SCE Period

Student course evaluations (SCE) shall open at Midnight the day after the Q-drop date and close at 11:59:59 pm the night before final exams begin.

• For programs that do not have a Q-drop date (e.g., professional programs where there are unique college-specific calendars), course evaluations will open approximately 10 days prior to the start of the final exam period and will close at 11:59:59 pm the night before finals begin. Programs can also request specific open/close dates by contacting assessment@tamu.edu.
• For courses that are offered during partial terms, department or college leadership are responsible for identifying the specific start date for the SCEs, so long as they close prior to final exams (in instances where final exams are given).
• Results shall be made available within 24 hours after the official deadline for grade submission to the Office of the Registrar.  

Courses Assigned for SCE

In accordance with Texas Administrative Code (§4.228(e) Title 19. Part 1, Chapter 4, Subchapter N) and relevant TAMU and TAMUS policies, the following standards are in place:

• Student course evaluations will be administered to any undergraduate, graduate, or professional level courses offered at Texas A&M with five or more students enrolled. This includes on-campus, off-campus, distance education, and dual- credit courses (including those taught on high school campuses or other approved locations). If a course has fewer than five students enrolled, students will be notified that their confidentiality could be compromised.
• Courses with highly variable subject content tailored specifically to individual students, such as directed studies (e.g., 285, 485, 685), internship courses (e.g., 484, 684), and Thesis/Dissertation research hours (e.g., 291, 491, 691), will be automatically exempt from student course evaluation administration. Specifically, the following class schedule types will be waived unless the departments or instructors request otherwise: Competition; Independent Study, Internship, Practicum, Private Lesson, and Research.
• Additional requests from department heads or instructors for student course evaluations in specific courses will be accommodated.

Instructor/Department Access to SCE results

Results of student course evaluations shall be made available online to instructors, department heads (for the department where the instructor has their primary appointment), and any additional designees requested and so authorized by the department heads and/or deans from the department/college where the instructor has their primary appointment.

In the event an instructor is teaching a course offered by another department/college, the department head of the instructor as well as the head of the department offering the course shall have access to the student course evaluation results. 

Public Access to SCE Results

• Results for the following items shall be publicly accessible for the courses required to per statute (i.e., undergraduate courses other than those waived; see above) or current TAMU practice (i.e., graduate courses other than those waived and noted above):

1. Based on what the instructor(s) communicated, and the information provided in the course syllabus, I understood what was expected of me.
2. This course helped me to learn concepts or skills as stated in the course objectives/outcomes.
3. In this course, I engaged in critical thinking and/or problem solving.
4. Please rate the organization of this course.
5. In this course, I learned to critically evaluate diverse ideas and perspectives.
6. Feedback in this course helped me learn.

• Results for the following items shall not be publicly accessible:

1. Begin this course evaluation by reflecting on your own level of engagement and participation in the course. What portion of the class preparation activities (e.g., readings, online modules, videos) and assignments did you complete?
2. The instructor fostered an effective learning environment.
3. This instructor’s teaching methods contributed to my learning.
4. The instructor encouraged students to take responsibility for their own learning.

• Results from student course evaluations shall not be mandated for professional programs (unless mandated by statute); decisions regarding public accessibility of results from student course evaluations for courses within professional programs shall be decided by the college within which the program resides and submitted to the Office of Institutional Effectiveness & Evaluation. 

Student Identity

Student identities shall not be revealed to instructors for any reason (including, requests for a list of students who completed the evaluations for purposes of providing extra credit, etc.). In the event a student includes comments indicating intent to cause harm to either themselves or others, the instructor is to notify the Office of Institutional Effectiveness and Evaluation (assessment@tamu.edu). Once notified, there is a procedure in place that allows for the student to be identified per authorization of the Associate Vice President for Academic Effectiveness & Planning and the Dean of Students. In this unlikely event, the instructor is informed that appropriate action has been taken but is not told of the specific student’s identity nor the nature of any subsequent actions.