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Course Feedback

Students taking notes in class
 

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 courses with five or fewer Smith students are not included). 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.

Timeline for Spring 2023

April 28, 2023 Students receive email with direct link to complete course feedback questionnaires.
May 14, 2023 Access to course feedback questionnaire closes for students on May 14 at 11:59 p.m.