During the fall and spring term of this year a number of departments in the Faculty of Arts and Science and at the University of Toronto Mississauga and the Faculty of Nursing have been piloting the new online course evaluation system in parallel with the existing paper-based system.  This pilot has been extremely helpful in informing revisions that need to be made to both the course evaluation framework and the online system.

Over the summer, course evaluations in the Faculties of Arts & Science, Nursing and Engineering, along with UTM and UTSC will go fully online.  Online course evaluations are administered through a secure system that requires a student to enter their UTORid password.  They can be administered in classes where WiFi or cell networks are available and students can access them from laptops, tablets and phones as well as desk top computers.  One of the benefits of the new course evaluation framework is that students' response rates can be tracked across divisions and best practices incorporated into the process to encourage higher participation rates.

Course evaluations are just one component of teaching assessment at the University of Toronto.  Any comprehensive teaching evaluation system will include means for triangulating the information provided by course evaluations through mechanisms such as regular peer review, instructor self-assessment or teaching dossiers.  However course evaluations provide an important mechanism for students to give feedback on their learning experiences in the courses they enroll in and are useful for assessing course content, the performance of the instructor and achievement of course objectives. 

The Centre for Teaching Support and Innovation (CTSI) on the St. George Campus, the Centre for Teaching and Learning at UTSC and the Robert Gillespie Academic Skills Centre at UTM will continue to work with all pre-tenure and pre-promotion teaching stream faculty members to assist in the preparation of teaching portfolios.  CTSI will prepare course evaluation reports at the request of individual faculty members that compare evaluations on both the new and old systems for the purposes of tenure and promotion.

Pre-tenure or pre-promotion teaching stream faculty who joined the University while another course evaluation system was in place and who do not wish to use the online system, can be provided with an alternative.  The online system can accommodate paper printouts of the evaluations which can then be entered into the system via ScanTron.  Divisions are expected to establish a system to ensure that the forms are kept secure and that the confidentiality of raw materials is maintained.  In these instances, it is recommended that faculty members consult with CTSI regarding factors that might influence course evaluations using both paper and online formats.