The Reports of Student Experience (RSEs) are one source of evidence that is used during the tenure, renewal, and promotion processes. See Section 5.2, #25 in the Faculty Handbook for examples of other sources, including course observations and self-evaluations.
Survey Administration
Instructions for Faculty
The RSEs are typically administered during the last full week of classes using the Anthology online platform. (Anthology is also one of the applications listed in the Google waffle.) During RSE week, the survey is available from 6am on Monday until 11:59pm on Friday. Faculty should set aside time in class for students to complete the survey. Additional instructions for faculty are provided in this document.
To see the survey questions, go to Anthology, click on the Surveys icon at the top, and then select My Course Surveys. You should then see a list of your classes for the current semester. (If the Surveys icon doesn’t appear, this means that no surveys are currently set up.) In one of the latter columns, click on one of the magnifying glass icons in the Preview Survey column and a copy of the survey should pop up. To see all of the questions in the preview, you’ll need to click Save and Continue at the bottom of the page a couple of times.
Checking Rosters
A week or so before the survey opens, faculty will receive an automated email notification identifying which of their classes are eligible for RSEs and listing the respective rosters. Faculty should report any issues by emailing rsesupport@allegheny.edu.
Not all courses are eligible for RSEs. For example, independent studies, group studies, peer mentoring, senior projects, and internships are not evaluated in this way and neither are courses with low enrollments.
Student Access to Surveys
When the survey opens, students will receive a notification that the survey is now available. This email will contain a link to the Anthology platform. Students can also access the survey via the RSEs link which appears in course navigation menus in Canvas.
RSE Responses
Each course’s responses are contained in an Evaluation Report. To find your Evaluation Reports, go to the Anthology platform, click on the Reports icon at the top and then select Evaluation Reports. You should then see a list of your courses. Select the reports that you would like to see by checking boxes in the Include column and then click the View button that appears above the list. You can also use the filters at the top of a page to find a specific course.
Analyzing RSE Responses
The following guidelines describe how faculty can analyze their own RSE results. Department chairs can use similar approaches when examining candidate’s RSEs.
When examining RSE results, you should focus on reflection and growth, not comparison with other faculty.
To locate old RSE results, please consult the RSE Results: Distribution and Storage document.
Qualitative Responses
The following steps describe one possible strategy for examining your qualitative responses (a.k.a. narratives). For more information, take a look at the workshop materials in the Resources section.
- Group comments by theme, looking for recurring themes as opposed to one-off comments
- Name the themes in ways that describe the commonalities in each group
- Identify a quote that supports each theme, for possible use in a future self-evaluation
- Reflect on the positive themes
- Identify action items for future course.
After completing these steps, consider talking through your analysis with a colleague to see if they agree with your findings.
Quantitative Responses
When examining your numerical results, your goal is to reflect on your own teaching, not to draw comparisons with colleagues. Here are some questions to consider.
- What trends do you see over time both within and across your courses?
- What evidence of teaching effectiveness can you identify?
- Are there questions on which you consistently receive low scores and, if so, what might this indicate?
- Where do you see room for improvement?
RSE Resources
Relevant Memos and Reports
- RSE Summer Working Group report (July 2021)
- Midterm Reflection Update (September 2020)
- Faculty Review During AY 2020-2021 (August 2020)
- Recommendations for the Use of RSE Data (Fall 2018)