This course is designed to provide the basic knowledge, procedures, and hands-on experience required for the successful implementation and operation of online course evaluations with the Class Climate software. Topics for this workshop include: introduction to Class Climate, creating questionnaires, capturing responses, analyzing, and sending results. This course is recommended for personnel responsible for creating, managing and data collection for course evaluation surveys.

1. Center for Excellence in Learning and Technology
Student Evaluation of
Teaching: Introduction to
Class Climate
Laura Bestler, Instructional Support Specialist
294-5357 • course-evaluation@iastate.edu
eLearning: http://www.celt.iastate.edu/elearning/
Class Climate: https://classclimate.its.iastate.edu/

2. Objectives
• Introductions
• Class Climate as a tool
• Creating questionnaires
• Capturing responses
• Analyzing
• Sending results

3. Paper Course Evaluations
Pros Cons
Done in-class - good response rates Very time consuming (preparation before and
after administration)
Students feel anonymous May take 4-12 weeks for faculty to get results
Resource intensive to type up answers to open
ended questions
Lots of room for error (scanning errors, student
errors-using pen, etc., illegible comments,
handling errors: students can tamper with data or
forget to return, people often put forms in a
packet for the wrong class, etc)
Students may be apathetic and just fill in
anything
Costly (cost of forms, pencils, bins, envelopes,
work hours, scanner)
Bad for the environment (uses lots of paper)
Students may not take time on open ended
questions because of time

4. Online Course Evaluations
Pros Cons
Immediate results Lower response rate? (effects of use of
incentives?)
Far less room for error (no lost forms, Has to be done on the students’ time
scanning issues) (unless technology allows for in-class)
Far less time consuming Anonymity concerns
Far less costly (no scanner, paper forms, Students who have not attended class are
much less work hours,etc.) now able to give opinions
Green- no need for paper
More student comments
Flexibility for questions/scales
Students who take the time to do them
have an opinion
Students are able to fill them out 24 hours
a day
Less time intensive for administrators

5. Effective Timeline based on
Dillman’s Delivery Sequence File
Timeline Action
3 weeks before finals week Course is populated
3 weeks before finals week Press Release to University Relations & Iowa State Daily
2 weeks before finals Dean / Provost / President sends out email to student
body reminding students about the importance of the
Student Evaluation of Teaching (SET)
2 weeks before finals Surveys are generated, and sent to students
3-4 times during survey Reminder emails are sent to students who have not taken
period the survey
End of survey Friday before finals or before course grades are due

6. Creating Questionnaires
• Login to:
http://classclimate.its.iastate.edu
• Go to the Questionnaires tab
• Click on [Create questionnaire]
• Click on [VividForms Editor]
• Enter Abbreviation (NO SPACES) & Title

7. Generating Surveys
• IMPORTANT: Are your courses populated?
To run a survey they have to be populated by
course-evaluation@iastate.edu
• Go to [Generate Surveys]
• NOTE: Select Online Survey and Use Time
Control – this will allow you to [Schedule Tasks]

8. Scheduled Tasks
Consider:
• How long the survey will be available?
IMPORTANT: Include when the survey will end
within the email text of the survey
• How many times you want reminders to be sent
out?
• When will the survey end?

9. 1. PSWD to respondents
2. Online survey reminder
3. Finish survey

10. PSWD to Respondents
Unable to edit
until
you[Activate]
the task

11. PSWD to Respondents IMPORTANT:
Include the date
the survey will be
available until
Click [Save]
<b>This survey will be available until ____ </b>

12. Online Survey Reminder
Start date
Reminders
IMPORTANT:
Include the date
the survey will be
available until
Click [Save]
<b>This survey will be available until ____ </b>

13. Finish Survey
Start date
IMPORTANT:
Do NOT
Click [Save]
auto-report
Leave unchecked

14. MULTIPLE
SURVEYS

15. MULTIPLE
SURVEYS

16. Scheduled Tasks
Click on [Scheduled tasks] – it will display the
course, instructor, survey along with the tasks:
• Open = still occurring
• Incomplete /
Incorrect = Click on
the [Pencil icon] to edit
• Executed =
Completed

17. Analyzing Data
• Change your role to [Report Creator]
• Click on [Folders]
• Click on [Create new Folder]
• Name folder [Summer 2011]

18. Sending Results
• IMPORTANT: Discuss with your
Department Chair how the reports
should be sent to Instructors
• Change your role to [Administrator]
• Click on [Batch Events]