In consultation with the University Effective Teaching Committee, Faculty Senate Chair, the Provost, the Registrar and ITS, the Office of Institutional Effectiveness and Planning has selected a new way to conduct student evaluations of teaching. This online format will meet institutional needs in an environmentally friendly and fiscally responsible way. The evaluation software Blue by Explorance was chosen for its functionality, ease of use and demonstrated success at many intuitions, including several in Virginia.
FAQs
What questions will be asked in the evaluation?
- SET Instrument (implemented Spring 2022)
How will I know when evaluations are open?
- You will be notified by email and Blackboard. There will be a link to Blue for you to view a list of your courses being evaluated for that term.
Can I monitor response rates?
- Yes. You will be able to monitor rates in Blue up until the evaluations close. Instructors are emailed links to the Response Rate Dashboard in Blue when evaluations open. The dashboard can also be accessed by logging into https://gmu.bluera.com/gmu. SET Response Rate Dashboard in Blue
How do I ensure high response rates for my courses?
When will evaluations be open?
- For full-semester courses, evaluations will open 20 calendar days before the session end date (as listed in Banner) and will close 10 calendar days before the session end date. For part-of-term courses, the evaluations will open 6 calendar days before the session end date (as listed in Banner) and will close 1 day before the session end date. Spring 2022 SET Part-of-Term Dates
Can I customize the evaluation open and close dates for my course?
- Instructors are encouraged to direct requests to their designated Blue supervisor within their unit (e.g., department chair, course coordinators). Each unit decides if, and under what circumstances, they will modify the open and close dates for a course. OIEP will not make these modifications.
Can I add my own questions to the evaluation form?
- Yes. Instructors can add up to five questions to the evaluations, tailored to the course and term. In addition, starting in spring 2022, there are three optional pre-written use of technology questions that instructors can choose to use for some of their personalized questions.
How do I add my questions to the evaluation instrument?
- Instructors will be notified by email and Blackboard when the customization period is open prior to the start of the course. Adding Question Personalization in Blue
Can I choose to use a paper evaluation?
- No, Mason is no longer administering paper evaluations.
I co-teach a course. Are instructors evaluated separately?
- Yes. Students will be asked to complete separate evaluations for each instructor. Please verify with your department that information is Banner is up to date to ensure the appropriate instructors are evaluated.
When will I be able to access student evaluations?
- Reports will be available in Blue 21 days after the course end date as listed in Banner.
Who will have access to student student evaluations of teaching once completed?
- Instructors, deans, department chairs, and course coordinators will have access to the evaluation reports in Blue. Anyone listed as a supervisor in Blue (e.g. deans, department chairs, course coordinators) will have access to all of the evaluations for their unit. Instructors will only have access to their own evaluations.
How can I be added to Blue as a supervisor for my unit?
- OIEP sends a list of current Blue supervisors to units at the beginning of each semester requesting any additions or deletions along with a deadline for submitting the changes. Changes cannot be made in Blue after this process is complete and any subsequent requests will go into effect for the next semester. All requests must be made by the department
Will the student evaluations be made public as they were with Mason’s previous hybrid process of paper and online evaluations?
- At this time, there are no plans to make evaluation reports public. However, we have created a college-level response rate dashboard for campus use.
I am one of multiple instructors of record for a course, but should not be included in the evaluations. Is there a way not to have an evaluation issued for me?
- Yes. For that course, the department would need to assign the instructor 0% responsibility as the instructor of record in Banner prior to the evaluations opening.