Online Course Evaluations
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Skip to main contentUpon recommendation of the faculty Course Evaluation Committee, Stanford introduced a new system for online end-term course feedback to provide better information to faculty, encourage students to reflect more thoughtfully about their educational experiences, and enhance the learning partnership.
For complete information on the course evaluation system, see the Teaching Evaluation & Student Feedback website.
Key Dates for Online Course Evaluations
For the full Online Course Evaluation calendar, please see: Key Dates for End of Term Feedback (via Evaluation & Research).
Frequently Asked Questions
- Which courses are evaluated?
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A minimum of three students must be enrolled in order for a course to be evaluated. Scheduled discussion sections are also evaluated based on the enrollment of its corresponding lecture.
Athletics courses can be evaluated, but some GSB and School of Medicine lecture series courses — as well as independent study, activity, internship and thesis/dissertation courses — are not evaluated.
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- How is anonymity maintained?
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Stanford is committed to maintaining the confidentiality of its evaluations. In doing so, we have chosen an outside vendor to manage and store the evaluation data. When you log on to Axess to complete the online evaluation process, you will automatically be redirected to the third-party vendor's server. Stanford does not have access to your identifying data.
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- How does the grade release program work?
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The grade release program is used as an incentive for students who complete all of their evaluations to see an early view of their grades. Grades are available two days after the evaluation is closed.
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- How long after I submit my evaluations will my grades be made available?
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Grades are released the morning after an evaluation is submitted. If you require your transcript or grades before then, reach out to the Student Services Center (SSC) for assistance. If the grades have been submitted before the grading deadline that quarter, the SSC can help.
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- Why does my course show up twice?
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If you are enrolled in a GSB cross-listed course, you must fill out two evaluations: one for Stanford University and the other for the GSB evaluation. Courses cross-listed with the GSB are evaluated using two different sets of questions.
Note: not all cross-listed courses have two evaluations to complete — just those cross-listed with GSB.
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- What if my instructor/TA is not listed on one of my discussion sections?
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If your instructor or TA is not listed, this means they were not correctly set up for section evaluations. You may submit a blank evaluation by starting an evaluation and clicking the Decline button on the first page of the evaluation form.
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- What if I missed the course evaluation deadline?
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Evaluations cannot be completed after the deadline.
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- How can I see my grades if I do not want to evaluate classes that are on my list?
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You can decline to evaluate a course by starting an evaluation and clicking the Decline button on the first page. If you are evaluating a GSB course, however, you are not able to waive (decline) the evaluation.
With regards to grade release, declining to evaluate a course is equivalent to evaluating it. Your grades are released the morning after you have either evaluated or declined to evaluate each of your courses, provided that your instructor has submitted the grade.
Note: You are not required to evaluate all section instructors in your course; only evaluate instructors with whom you have had significant interactions.
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- I keep getting reminders to complete my evaluations; how can I make them stop?
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If you continue to receive reminders, you still have one or more evaluations to complete. The reminders will stop once you submit or decline all evaluations.
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- My discussion section was optional; why am I being asked to evaluate it?
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Though optional, the TA/instructor responsible for your section would welcome and appreciate any feedback you’d like to give.
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- Which courses are eligible for online course evaluations? Not all of my courses are appearing on my list.
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A minimum of three students must be enrolled in order for a course to be evaluated. In addition, scheduled discussion sections are also evaluated based on the enrollment of its corresponding lecture.
Athletics courses can be evaluated, but some GSB and School of Medicine lecture series courses — as well as independent study, activity, internship and thesis/dissertation courses — are not evaluated.
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- How do I evaluate classes that are not on my list?
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Only courses and sections on your list are eligible for evaluation.
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- Where can I get help if I can't log into the system?
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If you need help logging in, send an email to course-evaluations@stanford.edu.
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- Can I get to the online course evaluation system through Canvas?
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No, Canvas is not linked to the evaluation system.
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- Can I modify an evaluation that I have already submitted?
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Once you submit an evaluation, you cannot go back and make changes. Please make sure you are certain of your selections before submitting.
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- Why are evaluations only open during dead week and finals week? Can the deadline be extended?
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The decision about the timing of the open period for evaluations rests with the deans of the participating schools.
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- I am both a student and an instructor. How do I view the results from the course(s) I taught?
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Axess will default to the student page for you to complete evaluations. At the bottom of that page, there is a link to the report browser. Clicking on this link takes you to the instructor reports.
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- I have withdrawn from a course that still appears on my evaluation list. What should I do?
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Depending on when you withdrew, you may still see a course listed. In this case, submit a blank evaluation for this course or decline the evaluation.
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- Why do you need my personal information at the start of the evaluation?
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This information is used for statistical reporting only and it is not viewable by instructors or staff.
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- How can I view the quantitative results?
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Student reports are available via Axess. Under My Academics, select Course and Section Evaluations. Then click the New Course Evaluation System button on the following page.
To view previous course evaluations reports, click Reports and select Reports Browser.
GSB results can be viewed by GSB community members on the GSB Course Evaluation web site.
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- Why should I complete an online evaluation?
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The feedback from your online evaluations can be used to inform faculty and other students about the effectiveness of a course, its instructor and its teaching assistants. Constructive suggestions that may help the faculty member to improve the lectures, readings, assignments and exams are particularly valuable. This important feedback is also used to make tenure and performance decisions by the university.
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