Frequently Asked Questions for Faculty
General SFT Information
All undergraduate and graduate students at UD will complete online surveys to provide feedback on teaching. The University has a contract with Anthology Course Evaluations (formerly CoursEval) that will conduct the surveys online and process the results for instructors to view. The University of Dayton, however, will retain ownership of the data.
The SFT instrument consists of eight questions asking for student feedback of teaching practices shown by research to impact student learning. There are also four open-ended questions asking students to reflect on their experiences in the course. You can download a copy of the SFT items below and another copy for download is available on the overview page.
These items were developed through an extensive literature review, expert consultation, and rigorous psychometric testing. They are designed to reflect four key factors associated with student learning: instructor preparation and organization, class learning environment, student-teacher relationship, and outcomes for the class.
Check out the SFT Instrument Items PDF
The eight core Likert-type prompts and four open-ended questions will be uniform across the University. The School of Engineering includes additional questions.
Faculty can use the polling instrument available through their course Canvas site to obtain additional information regarding individual courses.
Yes. Students login to authenticate their course enrollment and to prevent multiple responses, but their responses are anonymous.
Delivering SFT
SFT opens ten days prior to the last day of classes and closes after the last day of classes.
Email messages with instructions on how to complete SFT will be sent to students in your classes beginning ten days prior to the last day of classes. The messages will be automatically generated by Anthology Course Evaluations from rosters maintained in Banner.
Yes. Anthology Course Evaluations will send each student a link to a separate SFT instrument for each class they are taking each term. The student will click on the course name and number to gain access to the SFT instrument for that class.
There may be certain classes excluded from SFT - for example independent study, thesis, or dissertations, internships, etc. Classes with enrollment of two or fewer students will be excluded to protect student anonymity (with some exceptions).
Yes. A list of suggestions for improving student response rates to SFT is located at Increasing Student Response Rates
Yes. You will be able to see how many students have completed the instrument on the SET website, but you will not be able to identify who they are.
No. As stipulated by the Senate, no incentives (positive or negative) will be used to encourage students to complete the SFT instrument. This policy is consistent with current practice.
Students experiencing problems in completing the online SFT can call the UDit Service Center at 937-229-3888 or send an email to itservicecenter@udayton.edu Assistance for instructors is available through the Learning Teaching Center; email ltc@udayton.edu.
Obtaining and Interpreting SFT Result Reports
SFT results (also known as “reports”) will be available to instructors 24 hours after final grades are officially posted. Instructors will be notified by email that the reports are ready to be viewed from the Anthology Course Evaluations web site.
You will receive the numerical results of SFT for each class you teach. All of the responses to the open-ended questions in the classes you teach will be included as well.
Yes. Anthology Course Evaluations makes this service available. You can print the reports from your web browser or save the report locally on your computer.
You, your chair, your dean, and others authorized by department and unit bylaws (e.g., promotion and tenure committees) will have access to your SFT results.
This decision rests with your dean and/or your unit’s bylaws.
Online resources tied to each of the core eight prompts are available at Resources Tied to SFT Prompts. Or email the Learning Teaching Center (ltc@udayton.edu) to make an appointment with an SFT faculty consultant concerning results.
Yes. Anthology Course Evaluations provides this service, but students need to be reminded to complete surveys regarding each instructor.
Questions Concerning the SFT Instrument
In 2012, an ad hoc SFT Committee was charged by the Academic Senate to examine current SFT practices and to recommend changes in light of current best practice and research on effective teaching strategies. In 2013, the SFT Committee’s report and recommendations were delivered to the Senate and several Senate subcommittees began work to establish an implementation plan. In 2014, the Senate voted to accept the new SFT policy and implementation plan.
In April 2023, the Academic Senate approved changes to the use and administration of the student feedback tool (DOC 2023-05).
Yes. Two outside experts reviewed various drafts of the proposal. Both endorsed the recommendations offered by the Committee and offered constructive criticism to improve the wording of SFT items or streamline the SFT process.