Explorance Blue (Blue).

Instructors are responsible for informing and encouraging students to participate, and to save your course evaluation reports. Your responsibilities include informing students about the evaluation dates near the beginning of the term and when the evaluation opens. Encouraging student participation by sharing evaluation links in Canvas, providing time during class for students to participate in the evaluation, and tracking response rates. After the evaluations close and grades are entered, view and save your course evaluation report(s).

Each department may have up to 12 department specific items.

All courses offered each term are to be evaluated unless they meet one of the exclusion categories

The following course categories are excluded:

• Non-UW-Stout faculty led Office of International Education courses: TRDIS 477 DRCT and EXCH courses.
• Independent study courses
• Honors capstone and contract courses: HON CAP, HON CNRT 001, HON CNRT 002
• Courses with < 16 instructional calendar days in length
• Dual Credit/ Concurrent Enrollment
• Tenured faculty courses not slated for an evaluation during the present term.
• Courses determined by the Department Chair to not be appropriate for an evaluation.

Each term in which you are teaching courses slated for an evaluation you will receive an email titled Course Evaluations: Instructor Tasks. The email will provide a link and general directions for how to log into Blue and identify your courses to be evaluated.

For detailed directions, see Centralized Course Evaluation (CCE): Instructor Task Notify Students

Course evaluations will open after 80% of the course instruction calendar dates have expired, and close after 95%. 

Within Blue, there is a tile for each of your courses to be evaluated. By clicking through a tile, the administration Start (i.e., open) and End (i.e., close) dates can be displayed.

For detailed directions, see Centralized Course Evaluation (CCE): Instructor Task Notify Students

At the beginning of the semester, instructors are to notify students if their course is slated for an evaluation and when. Notification should include mention of this information in course materials.

Students will receive an email from Provost_CourseEvals@uwstout.edu the day the course evaluation opens. Throughout the open administration period, up to two (2) reminder emails will be sent to students who have not yet submitted their evaluation.

You will also receive an email the day the course evaluation opens. Please inform your students that the evaluation is open. Additionally, to make it easier for students to access the evaluation(s), please add a direct link in Canvas along with the QR code.

For detailed directions, see Centralized Course Evaluation (CCE): Instructor Tasks Evaluation Opening.

The aforementioned email will have direct links to the evaluation for each of their courses to be evaluated.

Students can also access via the direct link and QR code you posted in Canvas.

Students can complete the course evaluation anytime during the open administration period.

For in-person and synchronous online courses, instructors are to provide time for evaluation completion during class, and to notify their students when this will occur. Sharing the evaluation link and QR code with students just prior to the in-class completion time will assist students in accessing the evaluation.

Yes. Within the Blue website, the course tile for each course will automatically update response rates throughout the administration period.

You will also receive an email when the course evaluation opens, containing directions for response rate review.

For detailed directions, see Centralized Course Evaluation (CCE): Instructor Task Response Rate Monitoring.

Post the direct link and QR code to the evaluation in Canvas. See Centralized Course Evaluation (CCE): Instructor Tasks Evaluation Opening.

Providing in-class time during in-person and synchronous online classes for course evaluation completion has been identified by Blue as among the best ways to increase response rates. Instructors leaving the room during this time is encouraged, as it may increase students’ sense of confidentiality and decrease risk of bias.

Frequently reviewing response rates and identifying courses with low (<50%) rates is another means (see Centralized Course Evaluation (CCE): Instructor Task Response Rate Monitoring). For such courses, please remind and encourage students to complete the evaluation.

Reports will be available 12 days after the end of the term.

Instructors, department chairs and administrative assistants will be provided with direct access to the CCE reports at the time the reports are released.

You will receive an email the day the reports are available, containing a link for accessing department reports.

For detailed directions, see Centralized Course Evaluation (CCE): Reports.

Yes. Please download and save a copy of each of your reports.

Contact the PARQ office by emailing Provost_CourseEvals@uwstout.edu.