FAQs Students

• Why evaluate my instructors? 

  • SJSU values students’ opinions about their experiences in the classes they take. The university strives to provide feedback to instructors to assist them in providing the best possible instruction. Your comments are important to that process. 

• How will I benefit from spending my time completing evaluations?

  • SJSU values your opinion about your experiences in the classes you take. Your feedback is valuable to instructors to assist them in providing the best possible instruction.

• How are SOTEs different from instructor rating websites and social media?

  • SOTEs are a formal evaluation tool of SJSU. Other third-party websites and social media tools are not endorsed by SJSU and are unregulated self-selection surveys. The third-party websites are not connected to SJSU SOTEs.

How is completing my SOTEs related to seeing my grades?

• Must I evaluate instructors in all my classes to get “early access” to my grades? 

  • Yes, you must complete the evaluations for all of your courses to see your grades early if your instructor has submitted the grades by the early deadline. If not, then you must wait 1 more week to see your submitted grades.

• What if I don’t want to complete my SOTEs, but still want early access to my grades?

  • There is an option to opt out at the end of each teaching evaluation. Opting out counts as completing the evaluation. While we do not encourage opting out, there are times where that is legitimate. We prefer accurate evaluations over those that are “made up.” 

• What does “early access to grades” OR “grade hold” mean?

  • If you complete the SOTEs for all your classes, then you will receive early access to your submitted grades. There is no hold on your grades. If you do not complete all of your SOTEs, you will have access to your grades 1 week later.

• Do I have to complete my SOTEs to have access to my grades?

  • No. You will be given access to your grades at the regular grade release date.

How are SOTEs used?

• Who can see and use course evaluations and how are they used?

  • Course instructors, department chairs, college committees and other reviewers see these evaluations. They are used during SJSU’s periodic reviews of instructors.

• Will my evaluation affect my instructor’s job? 

  • Your evaluation plays a role in the overall evaluation of your instructor’s teaching during SJSU’s periodic reviews of instructors. SJSU conducts a “holistic review” which takes into account student evaluations of teaching, peer evaluations of teaching, innovative curriculum, and teaching awards, among other factors. Teaching evaluations may also affect which courses instructors are assigned.

• Can my choice to participate affect my grade or my standing in a class? 

  • No. Opting not to participate counts as evaluating the class. Your grade and your standing in the class will not be affected in any way by your decision to evaluate or not, or by your responses. There is no way that your instructor will know your choice or ratings unless you tell them. 

• When will my instructor receive the evaluation results?

  • Instructors will receive evaluation results after final grades have been submitted.

• Will I get to see the ratings my instructors receive? 

  • No.

• Will my instructor be able to identify my responses? 

  • No. The survey process has been set up so that your comments will be completely confidential- your instructor will not be able to identify your evaluation unless you provide personally identifiable information (e.g., your name, your paper title, or other information that can be connected to you directly) in your comments. Your instructor will receive a summary of the ratings provided by students AFTER he or she has submitted grades for the course. 

• Are my course evaluation responses confidential after my grades have been posted?

  • Your evaluations will remain confidential. Your instructor will not be able to identify your evaluation unless you provide personally identifiable information (e.g., your name, your paper title, or other information that can be connected to you directly) in your comments.

How do I complete SOTEs?

• When and where should I complete these evaluations? 

  • The evaluations will be online a minimum of 10 calendar days. You may complete the surveys anywhere if you have access to your MySJSU page. A link to each course will appear during the time window. You can also complete your evaluations using the SOTE/SOLATEs tab on your course Canvas page. Each link will disappear after the successful submission of that instructor's evaluation.

• How will I know that it's time to complete my course evaluations?

  • The Institutional Research will email you to let you know it is time to complete your course evaluations. You will also see your evaluations listed on Canvas.

• How many reminders will I receive?

  • You will receive multiple reminders over the two week period in which a course is evaluated.

• Why am I unable to login to the system?

  • Please contact Institutional Research if you are unable to access the SOTEs login page. The email for the SOTE admin is institutional-research@sjsu.edu.

• My Course Evaluations portal says, “No online surveys found.”- What does this mean? 

  • This means you do not currently have any evaluations to complete.

• I do not see an online canvas course evaluation link for one of my classes, what should I do?

  • You should reach out to the SOTE administrator at institutional-research@sjsu.edu.

• Can I submit responses using a mobile device?

  • Yes, through the Canvas App.

• Do I have to add comments in the comment section? How much should I write?

  • You do not have to provide comments. If you choose to provide comments, you may provide as much or as little feedback as you feel would be helpful to the instructor.

• Several of my courses have more than one instructor.  Do I complete a separate evaluation for each one?

  • You will receive an evaluation for each individual instructor. Please pay attention to the name listed on the evaluation.

• Should I complete a different evaluation for each class I am taking? 

  • Yes.

• Can I fill out my evaluations during the class I am evaluating?

  • Your instructor may provide time during class for you to complete your evaluations. 

• Should I evaluate my instructor if I dropped my class or am withdrawing from it? 

  • No. You should not evaluate the instructor. However, you should enter the evaluation and answer the final question that allows you to opt out for that class. There you may report why you feel that you should not evaluate that instructor. 

• What happens to my course evaluations when I add or drop a course?

  • When you add a class, your evaluations are included in SOTEs. When you drop a class, SOTEs you complete for that class are excluded.

• Why am I still receiving course evaluations for classes I withdrew from?

  • This could be a timing issue, you may have withdrawn from a class after the evaluations were created. Feel free to disregard any evaluations for classes you have withdrawn from.

• What if a course is listed that I am not enrolled in?

  • This could be an error, please contact the SOTE admin at institutional-research@sjsu.edu.

• Once I complete  one survey, how do I continue to my remaining surveys?

  • The same link provided in the email you receive can be used to complete all of your surveys.

• Is there a way to be sent a confirmation email that I completed a specific survey?

  • There is not.

•  How do I know I have completed all of my course evaluations?

  • If you do not see any courses listed on MyCourseEval then you have no evaluations available to complete.

     
• Why am I still getting reminders after filling out my evaluations?

  • SJSU utilizes an automated reminder system, if you receive an email which shows no courses available for evaluation then you may disregard it.

• I missed the deadline to fill out the evaluation, can I fill it out now?

  • No.

• If I made a mistake filling out the evaluation, can I correct it or take it back?

  •  Once submitted, your evaluation cannot be modified.

• Who do I contact with questions and technical problems accessing the online evaluations?

  • You may contact the SOTE administrator at institutional-research@sjsu.edu. 

• Contacting My Course Evaluation

  • Contact MyCoursEval.

​If you did not find an answer to your question, email us at institutional-research@sjsu.edu or visit the Institutional Research website.

Contact MyCourseEval