Instructor FAQs

• Previously, only students present when questionnaires were distributed in class could complete them. Now, all students will have access to their course questionnaires as long as they are open
• The online system can generate reports tailored specifically to the instructor, department, and faculty level
• Questions can be added to the questionnaire that reflect areas of interest to individual instructors
• Results are now automated, reducing the time needed to generate reports

The process of administering the SQCTs in class has not changed, with the exception that the online questionnaire replaces the paper Scantron version: Students will complete their questionnaire on their smartphones, tablets, or laptops. A full list of instructions for individuals administering the questionnaires can be found on the Your Feedback Classroom Administration page.

High response rates are desirable. Your Feedback contains several automated features that are designed to encourage students to complete their questionnaire. Instructors should continue to provide 15 minutes of class time for students to complete questionnaires on their own devices. This site also provides a list of other strategies for supporting a high class response rate.

The questions on the Student Questionnaire on Courses and Teaching (SQCT) were revised in 2016/2017 based on the Western's Joint Working Group: Student Questionnaires on Courses and Teaching 2015 report. In that report, the Joint Working Group recommended:

1. The questions in the SQCT be reviewed and revised;
2. The revised questions be relevant to a variety of instructional modalities (e.g., face-to-face; online, blended);
3. The end-of-course questionnaire be customizeable such that there will be a set of core questions with the possibility of adding supplementary questions from a question pool; and
4. A committee consisting of faculty and staff with expertise in survey methodology and teaching assessment implement these recommendations.

As per the Joint Working Group's recommendations, a committee reviewed and revised the questionnaire. The revised questionnaire is somewhat shorter, leaving room for supplmentary questions, and includes modified instructions to provide students with more guidance on completing the questionnaire. The rating scale is revised to reflect agreement with the core SQCT questions, and the committee ensured that the questions are relevant to different course formats (e.g., face-to-face, blended, online).

The revised questionnaire was adopted as the core SQCT questions in Fall 2017.

A comparison of the revised and original questionnaires is available here (pdf).

The distribution of questionnaire outcomes remains the same as in previous years. The compiled ratings reports are shared with instructors and Deans. Data reports contain no identifying student information. Only instructors have access to any comments students have written about the instruction. Student comments on courses are available to instructors and Deans.

Western students, faculty, and staff can view ratings data by logging in to a secure website using their Western user ID and password. Written comments do not appear on this site.

Consistent with senate regulations, SQCT Results reports for courses with 5 or fewer responses are not sent to the instructor or Dean. An instructor for whom 3 or 4 students completed their SQCTs for a course may request a specialized report, the SQCT Minimal Response Report. This report only includes the SQCT ratings, not the instructor or course comments; the comments are suppressed to safeguard student anonymity, and is only available for SQCT results from the Winter 2018 term forward. The SQCT Minimal Response Report is only made available to the instructor of the course.

Currently, the Your Feedback system collects SQCT data from:

• All main campus undergraduate courses, including Ivey Business School
• Brescia University College
• Huron University College
• King's University College
• Bachelor of Education courses
• Law (professional degree)
• Graduate courses in programs that opted in to the Your Feedback system
• Distance Studies

Rude words (e.g., profanity) are redacted and the comments with redacted words are reviewed to determine if the comments are also offensive (e.g., discriminatory, harassing), and removed if necessary. All other SQCT comments are released without review. If an instructor receives a comment that they believe is offensive and wishes to report that comment, they are asked to do so using the new SQCT Comment Review tool in the Faculty/Staff Extranet. If the comment raises concerns regarding faculty or student safety, Campus Police should be notified immediately.

Historically, offensive comments, such as those that violate the Student Code of Conduct (e.g., discriminatory, harassing, threatening), have been rare at Western.

As per the new Faculty Collective Agreement, means, standard deviations, and medians are no longer provided for student ratings in the SQCT Results Reports. Reports that include the means, standard deviations, and medians are available to individual faculty members by request from feedback@uwo.ca.