Instructor or Teaching Assistant FAQs
Explore the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) for Instructor or Teaching Assistant.
I am an Instructor or Teaching Assistant
When do my students complete their evaluations?
The Office of Institutional Research (IR) sets the default evaluation start and end dates (the “evaluation window”) based on the following:
Evaluation Schedule Guidelines
The current (default) evaluation schedule is determined based on the Registrar’s calendar and the Vice Provost’s policy. An evaluation window is defined by a start date and an end date. The start date is typically scheduled nine (9) calendar days before the end date. On the start date, students receive emails inviting them to fill out their evaluation surveys online. The end date is when all course-related activities are concluded and before students take their finals and/or submit their final presentations/reports/projects. For courses in the main session (001), the end date is the date before the university’s final exam period.
Currently, faculty can set their start dates. The start date should not be more than 14 days before the end date (or more than 21 days for a fall semester, to account for the Thanksgiving break). For example, in a fall semester, if the end date is December 4, the default start date is November 28, and the earliest start date is November 14.
Faculty are encouraged to keep the end dates. There are concerns that students’ feedback can be impacted after they take their finals and/or after they learn about their grades. Yet, situations arise such that evaluations cannot be completed during the pre-defined window, and faculty can still make changes to accommodate their unique circumstances.
Faculty may want to keep their evaluation window open for at least nine days so that students have ample opportunities to fill out their responses.
How can I change my evaluation window?
Changing the evaluation schedule is an easy, two-step process.
Check your email and click on the evaluation link. A new window will open.
Make changes to the start date. We recommend that you keep the end date, but it can be changed if necessary.
Once faculty finalize their schedules, they need to select a particular date within their evaluation window to have their students complete the evaluation in class. Faculty also need to inform students of this date. The IR office does not keep track of the in-class evaluation date, and it is the instructor’s responsibility to set the schedule and conduct the evaluation in class accordingly.
How do I conduct an “in-class” evaluation for online courses?
Online instructors should try to follow the steps outlined on the Evaluation Process tab in the Faculty section. They are welcome to modify the general guidelines to accommodate their unique circumstances. Regardless, instructors should follow these two important guidelines:
Instructors should ask a student to volunteer to proctor the evaluation and follow the usual in-class guidelines. However, when this is impractical, instructors must verbally inform students of the evaluation process. The following statement should be read by whoever proctors the evaluation:
Learning Experience Evaluations are your opportunity to provide feedback to your instructor. USC and its faculty take these evaluations very seriously, as they provide valuable information that faculty and schools can use to improve teaching. It is important to remember that the learning process is collaborative and requires significant effort from the instructor, individual students, and the class as a whole. Please provide a thoughtful assessment of their experience, as well as of their own effort, with comments focused on specific aspects of instruction or the course. Comments on personal characteristics of the instructor are not appropriate and will not be considered. Evaluations should be completed individually with no undue influence by either a student or instructor. Should any inappropriate behavior occur, it will be reported to the Office of Institutional Research.
Instructors and students should not see each other while students are completing their evaluations. For example, instructors may choose to step out of their room or they can black out their screen(s).
How should I conduct my evaluation in class if my students meet only intermittently throughout the semester?
One of the possibilities is to keep the default evaluation window. If students meet either in class or online during this period, you can still conduct an “in-class” evaluation. In fall semesters, you can open the evaluation window up to 21 days before finals to accommodate your schedule, or up to 14 days before finals in spring and summer semesters. If the last class meeting (either in class or online) is more than 21 days before the scheduled end date, you may want to have your students complete the evaluation online during your scheduled window.
How do I conduct evaluations for courses with multiple instructors?
The following rules of thumb are intended to help faculty set their schedules when multiple instructors (including TAs) teach a course. The IR office does not set firm policy on how evaluations are completed, and relies on instructors to establish appropriate procedures.
If a course has an instructor and multiple TAs, and the TAs do not have any independent sections (labs or discussions), the TAs should follow the instructor’s schedule. They should NOT modify the evaluation schedule, as this will overwrite the instructor’s schedule. Students will answer questions for both their instructor and TA when they fill out their surveys.
TAs with independent labs or discussion sections will be treated as instructors and evaluated separately. Students will receive separate evaluation links for them.
There are a few ways to schedule evaluations for classes with multiple instructors (as in team-taught courses):
By default, all instructors are evaluated during the same evaluation window, unless each instructor has a designated section ID in the Student Information System. Instructors should agree on the evaluation window and make necessary changes to the start date.
When all instructors teach throughout the semester, it is best to have students evaluate them at the same time at the end of the semester. This means one instructor must agree to conduct the evaluation for all of them. Students will be asked to select the instructor(s) they want to evaluate in the survey.
If instructors want separate evaluations (e.g. Tuesday evaluation for instructor A and Thursday evaluation for instructor B), they should first agree on the evaluation schedule. Students can complete separate evaluations for different instructors by returning to the same survey form and selecting the individuals they want to evaluate.
When each instructor in a team-taught course teaches only a few weeks during the semester (e.g. the first instructor teaches the first eight weeks and the second teaches the latter eight weeks), it may be best to conduct separate evaluations at different times during the semester. Please contact your department administrator as soon as possible and let them know your situation. The department admin will work with IR to create a manual process so that you and your co-teachers can conduct your evaluation on separate dates.
What can I do if students said that they did not receive their evaluation links?
Please ask them to search their inbox for an email from c-evals@usc.edu, with the “Learning Experience” subject line. You can also tell them to look for the “Course Evaluations” tab on Blackboard. If these do not work, please contact us at c-evals@usc.edu and provide us with your section ID and the students’ USC email addresses.
What should I do if I am an instructor for a course, but I am NOT being evaluated?
If you believe there is an error, please first contact your department to resolve the issue. In general, all courses listed in the Student Information System (SIS) are evaluated. IR excludes (or adds) instructors and/or courses only when we receive departmental authorizations. You may not be evaluated because:
We were instructed not to evaluate you or the course you teach.
You are not listed as an instructor in SIS for the course you teach.
You are one of many instructors in a team-taught course, and SIS lists only the lead instructors (or a department coordinator).
How can we ensure a high student response rate?
While students receive multiple email reminders throughout the scheduled evaluation window, the best way to ensure high student response rates is your active participation in the evaluation process. Instructors are encouraged to follow up with the class if the response rate is low. The following insights may be helpful:
Historical data suggest that the majority of students completed the evaluation online from Tuesday to Thursday, between 10:00 AM and 4:00 PM.
The majority of students complete the evaluation by accessing the evaluation links in emails. (Students can also access their evaluation in Blackboard under the Course Evaluations tab.)
You may want to remind students to bring their Internet-enabled devices to class on the in-class evaluation dates.
The response rate tends to increase with additional email reminders. You can email your students directly from the Evaluation Window webpage by following these steps:
What if I only have a single student in class, or no student is willing to be a proctor?
Under these circumstances, instructors may want to verbally inform their students of the evaluation protocol by reading the proctor’s statement. You must then leave your classroom and allow students at least 15 minutes to complete their evaluations. You may want to monitor your response rate online via the link in your email notification(s). You can return to class once approximately 80 percent of your students have responded, or when at least 15 minutes have passed.
What if I do not get an 80 percent response rate by the end of 15 minutes?
While the university goal is an 80 percent response rate, we understand that lecture hours are extremely valuable to students. Instructors should decide whether or not to allow students more time to complete their evaluations or to resume their lectures. If instructors wish to resume their lectures, they can remind students to complete their responses online at their earliest convenience. Reminders can be emailed to students through the course evaluation system.
What will my learning experience evaluation report look like?
You will receive a PDF report for each course that has been evaluated. Reports will include the means and standard deviations for each of the questions asked, in addition to a list of submitted comments. Reports do not contain any information that could identify students. View the Course Evaluation Sample Report.
What does it mean if I have a report that says “Threshold Is Not Met”?
This means no students responded to that evaluation. If you feel this is in error, please contact c-evals@usc.edu.
Where does the USC Course Evaluation System get student, instructor and course data?
Data from the USC Student Information System (SIS) is used to generate course evaluations. Changes in SIS will be reflected in the course evaluation system. However, changes made outside SIS may not appear in the evaluation system. Contact us at c-evals@usc.edu to discuss changes you want to make outside SIS.
Can we evaluate non–USC-affiliated faculty?
Yes. Please contact the IR office at c-evals@usc.edu for further instructions.
Will the TAs be evaluated?
Yes, TAs are currently evaluated using a slightly modified version of the general instrument.
Who do I contact for help?
You may want to contact your department first. Alternatively, you can email the Office of Institutional Research at c-evals@usc.edu. Please provide the name of the course and the section number if possible. Explain the problem you are having and we will be happy to assist you. You may also respond directly to any course evaluation email you have received.