Course Feedback
All Smith students are required to complete course feedback questionnaires for classes taken at Smith in both the fall and spring semesters. Visiting students, graduate students and Smith students studying elsewhere—including study abroad programs—are not required to complete course feedback questionnaires. Information gleaned from these questionnaires contributes to the decisions made about the tenure and promotion of Smith faculty.
Instructions
Course Feedback Questionnaires are completed through an online platform during the last week of classes through the end of finals each semester.
Detailed instructions on how to complete your course feedback forms will be sent to all students via email. This invitation to complete the course feedback forms will be followed up with reminders to students.
Student evaluations of teaching play an important role in the regular review of faculty. At Smith, we recognize that student evaluations of teaching are often influenced by students' unconscious and unintentional biases about the race and gender of the instructor.
As you fill out the course feedback forms, we ask you to keep this possibility of bias in mind and to try to resist stereotypes about instructors. Please focus your feedback on the content of the course and the modes of instruction and not on unrelated matters. We appreciate your careful and constructively critical comments.
To Access the Course Feedback Questionnaires
Smith Students
- Use the direct link sent to you via email
- Smith Portal using the Course Feedback link under “My Info” tab
- Moodle under your course page
Five-College Students
To access Explorance Blue to complete your course survey, please use your Smith Credentials to login to https://smith.bluera.com/smith/Default.aspx If you do not know/remember your Smith Credentials, please perform the following:
1. Reset your network password. Go to www.smith.edu/resetpass. Follow the instructions on the page to reset your password. Passwords must be 14 characters or more. The next page will either display "Success" or "Try Again". If that does not work, please email ithelp@smith.edu
Failure to Complete
Why do we ask students to complete course feedback forms?
The information gathered from these feedback forms will be used by individual faculty in improving their teaching and planning future courses. The feedback provided by students is also used by departments and the Committee on Tenure and Promotion to assess teaching at Smith, therefore it is very important that all students participate in the feedback process. This is the only consistent input students have into tenure and promotion decisions.
Why is one of my courses missing from the list?/Why are some courses not included in this feedback system?
- All of your courses that require feedback will appear in the task list (special studies, honors courses, and Five College courses are not included). Small courses with five or fewer students are available for feedback, however, your responses for these courses are optional and these courses are marked with the word Optional at the beginning of the course title. Team taught courses will now appear in the one single form. The questions will be repeated once for each instructor and will include labels with each question to indicate which instructor is being evaluated. For courses that you have the same instructor for the lecture and the discussion/lab section, you will only be required to fill out one survey for that experience.
- Abroad or away from campus: if you are abroad or away from campus you are not required to complete Smith College course feedback questionnaires
Course Feedback Timeline
The course feedback questionnaire is available to students online at the end of the semester. Faculty have the opportunity to submit custom questions in advance. Faculty gain access to reports following the deadline for submission of grades.
Fall 2024 Timeline
Date(s) |
Description |
---|---|
November 26–December 2, 2024 |
Faculty may submit custom questions (using a direct link sent via email). |
December 4, 2024 |
Students receive email with direct link to complete course feedback questionnaires. |
January 5, 2025 |
Access to course feedback questionnaire closes for students. |
January 8, 2025 |
Faculty gain access to course feedback reports (using a direct link sent via email or the Smith Portal). (Note: Access is blocked for those faculty who have not submitted all grades. Once the grades have been submitted, the block will be removed as soon as possible.) |