Course Evaluations: Students

Overview

Bellarmine fully transitioned from paper to electronic course evaluations at the start of academic year 2013-2014. With only a few exceptions, all undergraduate and graduate courses use online course evaluations powered by Explorance Blue. The course evaluation system is managed by a team of staff from Academic Affairs, IT, and IR&E. Questions about the course evaluation process can be directed to the Bellarmine Course Evaluations email account, or to members of the IR&E staff. We also encourage you to look through the Frequently Asked Questions below.

Frequently Asked Questions

How can I access my evaluations?
Invitations will be sent to your official bellarmine.edu email address at the start of the evaluation window for each semester. The link in this invitation email allows you to access all course evaluations that are open to you at that time. This email and any subsequent reminders will be sent from course.evals@bellarmine.edu.

Can I access my evaluations from Moodle or Experience?
Yes. From Experience, click on the Moodle card or navigate directly to Moodle. From your Moodle dashboard or any course page within Moodle, look for the “My Course Evaluations” link at the bottom of the left-hand navigation. (On mobile devices with a narrow display, this link will appear at the very bottom of the page.)

When will I receive the email invitation for my course evaluations?
There is not a single, definitive date on which you will receive the email invitation for your course evaluations. The timing will depend upon the course and whether the instructor has elected to adjust the default timing. By faculty policy, undergraduate course evaluations must occur within the final 30% of class meetings and cannot occur during finals week, so you should expect to receive an email during the final three weeks of class. In graduate courses, the faculty policy states that evaluations may take place during the last week of classes including finals, as not every graduate course has a final exam.

What is the deadline for completing my course evaluations?
By faculty policy, undergraduate course evaluations must occur within the final 30% of class meetings and cannot occur during finals week. The default deadline will therefore occur by the last meeting day of the class. This ensures that students are not distracted by evaluation requests while studying for and taking final exams. The deadline for graduate course evaluations is the last day of the course, inclusive of finals week (if a final exam is required).

I clicked the link in the invitation email for my course evaluations, but do not see all of my courses. Why not?
If one or more of your courses are missing from the menu, it usually means one of two things: (1) the course does not require an evaluation; or (2) your instructor(s) adjusted the evaluation window. Non-lecture courses (e.g. independent studies, contract courses, field placements, and most internships) never require a course evaluation. If the missing course is not one of these instructional methods, then your instructor probably created a custom start date/time for the evaluation. Some faculty prefer to have students complete the course evaluation during class time, and therefore restrict access to the course evaluation to only one class meeting. There are also some courses that do not follow the traditional academic calendar—either ending earlier or later than the traditional semester—and will be evaluated at a different time. Please check with your instructor if you have questions or concerns about the timing of your course evaluation window.

Can you re-send the invitation email for my course evaluations?
Yes. However, before requesting to have an invitation re-sent, please search your bellarmine.edu inbox for an email from “course.evals@bellarmine.ed” or the name “Course Evaluations” to make certain that you have not missed it. Also, please check your Junk/Spam folder for the invitation email. If you still cannot locate the invitation, then you may send a request to course.evals@bellarmine.edu with your full legal name (first, middle, and last). Allow up to two business days for a response.

I accidentally filled out an evaluation incorrectly. Is it possible to have the evaluation reopened for a course so I can edit my responses?
Yes. Please send a request to course.evals@bellarmine.edu with your full legal name (first, middle, and last) and the course and section number of the course for which you need the evaluation re-opened. Please allow up to two business days for a response.

What happens to my evaluation once I click submit? Can my instructor see how I completed the evaluation?
Evaluation responses are collected for each course and, at the end of the semester, the quantitative responses (e.g., ratings on a 1-5 scale and yes/no questions) are aggregated. Each instructor receives an individual report with the mean (average) response for each question. Instructors also receive a list of all qualitative responses (e.g., open-ended comments to questions like, “The most valuable aspect of this course was …”). All qualitative responses are reported in random order with no student identifying information attached. Instructors use the feedback from course evaluations as part of the yearly self-evaluation that they submit to their department chair or program director. The chairs, program directors, and deans of each school also receive an aggregated version of the courses evaluations for instructors within their purview and have access to each individual instructor’s course evaluations.

When will my instructors receive the results of their course evaluations?
Faculty will receive the results of their course evaluations only after final grades have been submitted to the Registrar’s Office at the end of term. Reports are generated approximately 2-3 weeks after the semester concludes. This ensures that feedback from a course evaluation will never have any influence on your final grades.

The evaluation period ended for one of my courses, but I did not have a chance to complete it. Is it possible to have the evaluation period extended?
In most circumstances the evaluation cannot be extended because evaluations are intentionally scheduled so as not to interfere with final exam week and the final grade deadline for the semester. If for some reason you do not feel you were given adequate time to complete an evaluation, please speak with the instructor for that course.