About Course Evaluations
Boise State University is committed to ensuring the quality of its academic programs, its teaching, and the learning experiences of its students. An important component of this is the regular evaluation of courses by students. At Boise State, course evaluations are conducted for the following reasons:
- To provide formative data used by instructors for the continuous improvement of their teaching.
- To provide members of the University community, including students, with information about teaching and courses at the institution.
- To collect data as part of the summative evaluation of teaching for administrative purposes such as annual merit, tenure, and promotion review.
- To provide data used by departments and divisions for program and curriculum review.
Course evaluations are part of an overall teaching and program evaluation framework that may include regular peer review, instructor self-assessment, cyclical program review, and other forms of assessment, as appropriate. As part of this framework, course evaluations are a particularly useful tool for providing students with an opportunity to provide feedback on their perceptions of their own learning and experiences in a course.
Benefits of Blue
Blue provides a centralized location to access course evaluation forms, response rates, and reports.
Instructors may access Blue approximately one-to-two weeks before an evaluation opens for their courses.
Features of Blue
- A modern, reliable course evaluation tool used many higher education institutions.
- Easy to navigate and use.
- Improved reporting capabilities.
Sustainable Technology
- Integration improvements, better user management, and enhanced workflows.
- Replaces custom, homegrown integration with a standardized approach.
- Office of Information Technology ownership allows for system scalability and consistency.
Future Enhancements
- Integration with Canvas to improve response rate.
- Assessment of text analysis integration.
- Exploration of increasing evaluation frequency for midterm “pulse” checks.
How to Use Blue
Visit the Learning Technology Solutions knowledge base to learn how to use Blue.
Interpreting Course Evaluation Feedback
In interpreting evaluation feedback, your aim is to first understand your students’ perceptions and experiences and then to use it to make informed decisions about changes you might make to improve student learning.
Learn about Interpreting Course Evaluation FeedbackCourse Exceptions
Current Exceptions
View courses excluded from evaluation. Exclusions are approved by Department Chairs and the Office of the Provost.
Requests to Exclude Additional Courses
Requests to exclude additional courses will be reviewed by the Office of the Provost. Please note that requests for newly excluded courses will likely not be accommodated until the following semester (especially if requested late in the term).
Additional Information
Course Evaluation Policy
Student Evaluation Of Faculty (Policy 4300)
University Policy 4300 (Student Evaluation Of Faculty) requires instruction of courses, including those taught by adjunct faculty and graduate assistants, to be evaluated by students in every section of every course, in every semester, and in summer.
Changes to Course Evaluation Questions
Changes to Course Evaluation Questions
Course evaluation questions are established through the 2023-2024 academic year and may not be changed. Requests for future changes should be submitted to the Office of the Provost.
Comment Redactions
About Comment Redactions
University policy 4690 (Student Survey of Faculty Instruction Comment Redaction Policy) provide a process for faculty to request redaction of comments in student course evaluations that do not relate to the instructor’s effectiveness, that harass, threaten, defame, or that are discriminatory in referring to protected characteristics of the instructor and violate specific university policies.
After reviewing student feedback from the evaluation reports, faculty may request redaction of any comments that harass, threaten, defame, or otherwise fall outside the scope of the course by submitting a request for comment redaction:
Access for Course Coordinators
How do Course Coordinators access Blue?
Course coordinator access does not exist in the Blue system. Access is available at the following levels:
- Subject level
- Department level
- College level
As a workaround, course coordinators should contact their department chair or admin assistant for course evaluations.
Access for Teaching Assistants
Add a Teaching Assistant (TA)
Add a Teaching Assistant by filling out a Schedule Change Request form on the Registrar’s website.
If you need to add 10 or more Teaching Assistants please create a spreadsheet using the following format and email to schedulechange@boisestate.edu:
- Name
- Phone number
- Department
- Term
- Session
- Subject
- Catalog Number
- Section Number
- Class Number
Access the Previous Course Evaluation System
Access WDYT Reports
Reports from the previous course evaluation system, WDYT (What Do You Think), were available through May 2022.
WDYT is no longer available to access.
Get Help with Blue
Contact the Help Desk for Questions or Assistance
The Learning Technology Solutions team in the Office of Information Technology is available to provide assistance for using the new Blue course evaluation system or accessing system reports in the previous system.
Contact them through the Help Desk at (208) 426-4357 or email helpdesk@boisestate.edu.