SRT Information for Instructors

Student Rating of Teaching (SRTs) are a vital resource for instructors, helping them to better understand how to improve their courses and overall instruction. 

SRT Steps for Instructors

Instructors will receive an email when SRT data collection opens for each course they teach. The online SRT form is sent automatically to students. For full-semester classes, students receive an SRT invitation by email 24 days prior to the last day of class (see data collection windows for all course lengths). If Canvas is used in the course, a prompt will appear on their Canvas page. Reminders are typically sent to students who have not yet completed their SRT at 12 and 2 days. Each student and course pair has its own unique link for the SRT. Students may complete the SRT using a desktop computer, laptop, smartphone or other mobile device with internet connectivity.

Instructors are encouraged to:

  • Enable the Student Rating of Teaching link in Canvas
  • Communicate the course’s SRT collection window in the syllabus, during class, and on Canvas
  • Check response rates and provide reminders to students as needed
  • Invite students to bring their mobile devices to the last class, and set aside time during the class period for students to complete the SRT if they have not already done so. Leave the room while students complete the SRT and have a student come get you when everyone has completed the survey.
    • You may also post the course’s QR code which contains a unique pointer to the course’s SRT input when you leave the class. See How to View the QR Code.
  • Use SRT data to target areas for improvement
  • Generate SRT reports for Promotion and/or Tenure Files
    You can generate a standardized SRT report for a faculty member in Works, the University’s faculty activity reporting system. The report can be inserted into a promotional file directly. Log into Works and search for the “Student Rating of Teaching Report” in the “Reports” tab to run the report.

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Improve your SRT Scores

Review these tips for linking your SRT results with effective teaching practices

Practical Steps for Improving Your SRT Scores
Center for Educational Innovation

Here are some other resources for improving course instruction:

SRT Results

All SRTs produce an electronic report for each instructor. The reports for online SRTs contain a summary of all responses, including the open-ended questions. Online SRT reports will be available approximately three weeks after the semester ends (this is to account for Finals Week and the 72 hour grade submission window)SRT Results in Works

Numerical results are also imported into your Works account a week or two after they become available in the SRT system. The results will automatically appear on your annual activity report generated in Works. To view written comments, you must log in to the SRT system. Extended duration sections are not uploaded into Works, but users can upload SRT reports for such sections into works manually.

View a Sample SRT Report

SRT system to view reports and response ranges (for faculty and report readers)

View SRT course results by campus

Learn more about how SRT results may be used

Get tips on how to Improve SRT Response Rates

Early Term Student Feedback

Instructors with full term duration classes may use the SRT system to collect student feedback early in the term. Early term responses are only reported back to instructors. This option is available between August 30 through the first Friday in November for fall semester, and from January 7th through the third Friday in March for spring semesters.

Learn more below about collecting data from students early in the term:

Process for Completing Early Term Feedback for Instructors

Information from the Center for Educational Innovation about the benefits of different types of early term student feedback

Faculty Privacy

The University considers SRT data that directly identify instructors as personnel data. As such, it is protected by the Minnesota Government Data Practices Act, which prohibits the public release of personnel data. In support of this distinction between course data and instructor data, the SRT form separates instructor-specific questions from course- specific questions.

A subset of SRT results applicable to the course (not instructor) are released to students in accordance with January 2015 revisions to the University’s Administrative Policy on Evaluation of Teaching. This policy applies to the Twin Cities, Morris, and Rochester campuses. Policy changes were approved by the Faculty and Student Senates in May 2014 upon recommendation by the Senate Committee on Educational Policy.

Data from items pertaining to a course are released to students to aid in future course selection. Data from items pertaining to an instructor are not released.