1. Purpose
This policy aims to establish the requirements regarding student feedback related to for-credit courses taught at VinUniversity. Student feedback is an essential component of the learning experience, and it must be solicited, recorded, and utilized in a manner that maintains confidentiality and trust and supports the enhancement of the student learning experience.
2. Scope
The policy applies to all full-time, part-time, Adjunct, Affiliated, and Visiting faculty and Teaching Assistants who teach courses that are part of the degree requirements at VinUniversity.
3. Policy statements
3.1. Required end-of-semester, structured course evaluations.
End-of-semester course evaluations can provide helpful information for improving courses and an opportunity for students to reflect and provide feedback on their learning. Course evaluations are necessary documentation for accreditation and Quality Assurance reporting for the Ministry of Education and Training (MOET).
- At VinUniversity, an end-of-semester student course evaluation will be conducted for each course that is part of the degree requirements. The evaluation will include feedback on, at a minimum, the quality of the course and instruction and achievement of course learning outcomes.
- These evaluations will have the required questions as listed in the document in Appendix 2. If a course has labs or other practicum components, programs/instructors have the option to include additional feedback questions. For certain courses with alternative forms (e.g., internships, project-based courses, etc.), a specifically tailored survey form, proposed by the Program Director and authorized by the Dean, may be used to get better input from students.
- The evaluation will seek feedback on each instructor and teaching assistant (TA) involved in student-facing course instruction or teaching support.
- Unless an exception is approved by the Dean of the College/Head of Faculty, end-of-semester course evaluations will be administered online, using the VinUni Blue Explorance system.
- In cross-listed courses, the evaluation will be administered for the “subject code” (of the department/program) in which the student is enrolled. For example, if a course is offered both by CHS and CECS, students enrolled in the CHS portion of the course will receive the form required by CHS, whereas students enrolled in the CECS portion of the course will receive the form required by CECS. This is to allow each College/Program to add questions that are relevant to their program/students.
- Students enrolled in sections of the same course, and that meet on the same day(s), at the same time(s), and in the same room will be given the evaluation form on the same day and time.
3.2. Required mid-semester formative student feedback for all for-credit courses.
- In addition to the required summative assessment (end of the semester), faculty and programs must seek formative student feedback at some point during the semester. The purpose of the mid-semester assessment is to provide real-time feedback regarding the student learning, engagement, and perceptions about the quality of the course and instruction so that the instructors can make any necessary changes to address the issues/concerns raised.
- While this mid-semester or ongoing feedback is required for every course, the course instructor can determine the method, structure, and content of such feedback in consultation with the program director/Vice Dean/Dean.
- This mid-term feedback is intended only for the course instructors and should be shared with others only with the consent of the instructors and approval of the Program/Dean.
- Mid-term feedback must be anonymous. Students should not be required to provide any identifying information in providing feedback. Any demographic information should be optional.
- Course Instructors may administer the mid-term assessments for their courses but may not supervise, instruct or coach students to complete the course evaluations.
- The mid-term assessments can be administered using any medium that the instructor finds appropriate, such as Microsoft Forms, some online collaboration platform, or on paper. If online, they will not be administered in the “Blue Explorance” system.
- The instructor/program will determine the timing for administering the assessment. It can be done once or multiple times over the course of the semester. Instructors should be mindful of the burden on students from multiple surveys; therefore, one is recommended in the middle of the semester.
3.3. Institutional support for administering end-of-semester course evaluation.
- The feedback process should be such as to encourage all students to participate.
- Participating in the feedback process should be easy and convenient for students.
- Instructors are expected to reserve 15-20 minutes in a scheduled class time for the administration of the course evaluation survey.
- The University Registrar Office will co-ordinate with course instructors, TAs and administer the end-of-semester course evaluations.
3.4. Avoidance of conflict of interest, coercion, identification, or adverse consequences for students.
- Course evaluations must be anonymous. Students must not be required to provide any identifying information when responding to the survey. Any demographic information will be optional. If the small size of the class or a particular demographic may lead to the possibility that a student can be identified, the demographic information will not be provided to the faculty member and not be used in reporting.
- Independent studies, research, field experience courses or courses with total enrollments of fewer than five (5) students are exempt.
- Course Instructors may not administer the evaluation for their courses. They may not be present in the classroom while the evaluations are being administered nor supervise or coach students to complete the course evaluations.
- The University Registrar or their designee who is unrelated to the course will announce, distribute, collect, and submit the end-of-semester feedback forms.
- Evaluation results will be available to the instructor after final grades for the semester or term have been submitted. This is to prevent any bias or perception of bias in the course grading process.
3.5. Appropriate timing of feedback assessments and access to results.
- Course evaluations will be administered and must close prior to the start of final exams.
- Course instructors will have access to the complete evaluation report after the final semester grades have been assigned.
3.6. Confidentiality and restricted access for course evaluation results.
The University Registrar is responsible for the administration of the end-of-semester course evaluation, results tabulation, and distribution. All such distribution must follow the protocol below:
- Course instructors and program directors will have full access to the complete course evaluations for each course.
- College Deans, Vice-Deans, and Vice Provost Office will receive summary score statistics and open-ended comments at the instructor and course level.
- Provost will receive summary information and comments aggregated at the College level.
- If any other individual requests access to the Course evaluation results, s/he must request the Registrar, providing a reason for the request. The instructor must provide explicit consent for sharing the results.
- Mid-semester formative feedback may not be used for faculty performance assessment.
- End-of-semester course evaluation reports will be used for faculty performance as determined in the HR policy.
4. Responsibilities
| Individual/Department | Responsibilities |
| Registrar |
|
| Course Instructors |
|
| Registered Students |
|
| College and University Leadership |
|
5. Definition
| Term | Definition |
| Courses | Any course taught by VinUniversity faculty or staff, and that counts towards the completion of a degree at VinUniversity. |
6. Related documents & Forms
6.1. Related documents
Faculty Performance Guide
6.2. Forms
See Appendices
7. Appendices
7.1. Appendix 1: Sample Mid-Semester Feedback Form
NOTE: Instructors are welcome to use this template or create their own, as they see fit.
To help make this course most relevant and supportive of your learning, I would appreciate your completion of this mid-semester survey. Your responses will remain anonymous.
Please respond to each of the following statements by choosing one of the options.
Strongly Agree, Agree, Neutral, Disagree, Strongly Disagree, Not Applicable
| No. | Assessment criteria | Statements |
| 1 | Overall assessment | 1. Overall, I am satisfied with the quality of this course.
2. Overall, this instructor is an excellent teacher. 3. I am learning a lot in this course. |
| 2 | Instructor Effectiveness | 1. The instructor is well organized, well prepared, and uses class time efficiently.
2. The instructor includes various in-class activities such as discussions, problem-solving, demonstrations, cases, projects, etc., to actively engage students in the learning process. 3. The instructor explains the topics and content clearly. 4. The instructor’s feedback to me helps me to improve my understanding of the topics and content. 5. The instructor is accessible outside the classroom (examples: office hours, consultations, via email or other agreed-upon forms of communication). 6. The instructor treats students with respect. |
| 3 | Course Structure and Course Materials | 1. The course is well organized.
2. The instructional materials (i.e., books, readings, handouts, study guides, lab manuals) are appropriate and relevant to the goals of the course. 3. The course workload and requirements are fair and reasonable. 4. The course assessments (exams, tests, projects, assignments etc.) are relevant to the course content. 5. Grading for the course assessments (exams, assignments, quizzes, projects, etc.) is fair. |
| 4 | Questions on Course Learning Outcomes. Text in “{}” should be changed to match the specific course learning outcomes (CLO) (instructor decides with college guidance) (Optional) | 1. While taking this course, I am capable of {skill 2}.
2. This course is helping me {develop intellectual and critical thinking skills}. 3. My ability to {identify, formulate, and solve problems} is increasing. 4. The course is helping to improve my {communication skills}. 5. The course is increasing my ability to {collaborate and work in teams}. |
| 5 | Open-ended questions | 1. What are specific aspects about the course or the instructor especially helpful in supporting your learning?
2. What are some specific aspects of the course that could be improved to support your learning better? 3. Do you have any other comments about your learning experience in this course thus far? |
| 6 | Teaching Assistant (TA) (Optional) | 1. The TA is doing an excellent job in supporting my learning in this course.
2. The TA is well organized and well prepared to help during classroom sessions. 3. The TA treats me with respect. 4. The TA explains the course materials, problem sets and concepts well. 5. I was able to get the help I needed from the TA. |
| 7 | Background Questions | 1. I attend class regularly.
2. I am well-prepared for class/discussion sections. 3. I actively participate in-class activities. |
7.2. Appendix 2: End of Semester Course Evaluation Form.
Thank you in advance for providing honest and constructive feedback. Your responses will remain anonymous, and group results will be reported to instructors only after grades are submitted. This information will be used to improve teaching and course design by instructors and by administrators for program assessment and course design and planning.
Please respond to each of the following statements by choosing one of the options.
Strongly Agree, Agree, Neutral, Disagree, Strongly Disagree, Not Applicable
| No. | Assessment criteria | Statements |
| 1 | Overall assessment | 1. Overall, I was satisfied with the quality of this course.
2. Overall, this instructor was an excellent teacher. 3. I learnt a lot in this course. |
| 2 | Instructor Effectiveness | 1. The instructor was well organized, well prepared, and used class time efficiently.
2. The instructor included various in-class activities such as discussions, problem-solving, demonstrations, cases, projects, etc., to actively engage students in the learning process. 3. The instructor explained the topics and content clearly. 4. The instructor’s feedback helped me to improve my understanding of the topics and content. 5. The instructor was accessible outside the classroom (examples: office hours, consultations, via email or other agreed-upon forms of communication). 6. The instructor treated students with respect. |
| 3 | Course Structure and Course Materials | 1. The course was well organized.
2. The instructional materials (i.e., books, readings, handouts, study guides, lab manuals) were appropriate and relevant to the goals of the course. 3. The course workload and requirements were fair and reasonable. 4. The course assessments (exams, tests, projects, assignments etc.) were relevant to the course content. 5. Grading for the course assessments (exams, assignments, quizzes, projects, etc.) was fair. |
| 4 | Questions on Course Learning Outcomes. Text in “{}” should be changed to match the specific course learning outcomes (CLO) (instructor decides with college guidance) | 1. After taking this course, I am capable of {skill 2}.
2. This course helped me {develop intellectual and critical thinking skills}. 3. My ability to {identify, formulate, and solve problems} has increased. 4. The course improved my {communication skills}. 5. The course increased my ability to {collaborate and work in teams}. |
| 5 | Open-ended questions | 1. What are some specific aspects about the course or the instructor that especially helped to support your learning?
2. What are some specific aspects of the course that could be improved to support your learning better? 3. Do you have any other comments about your learning experience in this course? |
| 6 | Teaching Assistant (TA) (Optional) | 1. The TA did an excellent job in supporting my learning in this course.
2. The TA was well organized and well prepared to help during classroom sessions. 3. The TA treated me with respect. 4. The TA explained the course materials, problem sets and concepts well. 5. I was able to get the help I needed from the TA. |
| 7 | Background Questions
Please answer the following questions: |
1. I attended class regularly.
2. I was well-prepared for class/discussion sections. 3. I actively participated in all class activities. 4. Please tell us a bit about yourself. Note that this information will be shared with the instructor only in aggregate form so that your responses cannot be traced back to you. · Gender · Expected grade in the course (A, B, C, D, F) · Is this course in your major? (Yes/No) |
7.3. Appendix 3: Access matrix for end-of-semester course evaluation report
