Student Course Evaluations

Why should I fill out course evaluations?

Course Evaluations are your opportunity to give honest, anonymous feedback to your instructor and their supervisors. 

Many faculty members use the results and comments to make improvements to their course for future students and to improve their own teaching skills. Additionally, department chairs weigh the comments and responses on Course Evaluations when making decisions about the future of the faculty member within their department, or when considering pay raises and promotions.  

Instructions

Your evaluations may be delivered through Canvas or via email.
  
When delivered through Canvas, a pop-up message displays on your screen when you click into a class. This pop up contains a message and buttons to complete the evaluation or do it later. A widget will also appear on your Dashboard, in the bottom right corner, with a list of all available evaluations and their due dates.  Departments may also opt to send an email directly from the CES system containing a link to the evaluation.  

Reopening Evaluations 

ITAC can reopen your evaluations, provided the due date has not passed.  Submit a request  if you would like your evaluation to be reopened. 

Student Frequently Asked Questions

Expand FAQ List

  • General Questions

    • No, student responses are always anonymous, and instructors cannot view a list of students who have responded, nor see names associated with responses. Further, faculty will not be given access to their evaluation results until after grades have been submitted to the registrar.  

    • No, student responses are always anonymous, and instructors cannot view a list of students who have responded, nor see names associated with responses. Further, faculty will not be given access to their evaluation results until after grades have been submitted to the registrar. 

    • You cannot edit an evaluation once it has been submitted. However, ITAC can reset your evaluation for you. In doing so, you may need to start over with the evaluation. Be sure to note rating scales, as they vary by department. Submit a request if you would like your evaluation to be reset.

    • Yes, students will be able view all their open course evaluations once they’ve clicked any link to access the system, either from Canvas or from an email. 

    • If you can’t find your evaluations, and you believe you should have access to them, please contact your instructor or their department’s office. Evaluations are sent by each individual department, and there could be several reasons why your evaluations aren’t showing up. Troubleshooting starts with the department office, and they will engage ITAC if they can’t find the source of the missing evaluation.  

    • If you’re enrolled in undergraduate lecture courses, you may see two evaluations for your course. One of these is the short 5-question SPI which the university sends to meet a legal requirement for House Bill 2504. The results of the SPI are posted to hb2504.txst.edu and you can look at these within a few weeks after the end of any given semester. The other evaluation you may receive is the departmental evaluation sent by academic departments. Departments use the feedback from departmental evaluations to make decisions on course development, course offerings, and staffing, and instructors use your feedback to improve their teaching and curricula.

      Both of these are important evaluations to complete as they serve two very important purposes. The SPI helps TXST meet a legal requirement and the Departmental Evaluations are used to improve teaching and learning at Texas State.