Student Resources

Please read the University of Michigan handout on how to make your feedback most helpful to instructors:  http://crlt.umich.edu/sites/default/files/resource_files/Course%20Evaluation%20Guidance.pdf

• Instructors use it to improve courses and teaching.
• Departments use it for the annual review of an instructor’s performance.
• Departments use it to make decisions about the curriculum.
• Colleges use it to make decisions about promotion and tenure.

Yes, your feedback provided on the course evaluations is anonymous. The survey email is created automatically and the password indicated in the survey email cannot be traced back to you.

Students can access the course evaluations in two different ways:

• Students receive an email invitation sent to their UIC email address inviting them to complete the evaluation for a course. The email will contain a link and a unique student password for each course evaluation. The invitation is sent to the student’s UIC email account by UICTEACHINGEVAL@uic.edu , with an email subject line: “Online Course Evaluation for [Semester, Year] [Course Subject Code, Course Number] with Instructor [Instructor Last Name].”
• Students can also access the course evaluations from their Blackboard home page. Please follow the Instruction for Students to Access the Course Evaluations from Blackboard. The student course evaluation dashboard will display a list of your open course evaluation surveys. Each survey opens in a new browser window. After you complete a survey, the window displays which evaluations you have completed and which are pending, so you can complete all your evaluations at once.

Please check your UIC email inbox as course evaluation emails are sent to your UIC email only. If you are using an outside email account linked to the UIC email account, it is possible that the invitation email has landed in the Junk or Spam folder of the outside email account.

Please ensure that if your UIC email address is linked to a non-UIC email address, it must be done so according to the guidelines set forth by UIC Technology Solutions : https://answers.uillinois.edu/uic/83430

If these guidelines are not followed, it is likely that the course evaluation invitation email would go into the SPAM or JUNK folder of the non-UIC account.

Also, an alternative way to access your course evaluation surveys through your UIC email is to access the course evaluation surveys from your Blackboard home page.

• Students can also access the course evaluations from their Blackboard home page. Please follow the Instruction for Students to Access the Course Evaluations from Blackboard. The student course evaluation dashboard will display a list of your open course evaluation surveys. Each survey opens in a new browser window. After you complete a survey, the window displays which evaluations you have completed and which are pending, so you can complete all your evaluations at once.

UIC email is used as the primary tag to identify participating students during our data extraction. It is the most reliable method for reaching our students, since every UIC student is provided with a UIC email address. There is no way to tailor the system so students may select a preferred method of delivery. Please see the following for a more detailed explanation.

Non-UIC Email Accounts – Our course evaluation server is automated and derives its data from a central repository, there is no possibility to tailor the system so that certain students may choose a non-UIC email address. If students wish to use their non-UIC email address, it must be linked to their UIC email address according to the guidelines set forth by UIC Technology Solutions: https://answers.uillinois.edu/uic/83430 If these guidelines are not followed, it is likely that the course evaluation invitation email would go into their SPAM or JUNK folder of the non-UIC account.

Text Messaging – Not all students provide the campus with their personal cell phone numbers nor are they required to do so. For this reason, cell phone numbers are not part of our data extraction and we do not send the invitations via text.

Bluestem Login to a Central Website – Confidentiality of the system is maintained via email delivery of a link and unique password so each student may access the course evaluation system anonymously. If we allowed students to access a central website with their UIC Bluestem login ID and password, we would be able to identify the students and we would no longer comply with confidentiality requirements.

Feedback from students indicates they prefer to wait as late as possible in the semester to provide their evaluations. Feedback from faculty indicates they prefer course evaluations occur as early as possible to avoid bias introduced by perceived grades. We have selected a date that considers both student and faculty perspectives. Our server sends students an email invitation containing a link and password to access the course evaluation the moment the teaching evaluation system is set. Each semester, we open the system (3) three weeks before finals week begins and close the system at midnight on the last day before finals week begins. Until students complete the evaluation for a course, follow-up reminders will continue for that course during the two-week period before finals week. Students do not receive follow-up reminders during finals week.

Reminders are programmed into the system and will stop once students submit the evaluation. During the two-week evaluation period for Full term courses, reminder emails are sent to students every two days. During the one-week evaluation period for First Half/Second Half courses, reminder emails are sent to students daily. These reminders cease once the student has completed his/her evaluation for their course.

If you think you have completed all of your evaluations, but are still getting the reminders, please check the reminder for information on which course has not been counted as complete or check Blackboard: Instructions for Students to Access the Course Evaluations from Blackboard.

Since the student evaluations are anonymous, your feedback cannot be traced back to you in the system. Thus, previously submitted feedback cannot be modified or removed.

Yes, a confirmation email certifying that you have completed the survey will be sent to your UIC email account upon submission of the survey. The confirmation email will have a subject line “Completion for Online Course Evaluation [Course Subject Code, Course Number] with Professor [Instructor’s Last Name].

If you cannot locate the confirmation email, please check your SPAM or JUNK folder.

Evaluations cannot be completed after the deadline. Once the evaluation period ends, it is not possible to open the system back up for individual students.

If you have feedback on a course/instructor that you feel is valuable, you can write an email to the department and inquire if they can accept your late feedback and share it anonymously with the instructor.