Student Evaluation of Teaching/Course

Important Update:

SET/SEC will be available from 1 January 2013 for UB VET Student Feedback only. 

CUP TAFE Partners have already been moved to eVALUate.

 

The SET and SEC are evaluation instruments designed for teaching staff to obtain feedback from students. The SET is used by the teacher to gather information about their teaching style and performance as reflected in the responses of their students. The SEC is used to gather information about the students' opinion of the course content and structure. All teachers should request a SET, but only the course coordinator (or one member of a course design team) should request a SEC.

Procedure

To initiate a SET and/or SEC Evaluation, you will need to complete a Student Evaluations Request Form (pdf, 952kb). To complete the form, fill in the following fields:

  • Your details: Fill in your contact details. You can only complete a request form for yourself. You cannot request a SET or SEC for someone else.
  • SET/SEC details: Select SET for an evaluation of your teaching or SEC for an evaluation of the course. One choice only per request. There is provision on the form to make eight separate requests.
  • Course code: Enter the course code for example ITECH 5000.
  • Course name: Enter the course title for example Business Macroeconomics.
  • Teaching period: Use the drop-down menu to select the appropriate period.
  • Evaluation date: Use the drop-down menu to select the evaluation date. Please allow at least 10 business days from the receipt of your form for it to be processed.
  • Number of students: Enter the total number of students in the course that you expect will actually take part in the evaluation.
  • Number of groups: The total number of students may be divided into groups. For each evaluation requested please state how many groups of students will be involved.
  • Optional group code: If you want the standard 10 questions that everyone receives, leave this blank. If you want to add 10 additional questions that have been grouped according to particular themes, enter in the appropriate group code. An example for a SET evaluation would be "T" which is for Small Group Lecturing. The full list of optional group codes is available by clicking the link further down this page.
  • Optional items (Questions 11 to 20): If you want more than the standard 10 questions, but you do not want to use an optional group code, you can select 10 individual questions from the list available from this website. The important point to note is that if you request a SET, you must only choose individual questions from the SET list, not the SEC list; and vice versa.
  • Optional open-ended question: Here you can enter a question of 15 words or less, asking for student comment. Be careful that your question is appropriate for the nature of the evaluation. For example a question on a SEC evaluation might be "Was the current textbook helpful or not?". This would not be appropriate on a SET evaluation because the question relates to the course content not the performance of the teacher.

Submitting the form

Once all details have been entered into the online form press the SUBMIT button. You must complete the Evaluation Date and No. of Groups boxes (as highlighted in red) otherwise an error message will appear to alert you that this information is incomplete. An email window, with your request form attached, will appear after you press the Submit button. Please send the email to UBSurvey@ballarat.edu.au. Note that if an email window does not appear after you press the submit button then your request has not been processed correctly. A complete package of instructions and materials for conducting the evaluation will then be sent to you.

Administering the evaluation

Each of the SET and/or SEC packages contains a two-page set of instructions. Page one of these instructions provides the teacher with information about tasks which need to be undertaken before the Evaluation. Page two of these instructions provides the teacher with information about procedures to be followed on the actual day of the Evaluation. A copy of these instructions is provided below in the "Documents for download" section.

Signature

It is the responsibility of the Evaluation Supervisor to ensure that the evaluation is valid. Each of the three conditions must be met (box ticked) and the instruction form is to be signed where indicated. All of these conditions need to be met otherwise the results will not be processed.

Feedback of results

Once your evaluation has been returned, it will normally be processed within three weeks, and a report will be produced. You will receive the report in the mail as soon as it has been completed. Once the grades for the current semester have been officially released by the University, you will also receive the actual response sheets so that you can read the written responses.

Alternative SET and SEC Forms

Some Schools, or individuals, have developed alternative versions of SET and SEC for use with their students. SEEQ Unit staff will only provide processing and reporting support for official UB SET and SEC instruments and processes. All teaching staff should ensure that their teaching and course evaluation practices meet UB guidelines to enable the University to benchmark various aspects of learning and teaching processes across all campuses where UB courses are delivered.

Additional questions

Further assistance is available by contacting Carly Borchers , SEEQ Unit Coordinator in PQR. Telephone: +61 3 5327 6162 or email: UBSurvey@ballarat.edu.au

Documents for download

The following documents provide additional information about SET and SEC evaluations.