Policies and Practices

Access

The course feedback system works on a phone, tablet, or computer:

• Log in at coursefeedback.syr.edu with your Syracuse University credentials.
• Use the link in invitation or reminder emails from “Syracuse University Course Feedback.”
• Students: select the course feedback notification shown when you log in to Blackboard.
• Instructors and administrators: in Blackboard, select Tools, then the Course Feedback tile.

Project creation

OIE sets up course feedback projects for the fall and spring semesters, Winterlude, Maymester, and summer sessions. Other projects may be set up on request.

Course feedback is collected for all courses except experience credit, internships, international courses (offered through Syracuse Abroad by institutions outside the U.S.), independent study, individualized study, thesis, and dissertation:

Course confirmation

At the start of each project, courses are imported from Blackboard and synced periodically so that all appropriate courses are included. OIE filters out the excluded course types above and sets each course’s feedback dates using course data from the Office of the Registrar. New courses continue to be identified and imported in the weeks before and as the project begins.

Before feedback opens, OIE notifies school, college, and department course feedback administrators to confirm the courses in their areas. Administrators log in to the course feedback system to:

1. Confirm all courses are listed, excluding the course types above.
2. Confirm all instructors and teaching assistants (if applicable) are correct, and remove anyone listed who isn’t teaching the course.
3. Tell OIE which courses should be cross-listed or combined for reporting, so they can be mapped together and assigned the right forms.

Administrators work with OIE to correct any discrepancies. Instructors also have access to their course information and can contact OIE with questions or corrections.

Administration

The Academic Affairs Common Questions are included on every course feedback form. Each school or college decides whether departments and instructors can add their own questions to the department and instructor sections of the form.

School, college, and department questions apply to all of their courses, and any changes must be made before the project begins. Instructors with questions about, or requests to change, a school, college, or department form should contact their area’s course feedback administrator.

Instructors can add their own questions starting 21 days before a course’s feedback window opens. OIE recommends adding no more than 5, to keep the full form a manageable length.

Course feedback windows

In fall and spring, the window for regular session courses closes at 11:59 p.m. Eastern on the day before final exams begin, unless a school or college requests an extension to the last day of the semester. OIE manages all feedback windows, and forms remain available throughout each window.

Notifications and response rates

OIE notifies students when feedback opens and sends automated reminders to students who haven’t responded, emphasizing the importance of constructive feedback. Course feedback administrators are encouraged to monitor response rates on the system dashboard and remind instructors to encourage participation. Instructors are encouraged to discuss the value of feedback with students throughout the window, remind them to complete their forms, and thank those who have.

Confidentiality

Information about whether an individual student has completed a course feedback form is not provided under any circumstances. Instructors can monitor the overall response rate for each course they teach, but no individual student information is shared. Students automatically receive a Certificate of Completion email after submitting each form.

Reporting

The course feedback system provides access to results automatically. Administrators at all levels can view summary and detailed results for the areas they oversee, and instructors can view results for the courses they teach. Reporting options depend on each user’s role.

OIE sets when results become available after grades are submitted, monitoring grade submissions with the Office of the Registrar to keep the timeline appropriate. Users can open reports from links in automated email notifications or by logging in with their SU NetID.

• Fall and spring reports: available to administrators and instructors 7 days after grades are due.
• Flexible-format reports: available 14 days after the course’s feedback window closes.
• Courses with fewer than 3 students enrolled: results are not released, but administrators can include them in combined reports using Report Builder.

Reports from Summer 2020 onward are available in the course feedback system. Reports from the previous system (Fall 2011 through Spring 2020) are available on request from OIE for promotion and tenure or job applications.