Using EvaluationKIT on Canvas to Research Courses and Professors

            Now that registration for Spring 2021 classes is starting to open, most people are probably going to be looking towards sites like Rate My Professor when signing up for classes. Rate My Professor is not a bad site, but I find myself getting inconsistent results when I use it, as sometimes there are not enough reviews on a certain professor to make it worthwhile. However, Florida State has its own rating system that is composed of student evaluations from previous semesters known as “EvaluationKITs.” You have most likely filled one of these out before, you know those notifications that pop up on Canvas towards the end of the semester asking you for feedback on the class? Well that information is not exclusive to just the instructors or other higher ups in the school, and it can be an extremely valuable tool for students when making sure a future class they are planning to take aligns with what they are looking for from that class. 

To get started, ensure you are logged into your Canvas profile. Once in Canvas, click on the “Account” tab and then hit “Settings.”

After hitting settings, you will see some new option pop up for “Course Evaluations”.

After clicking on the “Course Evaluations” link, you will be brought to the course evaluation search. When you first enter, you will automatically be put on the “My Surveys” tab, so make sure to switch over to the “Student Reporting” tab.

            From here you can search by either instructor or by course name/number. After performing a search, it will show you class results from previous semesters with information like what percent of the class ended up taking the survey, as well as the mean and standard deviation for each of the questions asked.

            Also, now that we are around halfway through the Fall 2020 semester at the time of writing, please make sure to fill out your course evaluations at the end of the semester when prompted! This is not only going to help future students who are searching for the same content you are looking for right now, but it also gives professors feedback on what areas of the class worked well or perhaps need some extra work. Keep in mind that all responses are anonymous, and both your professors and the survey administrators do not have access to any identifying information. Have a safe and happy Halloween and GO NOLES!

Author: Westen Zawacki-Dorweiler