In‑Class procedures and other tips
It is recommended that you provide 15 mins at the beginning of the class for the in-class process. If you provide the time at the end of the class and leave, students will often leave early and not provide feedback
- Ask a student, TA or staff member to oversee the in-class SLEQ procedures in your class. In large classes, other students may assist but only one should be responsible for overseeing the process
- Please refrain from making comments, except to clarify procedures.
- Read the next section (Instructions to Students) to the class and then leave the room.
The instructor must not be present when students are completing the SLEQ.
Instructions to Students: (to be read to the class by the Instructor)
The information you give will be used to review the effectiveness of your instructor’s teaching.
- Your thoughtful ratings on the questions will be used to improve post-secondary education for you and for future students, and provide information about your experience with the teaching effectiveness at Dalhousie University. Additionally, the ratings will be used in the faculty tenure, promotion decision-making processes, and for other personnel decisions. Your responses are confidential. Your instructor, the Chairperson or Director, Dean will be provided with a summary of the class responses but will not have access to individual responses to the multiple-choice questions. Your response will not affect your grade. The summary of responses will be given to the instructor only after the final grade submission date has passed for the term.
- The instructions for completing the SLEQ is included on each form. Please read them carefully.
- Important: you should not type any identifying information in the comments boxes.
- A link to the “Guideline to students on providing constructive feedback” [PDF - 131 kB] is available in emails sent from SLEQ@dal.ca, on the resources section on Brightspace, and on the SLEQ website.
Note: instructors are encouraged to read the document concerning providing constructive feedback (5) to the class if time permits, or to encourage students to read it before providing feedback.
Directions for Staff or Student Assistant:
- When the professor has left the room:
- Ask students to access the Student Learning Experience Questionnaires site via the email sent to them by the SLEQ system.
- If they have already completed an evaluation online for this course prior to this class they do not have to complete the form again.
- Ask the students to work independently and to refrain from discussing their responses.
- It is recommended that you allow 15 minutes for students to complete the form.
- Remind students that if they do not complete the evaluation in class they may complete it online up until midnight of the day after the official course end date.
Strategies for increasing engagement and response rate for online courses
- For Synchronous classes, take 5 to 10 minutes of your lecture time to inform students about the importance of completing SLEQs. Let students know that the survey is confidential and will not affect final grades. The results are only reported after the final grade submission date for the term.
- For Asynchronous classes, let students know that the forms will become available by posting an announcement in Brightspace.
5 Tips for helping increase response rates
1. Close the loop
Talk to your students about the SLEQs, what they mean to you and to your career. Give specific examples. Highlight changes you made to the course(s) you are teaching/have taught based on previous evaluation results. This allows the students to understand that their feedback is taken seriously.
2. Engagement
Keep the students engaged in the process by talking to them about it throughout the year. Encourage them to read the "Guideline to students on providing constructive feedback” [PDF - 131 kB] which we link in the invitation email we send to the students. The document and a related video are also available on the SLEQ website. Provide feedback is a skill that needs to be learned.
3. Provide class time
It is recommended that instructors provide time in class for students to fill out the SLEQ forms. Details on best practices/suggested procedures are available on the Resources page on the SLEQ website.
4. Monitor your response rates
Monitor your response rate during the evaluation period. Encourage your students to provide feedback.
As an instructor, you will receive an email with a link for monitor response rate.
5. Incentives
Some instructors or programs will offer incentives for students to complete the SLEQ forms. For example, we know some Dalhousie faculty offer an extra point on the students grades if a specific response rate is reached. Some departments offer cookies or pizza to thank students for participating in the SLEQ process.