Course feedback policies and practices have been developed based on a review of Office of Institutional Research (OIR) past policies and practices; input from the schools/colleges and other campus units, such as the Office of the Registrar, Information Technology Services (ITS), and the Center for Teaching and Learning Excellence (CTLE); and configuration and implementation of Syracuse University’s online course feedback platform. Policies and practices may be subject to modification.
Access
There are multiple ways to access the course feedback system from your phone, tablet, or computer:
- Log in to coursefeedback.syr.edu with your Syracuse University credentials.
- Click on the link in invitation or reminder emails from “Syracuse University Course Feedback.”
- In Blackboard, click “Tools” in the main menu and then select the “Course Feedback” tile.
Project Creation
Course feedback projects in the University’s course feedback system are established by Institutional Effectiveness (IE) for the fall and spring semesters, as well as Winterlude, Maymester, and summer sessions. Other projects may be set up upon request.
Course feedback forms are distributed for all courses except for experience credit, internships, international courses (offered through Syracuse Abroad by educational institutions outside the U.S.), independent study, individualized study, thesis, and dissertation:
| Experience Credit | International Course | Independent Study | Master’s Thesis | Individualized Study | Dissertation |
| 270 | 280 | 290 | 997 | 998 | 999 |
| 470 | 480 | 490 | |||
| 670 | 680 | 690 | |||
| 970 | 980 | 990 |
Course Confirmation
At the beginning of a course feedback project, courses are imported from Blackboard into the course feedback system and periodically synced to ensure that all appropriate courses are included.
IE filters the course list to exclude courses noted above. Course survey start and end dates are set at this time in reference to course data provided by the Office of the Registrar. Many new courses are identified and imported into the system daily in the weeks prior to and as the new project begins.
Prior to survey start dates, IE notifies school/college and department course feedback administrators to begin the confirmation process for their areas. For administrators, this involves logging in to the course feedback system to:
- Confirm all courses are listed (see above for types of courses that are excluded).
- Confirm all instructors and teaching assistants (if applicable) are correct and remove any non-instructor/TA names listed.
- Inform IE of courses that should be cross-listed or merged for reporting so that the courses can be mapped together and assigned the appropriate forms.
If there are any discrepancies, changes, or additions, administrators collaborate with IE to correct the listings. The confirmation process is critical to the efficient administration of the course feedback process. Instructors also have access to their course information and can contact IE if they notice any discrepancies or have questions.
Administration
Academic Affairs common questions are included on each feedback form. Schools/colleges determine whether individual departments and instructors have the option of selecting additional items to include on the department and instructor sections of the course form.
School/college or department-level items are applied to all associated courses and any revisions must occur by the start of the project. Instructors with questions about or requests to change a school/college or department form should direct their inquiry to the course feedback administrator(s) for their area.
Instructor-level items may be selected starting 21 days before the course feedback window opens.
Course feedback windows are:
| Course Length | Course Feedback Duration |
| 1-14 days | Opens last day of class for 7 days |
| 15-28 days | Opens 3 days before class ends for 7 days |
| 29-56 days | Opens 7 days before class ends for 9 days |
| 57+ days | Opens 14 days before class ends for 14 days |
In fall and spring semesters, the course feedback window closes for regular session courses at 11:59 p.m. of the first reading day unless a school/college requests an extension to the last day of the semester.
The course feedback windows are managed by IE, and all forms remain accessible during the designated time periods.
IE notifies students of the course feedback window opening and sends reminders to non-responding students through an automated process in the course feedback system. This process is designed to improve response rates through efficiency, consistency, and promptness of reminders. A key message is the importance of providing constructive feedback.
School/college and/or department course feedback administrators are encouraged to review the system’s dashboard to monitor response rates and remind instructors to review their response rates and encourage student completion of the forms.
Instructors are encouraged to maintain communications with students about the process during the course feedback window, discussing the value of student feedback, reminding students to complete their forms, and thanking those who have already done so.
Information about whether an individual student has completed a course feedback form is not provided under any circumstances. In the course feedback system, instructors can monitor the overall response rate for each course they teach, but individual student information is not provided. Confirmation of form completion is automatically sent to students via email from the course feedback system after a form is submitted.
Reporting
The course feedback system automates access to results for both instructors and course feedback administrators. Administrators at all levels of the University have access to summary and detailed results within the areas they oversee, and instructors can access results for the courses they teach. Reporting options are available depending on the user’s role (i.e., administrator, instructor).
IE sets the timeline for when users can access the results after grades are submitted, and reports can be accessed through “one-click” links in automated email notifications, or from a secure standalone site via single sign on with a Syracuse University netID and password. IE, in consultation with the Office of the Registrar, monitors grade submissions to ensure that the reporting timeframe is appropriate.
Reports for fall and spring course feedback projects may be accessed by course feedback administrators as soon as 7 days after grades are due and by instructors 10 days after grades are due.
Reports for flexible format course feedback projects may be accessed by course feedback administrators 14 days after the course feedback end date and by instructors 17 days after the course feedback end date.
Results are not released for courses with fewer than 3 students enrolled (i.e., 1 or 2 students enrolled). These data may be aggregated across courses by course feedback administrators using Report Builder.
As of Maymester 2020, reports are no longer available through MySlice. OIR-produced reports from fall 2011 to spring 2020 will be available upon request from IE in preparation for promotion/tenure or upon application for a position.