iEval

Common Instructor Questions

• What are the Early-Term Evaluation questions?

  The optional early-term evaluation is intended to produce a brief snapshot about certain foundational aspects of your course and to give you a chance to address any issues early in the term to better support student learning. Results are visible only to you and are not captured by the report that is automatically uploaded to eFile. Below are the questions just as they appear for students in the early-term survey:

  Course Foundations Check
  Each question in this section asks you about an element of a course that helps provide a framework for learning. These elements may be found in the syllabus, on Canvas, or in other course materials. Is each element present in at least one of these places? If you answer "no" or "unsure" for any of these, please elaborate on them in the comment box at the end of the survey. 

  • A clear description of what you should be able to do or know by the end of the course (learning outcomes).
  • A clear description of the grading system for the course.
  • Information on how to ask for help from the instructor (for example: office hours, email, Zoom appointments, etc).
  • A list of course topics.
  • Assignment due dates.
  • Guidelines for academic integrity.
  • Course materials (may include: readings, software, textbooks, recordings, and other resources).
  • Information on how to ask for accommodations and/or support from the university (for example: contact information for SDRC, CAPS, ARC, Title IX office, etc).
  • Were the above items compiled in an accessible location (for example: a document, a CANVAS page, or other format)?

   

  Lab or Fieldwork

  • Does this course include lab or fieldwork? Answer "no" if you are registered for a related lab or fieldwork under a separate course number.
  • Have you received instructions for taking appropriate safety measures in lab or field settings?

  Please provide any written feedback to the instructor in the box below. If you answered "no" or "unsure" to any questions in the first section, please elaborate on those answers here. 

   

  You can view the early-term survey in its entirety along with the question response options by clicking here.

• What are the End-of-Term Survey questions?

  The required end-of-term evaluation runs towards the end of the quarter, and is focused on the implementation of best practices in teaching/learning in your course. In addition to questions about teaching/learning, it also asks the same brief questions as in the early-term evaluation to see if student views have changed. The results of the end-of-term evaluation are automatically uploaded to eFile at the end of every quarter. Below are the questions just as they appear for students in the early-term survey:

   

  Course Foundations Check
  Each question in this section asks you about an element of a course that helps provide a framework for learning. These elements may be found in the syllabus, on Canvas, or in other course materials. Is each element present in at least one of these places? If you answer "no" or "unsure" for any of these, please elaborate on them in the comment box at the end of the survey. 

  • A clear description of what you should be able to do or know by the end of the course (learning outcomes).
  • A clear description of the grading system for the course.
  • Information on how to ask for help from the instructor (for example: office hours, email, Zoom appointments, etc).
  • A list of course topics.
  • Assignment due dates.
  • Guidelines for academic integrity.
  • Course materials (may include: readings, software, textbooks, recordings, and other resources).
  • Information on how to ask for accommodations and/or support from the university (for example: contact information for SDRC, CAPS, ARC, Title IX office, etc).
  • Were the above items compiled in an accessible location (for example: a document, a CANVAS page, or other format)?

  What modifications, if any, could the instructor make to the elements above to benefit future students?

  Did the instructor announce changes to the structure of the course (for example: revised due dates, dropped assignments, etc) in a timely manner?

   

  Course Experiences
  Each question in this section asks you about a teaching practice related to course experiences that can be used to support student learning. The phrase “course experiences” refers to things like lectures, group work, discussions, activities, fieldwork, lab work, guest speakers, videos, readings, emails, office hours, discussion boards, etc., whether synchronous or asynchronous. 

  Did the instructor use each of these teaching practices?

  • Establish a clear connection between course experiences and what students should be able to do or know by the end of the course (learning outcomes)
  • Provide opportunities for student engagement during course experiences
  • Create a respectful learning environment
  • Be responsive to requests for help outside of class (for example: in office hours, scheduled appointments, emails, etc.)

  Did the instructor's use of these teaching practices contribute to your learning? Answer "not applicable" if a practice was never used by the instructor. 

  If any aspects of the instructor's approach to course experiences contributed to your learning in important ways, please share why. If any aspects did not contribute to your learning, or could have contributed more, please share what the instructor could do to improve or change their approach to better support future students’ learning. 

   

  Graded Work
  Each question in this section also asks you about a teaching practice related to graded work that can be used to support student learning. The phrase “graded work” refers to any graded course component. For example, exams, quizzes, projects, homework assignments, student presentations, performances, papers, etc. 

  Did the instructor use each of these teaching practices?

  • Provide directions for how to complete graded work
  • Connect graded work to what students should be able to do or know by the end of the course (learning outcomes)
  • Provide information about grading criteria and/or standards for how work was graded
  • Return graded work in time for students to monitor their performance throughout the course

  Did the instructor's use of these teaching practices contribute to your learning? Answer "not applicable" if a practice was never used by the instructor. 

  If any aspects of the instructor’s approach to graded work contributed to your learning in important ways, please share why. If any aspects did not contribute to your learning, or could have contributed more, please share what the instructor could do to improve or change their approach to better support future students’ learning.

  Please provide any additional written feedback to the instructor in the box below. 

   

  You can view the end-of-term survey in its entirety along with the question response options by clicking here. 

• When do the evaluations run every quarter?

  The early-term evaluation is optional. It runs for one week, Monday through Friday, during the second week of the quarter.  Instructors will receive a message at the beginning of every quarter asking if they want to opt-in for the early-term evaluation. 

  The end-of-term evaluation is required. During the fall, winter, and spring quarters, it runs for two weeks during weeks nine and ten of the quarter. During summer sessions, iEval is open on the last Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday of each session.
  
  iEval can also accommodate multiple evaluation periods for courses with multiple instructors; the iEval Coordinator works with faculty in these classes to schedule this.

• How can instructors customize their End-of-Term evaluations?

  Every quarter, instructors are given the option to customize their evaluation questions. Instructors will receive an email in the middle of the quarter asking them to customize their evaluation. Here is a breakdown of the customizations instructors can do:

  • Optional Standardized Questions - These questions are pre-approved standardized questions that may be added to instructor evaluations, but not required, and will appear in the Student Evaluation of Teaching report.
    • You can choose to add up to two of these questions to each evaluation.
  • Discretionary Questions - These questions are optional questions that may be added to instructor evaluation, but not required, and will not appear in the Student Evaluation of Teaching report. These include the following:
    • Student Profile Questions that are standardized and cover general aspects of a course
      • These questions (e.g. desire to take the course, time spent on the course, etc.) can be added as a set to each evaluation.
    • Custom Created Questions that are unique questions each instructor and create
      • You can choose to add up to  two of these questions to each evaluation.

  To learn how to customize your End-of-Term Evaluations, you can use the following Guide and Video.

• How do I access my instructor dashboards?

  Our new evaluation system allows instructors to interact with evaluation data in a dashboard environment in addition to receiving a PDF report made available in their eFile. Take a look at the links below to learn how to access and navigate the UCR Course Evaluations Dashboard:

  • Logging In Guide and Video
  • Accessing Dashboard Guide and Video
  • Navigating the Dashboard Guide and Video
• Where did my old iEval reports go?

  Starting September 17, 2025, instructors will be able to access all of their old and new iEval reports through eFile. The current ieval.ucr.edu site will be changed to ievalarchive.ucr.edu and will only be available for ITS staff to maintain the existing data in the system. 

• Do instructors have to use iEval?

  No. Instructors may opt out of the iEval system for any of their courses. However, please note that faculty are expected to administer student evaluations for their courses under APM-210, or for Unit 18 faculty, under their bargaining unit contract and local department practice. APM-210 specifically states that more than one type of evidence of teaching effectiveness is required for faculty review and that all cases “normally will include (a) evaluations and comments solicited from students for most, if not all, courses taught since the candidate’s last review;…”

  Therefore, removing a course from the list requires pre-approval by your department chair who must address any missing evaluations in future merit/promotion files. If you would like to remove a course from the list, please obtain approval from your chair and have the chair send a request with a brief justification directly to ievalcontact@ucr.edu.

  If you choose to opt out of the iEval system for any of your courses, and you choose to utilize another evaluation system, please be aware that the campus does not support any other evaluation system so no official record of student evaluation of teaching will be generated for those courses in which you opt out of iEval.

• What happens if a students makes an inappropriate comment in the evaluation?

  It is the policy of the Office of Evaluation and Assessment not to examine, alter or otherwise monitor the content of students' evaluations of individual instructors or TAs. There are two partial exceptions:

  1. If a student comment violates University policy with regards to harassment, a student may be subject to disciplinary action, by referral to the Student Conduct and Academic Integrity Programs. Egregiously inappropriate comments may also be removed from the list of comments on the course evaluation form generated for faculty and departments, with our without sanctions on the student who made them. 

  2. If an instructor discovers a student comment that is clearly addressed to another instructor in their most recent evaluations, these evaluations can be removed with approval of the department chair.

  If comments received fall into either of the above scenarios, please follow the procedure below:

  1. Instructor identifies the comment that they would like removed.
  2. Instructor decides on what they want to do with the comment. The options are:
     1. Remove comment only, but leave the student evaluation connected to it.
     2. Remove comment and student evaluation tied to it.
     3. Remove comment and student evaluation tied to it, but send it to SCAIP for review of violation of student code of conduct.
  3. Instructor contacts chair to share what they want to do and get approval. Instructor should copy and past the comment and cc ievalcontact@ucr.edu on the message.
  4. Chair discusses with instructor and collaboratively makes decision on next steps. Chair replies to instructor and cc's ievalcontact@ucr.edu on the reply message.

  If it is decided that the comment should be reported to SCAIP, the comment and/or evaluation will not removed immediately so that it is preserved for the SCAIP process. 

  Please contact ievalcontact@ucr.edu for more information. 

• Who has access to which dashboards?

  Instructors/Program Staff will have access to:

  • Early Term SET Dashboard
  • End of Term SET Dashboard

  Chairs will have access to:

  • End of Term SET Dashboard
  • End of Term TA Discussion Section Dashboard
  • End of Term TA Laboratory Section Dashboard

  Deans will have access to:

  • End of Term SET Dashboard

  TAs/GSAs will have access to:

  • End of Term TA Discussion Section Dashboard
  • End of Term TA Laboratory Section Dashboard

  Graduate Program Staff will have access to:

  • End of Term TA Discussion Section Dashboard
  • End of Term TA Laboratory Section Dashboard
• What is the history behind the creation of our Student Evaluations of Teaching?

  Old iEval

  In Fall 2006, UCR began to use the Senate approved UCR Faculty Instruction Evaluation Form. This form was the standard form that was used by the entire campus for instructor Student Evaluations of Teaching (SETs). It encompassed course information, self-reported academic behavior (like study time), instructor appraisal, course appraisal, department specific issues, and student comments. In Fall 2009, the UCR Academic Senate endorsed the campus move to online evaluations via iEval, which was the name of the IT system that implemented the evaluations every quarter. The Office of the Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education and the Office of Instructional Development coordinated the transition.

   

  New iEval

  In February 2018, UCR's Academic Senate convened an ad hoc committee to review our Old iEval. The ad hoc committee's main priorities were to review policies, procedures, and mechanisms for how teaching is evaluated; establish new policies and procedures for accurate and reliable evaluation; and review iEval for its efficacy and recommend changes to maximize student participation and provide faculty with constructive feedback. 

  The ad hoc committee issued its report in 2021, at which time the Provost charged a joint Senate-administrative committee to implement the ad hoc committee's recommendations. The joint committee's work focused on producing a more equitable and useful tool for evaluation of teaching effectiveness and pedagogical improvement, and facilitating the submission of multiple forms of teaching effectiveness via eFile. The joint committee completed the bulk of its work in October 2023, including a round of Senate consultation that informed modifications to the new SET instrument. 

  Subsequently, all instructors were invited to participate in a pilot of the new SET in Spring 2024. Feedback from faculty and students who participated in the pilot (as well as from faculty who did not participate in the pilot) was collected and used to inform further adjustments to the SET and technology. An analysis of the feedback along with the joint committee's recommendations were included in a final report to the Senate.

  After their November 18, 2024 meeting, the Senate Executive Council voted to "endorse mandatory adoption of the new SET as a campus-wide replacement for the old iEval questions [and] usage of the new software."

  With further refinement of the SET, a second pilot of the new SET instrument was implemented in Spring 2025 along with the new Qualtrics-based software that will replace the old iEval technology. Unlike the first pilot, this second pilot did not include a round of feedback and modifications prior to campus-wide adoption in Fall 2025. 

• How can you improve iEval response rates?

  Students are reminded through email when evaluations are open for them to complete, and they receive automatic email reminders throughout the open period. In addition, students are also able to provide by following the Student Evaluations link in any of their CANVAS courses. To increase responses rates, instructors and TAs can do the following:

  • Explain the importance of Student Evaluations Teaching to you as an instructor/TA and how you use the feedback provided.
  • Remind students to complete their course evaluations with class reminders, emails, and announcement on CANVAS.
  • Provide time at the end of one of your courses for students to complete their evaluation.