Student Resources
Service Overview
When it is time to complete evaluations, students enrolled in courses using online evaluations will receive an email sent to their campus email address. Automated reminder emails will also be sent if all evaluations have not been completed.
If you are unable to find these messages, you can access any evaluations assigned to you at course-evaluations.berkeley.edu
This information applies to the centralized evaluation service used by many departments on campus. Certain departments may evaluate their courses separately with varying policies. Please refer to this list of participating departments.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why should students complete course evaluations?
The campus continually seeks to hear student voices that will inform what happens in our classrooms. Course evaluations are one way for you to drive your own learning experience at Berkeley:
- Make your voice heard
- Call attention to what worked and what didn’t
- Benefit your peers who will enroll in these courses in the future
How should students provide feedback?
Formative feedback is used to help instructors improve their teaching, assist departments in structuring classes, and may be taken into consideration when deciding on awards, promotions, and tenure. The feedback you provide should be candid, constructive, and as detailed as possible. Answer the questions to the best of your ability, and in a way that best characterizes your personal experience.
Are responses to course evaluation questions anonymous?
Responses are confidential but not anonymous as access to the evaluation system requires authentication into our campus systems. While identifiable student information is never shared with instructors or department staff, it is possible, particularly in small courses, that an instructor may be able to identify a student based on the feedback provided, or the response to a demographic question. If this is a concern, note that any individual questions may be skipped.
Reports are shared with instructors two weeks after the grade submission due date. In the case that an instructor is submitting grades after that point, the department should request that evaluations for that instructor be withheld.
Are students required to complete evaluations?
Students are strongly encouraged, but not required, to provide feedback via course evaluations that will inform and improve teaching on our campus. Instructors may provide class time or incentives such as extra credit, but ultimately it is always the student’s choice as to whether to complete an evaluation. If in-class time is allowed, the instructor should be absent from the room.
Instructors are not permitted to penalize or retaliate against students who do not complete course evaluations.
What types of questions will be asked?
The evaluations will differ by department and instructor. In general, both qualitative and quantitative questions are included. Some departments may choose to ask students to provide advice to other students considering taking the course. Whether responses to student-to-student questions are shared publicly is at the discretion of the department.
Can I submit or change a response?
If the deadline for your evaluation has not passed, you will be able to return to the evaluation portal at course-evaluations.berkeley.edu and edit your previous response.
Feedback can only be collected or modified during the period established by course evaluation policy.