Student Perceptions of Teaching (SPOT) Evaluations are run using Course Evaluations & Surveys (CES), formerly EvaluationKIT, an external tool that is on Canvas.

This article covers checking and improving your SPOT response rates. For other topics pertaining to SPOT Evaluations, please refer to the main article, Using SPOT - Guide for Department Administrators and Instructors. For student resources, see Using SPOT - Guide for Students. 

Contents

• Check Response Rates for Open SPOTs
• Check Response Rates for Past SPOTs
• Improving SPOT Response Rates
• Getting Help

Instructions

Checking Response Rates for Open SPOTs

1. Navigate to the Course Evaluations & Survey site and log in. See Logging in and Viewing Courses in SPOT if you'd like to log in through Canvas.
2. On the CES top menu, click Results -> Response Rate Tracker.
   
3. The Project Response Rates page defaults to displaying response rates for current, open SPOT evaluations. If no SPOTs are open, it'll be empty. 
   

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Checking Response Rates for Past SPOTs

1. Navigate to the Course Evaluations & Survey site and log in. See Logging in and Viewing Courses in SPOT if you'd like to log in through Canvas.
2. Set Status to Ended and click Search to see a list of projects, one for each past semester, and a combined response rate for all of that semester's courses.
   
3. Click on a project to view response rates for individual courses. 
   

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Improving SPOT Response Rates

Tell Students about SPOT

• Show students how to log into SPOT in Canvas.
  
  • Quick instructions: Log into Canvas. Click Account --> Profile and then SPOT.
  • Full instructions: See Using SPOT - Guide for Students.
• Share examples of how you have modified class content or instruction based on student feedback.
• Teach students what it means to provide constructive feedback (e.g., keep your comments narrowly focused and include suggestions for improvement).
• Impress upon students that practicing constructive feedback is part of professional development, and it is a learned skill that will show its value long after graduation.

Provide Class Time for SPOT

• Ask students to bring their laptops to class and give them time to complete their SPOTs.

Tell Students SPOTs are Private, Anonymous, and Confidential

• Remind students that professors don't see SPOT results until after they submit final grades.
• Show students the support article Using SPOT - Guide for Students, where it describes how SPOTs are private, anonymous, and confidential. 

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Getting Help

• If you're having issues loading SPOT in Canvas, see Recommended Browser Privacy and Security Settings for Canvas.
• For assistance with SPOT surveys, go to the 4Help Portal, log in, and click Get Help.

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