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Helpful Tips

Pursuant to the merger of the Colleges of Engineering and Technology, information on this section of the website pertaining to Assessment and Accreditation is currently under review. As of now, the information in this section remains accurate and may be applied to the current Technology Division at the Cullen College of Engineering. For questions or inquiries, contact dean [at] egr.uh.edu (dean[at]egr[dot]uh[dot]edu).

Online & Hybrid Class Tips

If your class is 100% online on Blackboard, I suggest the following tips:

  1. Set up a module for Course Evaluations—develop the module as if the course evaluation is an assignment.
  2. Email students at BOTH their uh.edu email addresses and their external (e.g., gmail) email addresses about completing the evaluations.
  3. Post course evaluations in the Announcement section of online Blackboard course.

 

Face-to-Face Class Tips

If your class is face-to-face, I highly suggest them completing the course evaluations in-class. Select a day and tell students to bring in their notebooks/laptops to complete the course evals. Be sure to leave the classroom while they complete the evaluations.

 

Work with Blackboard Team

Work with Instructional Designers on creating a module in your online courses for Course Evaluations.

Helpful Hint:

"You can create an assignment for the evaluation and include the instructions on how to access the evaluation through AccessUH as the instructions for the assignment. Below are links to how to create an assignment. I also included how to create a link on the course menu in case you wish to create a separate content area away from your regular course assignments to make it quicker for your students to locate, but you could add it to your regular assignment content area also if you wish."

 

Incentives

You can also add group and/or individual incentives.

Dr. Navdeep Singh, assistant professor of Mechanical Engineering Technology, consistently attains high response rates. He indicated the following for his success:

"I provide students with an extra score for filling out evaluations. My quizzes account for 20% of the total grade, and usually there are 7-8 quizzes (each out of 10 points). I promise to give total of 5 extra points (to be added to the quiz score) if 100% of the class fills out the course evaluation, 4.5 points (90% of 5) if 90% of the class fill out evaluation, and so on. In the end, they earn up to about 1.5 points out of 100 for the final grade if everyone fills out evaluations. This has been very effective method, as students remind each other to fill out the evaluations. Second, since it's a group exercise students are not pressured to complete the evaluations if they don't want to."

Dr. Burak Basaran, assistant professor of Mechanical Engineering Technology, also attains high response rates. He indicated the following for his success:

"First, I make them believe in the fact that their "word" does count for me to change the content/structure of my courses and my methods of instruction, accordingly. I give them examples of what changes I have been implementing per feedback from previous generations. I ask them to give me an as detailed as possible feedback, negative and positive, to make me a better servant in their careers.

"Next, I assure them that the evals are absolutely ANONYMOUS...I assure them that a faculty member CANNOT ever know who submitted what.

"Finally, I offer them a small gift (a small credit) to take the time and effort to give me their detailed evaluations, positive and negative, to develop my courses further. I declare that all feedback is welcome, even if it is all negative they will still receive the credit, without exceptions."

 

Remind Students

Don't forget to email students to encourage them to complete the evaluation. It doesn't hurt to help give the evaluation some context to illustrate its importance. Here's a sample email Dr. Jamison Kovach has provided:

Students,

I hope you're doing well.

I have worked very hard behind the scenes to help ensure that you have learned a lot in my course this semester. By now, I hope you realize how much I care about your education and want to ensure you receive value for your time spent in my class; hence, your time to provide important feedback to me and the University about your experience in my course is greatly appreciated. Your feedback is very important to me to help improve the class for future semesters, and it is reviewed by my Department Chair as part of my formal performance review. I always use feedback from students in the course evaluations to make useful changes to my courses, which I hope have benefited you this semester.

You can access the online course evaluation for TEPM 6304 now through May 1st by visiting AccessUH at https://accessuh.uh.edu where you should see a "course evaluation" icon (if you do not see this, please refresh the list under "Help" on the left side of the AccessUH page).

Please note that all responses collected through the online course evaluations are private. In addition, please understand that student participation in the course evaluation process is critical to the university's commitment to quality teaching and academic excellence. Students are strongly encouraged to participate in this process with constructive feedback that is relevant to teaching and course content. You will receive credit for one homework assignment in my course for completing this and uploading a screen shot, etc. as proof that you completed this evaluation through the drop-box that is now available in the "Assignments & Quizzes" area of Blackboard (on left menu).

Thank you for being such a great class this semester and for your time to complete these important evaluations.

Sincerely,

Dr. Kovach