Author: Caelin Bragg

Periodically, information will be posted regarding Watermark’s Course Evaluations & Surveys (CES) tool to help users better understand Wichita State’s new course evaluation tool.

Today’s focus is on CES results.

• Results will only be available at the end of the completed semester. It does not matter when your course took place during the semester. Holding results until the end of the semester complies with KBOR policy and allows for accurate norming.
• Results will become available the Friday after grades are due to the Registrar’s Office.
• The electronic results can be found through the instructor dashboard under “Project Results.”
• There are restrictions on results. If the response rate is 0% or if the number of respondents is lower than four, then there will be no results. This restriction includes both statistics and comments.
• Results will include the mean, standard deviation, and median for the course. Reports will also show these statistics by university and division benchmarks. This benchmark data will be from the same semester as the evaluation and will not include any other data.
• Also included is a table of the “Mean of Means” by course and instructor questions.
• There is a dedicated CES website that includes additional information.

For questions, contact Sandra Ranney at evaluations@ces.wichita.edu.

Periodically, information will be posted regarding Watermark’s Course Evaluations & Surveys (CES) tool to help users better understand Wichita State’s new course evaluation tool.

Today’s focus is on response rate.

• A response rate widget will appear on the instructor’s dashboard when the semester’s project starts. However, data for a course may not appear until that course evaluation is available to the students.
• In the list below, there are some suggestions to potentially increase response rates and receive useful and constructive feedback.
  • Designate time in class for students to complete evaluations.
  • Add a blurb about course evaluations in the syllabus.
  • Let students know that you value their honest and constructive feedback and tell them how you use their feedback.
  • When evaluations open for the course, remind students that they are available.
  • Remind students that evaluations are completely anonymous, and results are not available until after grades are turned in to the Registrar’s office.
  • It is best to complete the evaluations sooner in the evaluation period rather than later. Blackboard will be affected if the student has not taken some action regarding the evaluation towards the end of the period.
• There is a dedicated CES website that includes additional information.

For questions, contact Sandra Ranney at evaluations@ces.wichita.edu.

Periodically, information will be posted regarding Watermark’s Course Evaluations & Surveys (CES) tool to help users better understand Wichita State’s new course evaluation tool.

Today’s focus is on the student experience.

• Students will receive an email and notification on Blackboard when an evaluation is open.
• Students can access the evaluation through Blackboard and through links provided in an email sent during the CES collection window.
• When students login to the CES system, they will see a table containing evaluation information. This table will show which evaluations are completed along with the date and time. It will also show upcoming evaluations with the dates they are scheduled to open.
• Students will see regular pop-up notifications in Blackboard during the CES evaluation time window.
• There is a dedicated CES website that includes additional information.

For questions, contact Sandra Ranney at evaluations@ces.wichita.edu.

Periodically, information will be posted regarding Watermark’s Course Evaluations & Surveys (CES) tool to help users better understand Wichita State’s new course evaluation tool.

Today’s focus is on the basic timeline.

• The CES Administrator programs the pre-determined dates for each process. This pre-determined schedule cannot be modified.
• The CES tasks are sent at midnight on the scheduled start date and will end at 11:59 p.m. on the scheduled end date.
• The manage course process for instructors: Instructors have 10 days from notification of the opt-out window to delete courses from CES.
• CES evaluations will be open for students for varying lengths of time, depending upon the length of the course term:
  • one-week and two-week courses: two days
  • five-week to 16-week courses: 10 days
  • Summer four-week to 11-week courses: seven days
• Current CES results will be available at the end of the semester. Results will continue to remain accessible afterwards.
  • The availability date will be the Friday after grades are due to the Registrar.
• There is a dedicated CES website that includes additional information.

For questions, contact Sandra Ranney at evaluations@ces.wichita.edu.

Periodically, information will be posted regarding Watermark’s Course Evaluations & Surveys (CES) tool to help users better understand Wichita State’s new course evaluation tool.

Today’s focus is on “Main Course Evaluation.”

• The “Main Course Evaluation” is a core set of questions that will be sent to all courses in which the instructor has not selected to “opt-out.”
• Instructors can find these questions in CES. While in “Manage Courses,” click on the semester’s project, and then click on “Preview” to view the questions. The questions can also be found in the FAQs on the CES website.
• Some courses are not eligible for the “Main Course Evaluation.” These are courses that are appointment-based, research, COOP, Intensive English, Market-Based and weekend-only courses.
• There is a dedicated CES website that includes additional information.

For questions, contact Sandra Ranney at evaluations@ces.wichita.edu.

Periodically, information will be posted regarding Watermark’s Course Evaluations & Surveys (CES) tool to help users better understand Wichita State’s new course evaluation tool.

Today’s focus is on “How to use CES?”

• While in Blackboard, instructors can access CES anytime by choosing “Tools” from the main menu and selecting “CES Course Evaluations.” It can also be directly accessed via the links provided in emails sent to the instructor.
• Watermark Course Evaluations & Surveys Dashboard will appear.
• Widgets will appear on the dashboard. When a task is available for a course, it will display information. If not, it may state “No Project Found.”
• The manage courses widget will only appear when that option is open and available to instructors.
• There is a dedicated CES website that includes additional information.

For questions, contact Sandra Ranney at evaluations@ces.wichita.edu.

Periodically, information will be posted regarding Watermark’s Course Evaluations & Surveys (CES) tool to help users better understand Wichita State’s new course evaluation tool.

Today’s focus is on emails.

• CES uses email communication to send out information regarding the evaluation process.
• Emails will come from WSU Evaluations (evaluations@ces.wichita.edu).
• Emails are sent according to a specific timeline. CES operates from the course’s part-of-term, meaning the course start and end dates will determine when emails are sent out.
• If you teach courses that are in different terms, you will receive duplicate emails. These emails provide information that pertains to that part-of-term.
• The emails will also inform instructors if they need to take any specific actions regarding their course(s) within CES.
• There is a dedicated CES website that includes additional information.

For questions, contact Sandra Ranney at evaluations@ces.wichita.edu.

This week’s Student Success and Persistence highlight comes from Brooke Allen, academic advisor and tutor coordinator with TRIO Disability Support Services (DSS).

• What role do you think faculty and staff play in a student’s success and persistence?
  “I think every single interaction that a student has with faculty or staff has an impact on their sense of belonging, perception of themselves and the university, and motivation to persevere when challenges arise. One of the most important things we can do to support students and encourage their success is to make sure our interactions are supportive, helpful and positive.”
• How do you promote student success through your campus duties?
  “As an advisor with TRIO Disability Support Services, I have the unique opportunity to support students with a wide range of issues and decisions they may be facing as they navigate their college experience. From the minute I meet the students I have the pleasure of working with, I make a genuine effort to build meaningful and lasting relationships with them. I strive to ensure WSU students who participate in TRIO DSS know they have someone they can go to whenever and however its needed, whether that’s celebrating their accomplishments or being there for them through difficult circumstances.”

Do you know of a faculty or staff member who promotes student success, or a student who has been helped by a faculty or staff member, that should be highlighted in WSU Today? Email your ideas to Caelin Bragg, newsletter editor with the Office of Strategic Communications, at caelin.bragg@wichita.edu.

Watermark’s Course Evaluations & Surveys (CES) tool is Wichita State’s new course evaluation tool. Find more information over the coming weeks in WSU Today about CES.

Today’s focus is on “What Is CES?”

• CES is a course evaluation platform from Watermark. The evaluation portion of the platform is called “Course Evaluations & Surveys” and at WSU is referred to as CES.
• CES has replaced SPTEs as the source for course evaluations.
• CES is easy to use and is integrated with Blackboard.
• CES results are electronic and will be available at the end of the semester.
• Using CES should increase response rates.
• There is a dedicated CES website that includes additional information.

For questions, contact Sandra Ranney at evaluations@ces.wichita.edu.

Join Zach Gearhart, chief of staff and executive director of government relations, for updates on the Kansas legislature relevant to Wichita State. The next meeting is scheduled for 3 p.m. Friday, Jan. 26 in 101 Morrison Hall.

The meeting is open to all faculty, staff and students and is held every other Friday in Morrison Hall following each legislative session.