Student Evaluations of Teaching

George Mason University uses Blue by Explorance for the student evaluations of teaching process. Notable features include:

• Core university questions with up to 5 custom questions, including 3 optional pre-written use of technology questions.
• Multiple notification methods.
• Instructors are able to see response rates in real time.
• Wide variety of reports available for your use.

Timing

• Student evaluations of teaching are administered immediately prior to finals week in order to avoid the possibility of student bias.
• All students enrolled in courses are notified by email alerting them to the opportunity to evaluate their courses. Please note: a course must have at least 3 students for an evaluation to be generated.
• The length of time an evaluation remains open is related to the length of the course. The default for most full-semester courses is 10 days. The default for part-of-term courses is 5 days. Instructors can request changes to the open and close dates via their academic unit. If approved by the academic unit, the administration window can open as early as two weeks prior to the default open date and close as late as the Banner course end date. The default administration schedule is listed below under Resources.
• Students will receive an invitation email when the evaluation opens, and up to 2 additional reminder emails before the evaluation closes.

Resources

• Student Evaluation of Teaching Questions
• SET Questionnaire as Viewed in Blue
• Tips to Maximize Student Participation in Student Evaluations of Teaching
• Spring 2025 SET Administration Schedule
• Spring 2025 Question Personalization & Supervisor (SM) Administration Schedule
• Spring 2022  Faculty Senate Announcement of New SET Questions
• Adding Question Personalization in Blue (instructors)
• Customizing SET Dates in Blue for Individual Courses (supervisors only)
• Instructors and students can log in to Blue at https://gmu.bluera.com/gmu

Course Evaluation Results

• Blue Reports (Starting Fall 2020)

Click on the FAQs on the left for more information.

• * The programs and services offered by George Mason University are open to all who seek them. George Mason does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, ethnic national origin (including shared ancestry and/or ethnic characteristics), sex, disability, military status (including veteran status), sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, marital status, pregnancy status, genetic information, or any other characteristic protected by law. After an initial review of its policies and practices, the university affirms its commitment to meet all federal mandates as articulated in federal law, as well as recent executive orders and federal agency directives.