Background

The purpose of this article is to demonstrate how to opt in and out of SETs using CLSS. For more information about the SET process, see SET Support Resources. For teaching evaluation timelines, see SET Timeline.

Student Experience of Teaching (SET) Criteria

The name of the evaluation process was recently renamed from Student Evaluation of Teaching to Student Experience of Teaching.

Minimum Requirements for SETs

A class is eligible for an evaluation if it has an enrollment of 5 or more students. For combined sections, the combined enrollment of all sections must be equal to at least 5.

Criteria for Automatic SET Creation

Class Component Types

SETs are automatically created for classes that meet the minimum enrollment requirement if they are one of the following component types:

• Lecture

• Lecture - Stand Alone

• Seminar

• Laboratory

• Discussion

Classes with other component types may request an evaluation if they meet the minimum enrollment requirement. See the “Requesting an evaluation” section of this article for instructions.

Instructor Roles

For classes that meet the minimum enrollment requirement and are one of the component types listed above, evaluations are automatically created for every instructor listed as either a Primary Instructor or a Teaching Assistant. Teaching Coordinators do not receive evaluations.

About Secondary Instructors

Beginning in Spring 2024, instructors listed as secondary instructors will NOT receive an evaluation for that section.

The secondary instructor role is only meant to be used for classes with multiple components (e.g. lecture/lab or lecture/discussion) to ensure that the primary instructor of the lecture only receives an evaluation for the lecture and not for each lab or discussion section. There is no other situation that requires the use of the secondary instructor role. If a class has multiple instructors, it is better to list them all as primary instructors rather than to list one as the primary and one as the secondary; instructor role has nothing to do with the calculation of teaching load.

Section Attributes Used in the SET Process

About two weeks after Day 10 (the day that open enrollment closes), BPIR runs a process to automatically add section attributes to classes to determine which instructors receive evaluations. The following section attributes are added:

Open

The section attributes that drive the SET process as they appear in CLSS. These will be applied automatically to classes that meet all SET criteria. They can be adjusted manually in CLSS following the instructions outlined in the “Updating SET Preferences in CLSS” section.

SET Process Timelines

During the fall and spring terms, BPIR runs the process to automatically add SET attributes approximately two weeks after the tenth day of the semester, when the add/drop period ends. After Day 10, the Registrar’s Office will share information with departments clarifying which sections will have the attribute applied during the automated process, giving departments time to follow the instructions in the “Updating SET Preferences in CLSS” section of this article before the process runs.

SETs for Summer and Winter Sessions

BPIR runs the SET process for each summer and winter session following the add/drop deadline for that session.

Instructions

• Student Experience of Teaching (SET) Criteria

• Updating SET Preferences in CLSS

For information about adding section attributes, please see CourseLeaf’s documentation about Section Attributes

Updating SET Preferences in CLSS

Opting out of an evaluation

If a primary instructor is slated to receive an evaluation but an evaluation is not needed, change the section attribute from "SET Primary Instructor: Include in Faculty Evaluation" to "SET Primary Instructor: No Faculty Evaluation."

For teaching assistants, follow the same process using the "SET Grad/Teaching Assistant" attributes.

When changing a section attribute from “Include in Faculty Evaluation” to “No Faculty Evaluation” or vice versa, be sure to replace the existing section attribute rather than adding an additional, conflicting attribute.

Requesting an evaluation

You may request an evaluation if the enrollment in the class is at least 5. To request an evaluation, add the "Include in Faculty Evaluation" attribute that matches the role of the instructor to be evaluated. If the class is a component other than a lecture/lecture – stand alone, seminar, discussion, or laboratory, there likely will not be an existing SET evaluation attribute on the section. If the section already has a "No Faculty Evaluation" attribute, change it to the appropriate "Include in Faculty Evaluation" attribute.

In both cases, however, please note that the class must meet the minimum enrollment requirement. If the class does not meet that requirement, CLSS rules will prevent you from saving the change.

Combined sections

You may request an evaluation for combined sections if the combined enrollment is at least 5. Please note, however, that only one of the sections in the combination should have the "Include in Faculty Evaluation" attribute for each role to be evaluated; the others should have the "No Faculty Evaluation" attribute. This will ensure that only one evaluation is created instead of separate evaluations for each section in the combination.

When should schedulers use CLSS to update SET attributes?

CLSS rules will prevent users from adding SET attributes to any sections with enrollments under 5, meaning that they cannot be added at all until after registration opens. Unless a department wishes to request an evaluation for an eligible course that would not be included in the automated SET process (e.g. a practicum course with at least five enrolled students), it is recommended that departments wait until after the automated process is run a couple weeks after the tenth day of the term.