Course Evaluations - FAQ for Faculty

What is the evaluation period? When do surveys open and close? When do students receive reminders?

For Fall and Spring semesters, the surveys open Sunday before the last week of classes and close Friday (the last day of classes) at 11:59 pm. During summer, the evaluations periods are shortened to 4 days and occur before the finals exam. Please reference the table below.

	Summer 2026 5 week session	Summer 2026 7.5 week session
Open	July 16, 2026	August 6, 2026
Close	July 19, 2026	August 9, 2026

The deadline for each term is stated in the faculty email communication sent during the penultimate week of instruction and displayed on the Course Evaluations - Instructor portlet (see below). For fall and spring semesters, the deadline is Friday (the last day of classes) at 11:59 pm.

Why is my class not being evaluated?

Courses with an enrollment of less than five students and independent study courses are not eligible for evaluation. If you have concerns regarding your courses that are being evaluated, please contact your department.

What if multiple instructors teach a course? In other words, what if my course is team-taught?

For team taught courses, students will receive a separate course evaluation for each instructor of record. Each instructor is evaluated independently.

My course is cross-listed with another department. How do I ensure that students evaluate the course? Which department’s evaluation instrument is used for my class?

Your department is responsible for choosing which courses are evaluated each term - these selections are made during the 4th and 5th week of fall and spring semester. For cross-listed courses, we expect the involved departments to communicate with each other and make the appropriate selections using the PeopleSoft “Class Climate Dept Selection” page. The evaluation instrument/questionnaire of the department that selects the course for evaluation will be assigned to that course.

How can I check which of my courses are being evaluated each term?

You will get access to the Course Evaluations portlet (your courses to be evaluated are listed here) during the penultimate week of instruction. This is where you will check that all of your courses that meet the evaluation criteria are queued for evaluation and have the correct enrollment.

I would like to know if my students have responded to requests to evaluate my courses. How will I be able to track my course participation rate?

You may monitor your response rates through the Course Evaluations portlet. Your response rate continuously updates every 15 minutes between 5am – 8pm PST, and every 5 minutes the last 15 minutes of the hour.

How can I help improve my response rates?

Reminding students in class of the importance of evaluations may encourage participation, as may allowing some time in class for students to complete the evaluations.

When will I be able to see my evaluations?

Evaluations are distributed approximately one week after grades are due at the end of each term.

How will I receive my evaluation reports?

Your evaluation results are distributed via the OneDrive. Academic Personnel generates the evaluation reports and adds them to your “LastName,FirstName-Student_Eval_Archive” folder after grades are released. Your department or college will send an email communication letting you know your results are available. 

To access this OneDrive folder:

1. Login to your My Cal Poly Portal
2. Select Cal Poly OneDrive under My Apps
3. Select “Shared with me” from the left-hand panel
4. Find and open your “LastName,FirstName-Student_Eval_Archive

If you do not have access to this folder, please reach out to your department. 

Will students be able to see my evaluation results?

No, students do not see your evaluation results. This means they cannot see how their peers have reviewed you.

How will my students know the course evaluations are available?

On the opening Sunday, students will receive an email notification from courseevals@calpoly.edu letting them know the surveys are available on their Cal Poly Portal in a portlet named Course Evaluations - Student. Students who have not completed all of their course evaluations will receive generic reminder emails on Monday, Wednesday and Friday during the evaluation period.

I have students enrolled in Open University, are they eligible to take the evaluation?

Yes, all enrolled students are given the opportunity to evaluate their courses even those that are non-matriculated.

Will students who dropped the class or are not attending the class be able to submit evaluations?

All enrolled students have the opportunity to complete a course evaluation, even if they are no longer attending class. The class roster used for evaluations is generated after the census date, which occurs on the twentieth day of instruction each semester. As a result, students who drop the course during the add/drop period are not included and cannot evaluate the course. However, students who withdraw after the add/drop period remain on the roster and are given the opportunity to complete a course evaluation.

Is there a way to tell which students have evaluated my courses?

You will not be able to track individual student responses because the evaluations are confidential. The system disassociates the information that identifies the student at the time the evaluation is completed. Reports generate from aggregated data that contains no individual student information.

May I use class time for students to fill out their evaluation?

Instructors may use class time for students to fill out their evaluations. They should comply with their college’s requirements for how evaluations are conducted in classrooms (e.g., the instructor leaving the room/not present).

Can I control when my students fill out the survey?

You may ask them to wait until a specific day of the evaluation period before filling out your course evaluation but nothing prevents them from disregarding your request. During the evaluation period, students have around-the-clock access until the evaluation close date and time.

May I provide incentives for students who complete the surveys? What are acceptable and unacceptable incentives to offer in exchange for participation?

Some instructors offer extra credit to classes that exceed a certain response/participation rate. You may not offer extra credit to individual students because knowing whether a particular student completes a survey is a breach of confidentiality.

Will I receive a notice each term reminding me of information regarding the online evaluations (open date, close date, # of reminders, etc.)?

Academic Personnel will send an information email from courseevals@calpoly.edu providing all of the details regarding the current term's online course evaluations during the penultimate week of instruction.

Will faculty be able to add their own individual questions? How can I ask extra questions for my personal use?

This functionality does not exist. We suggest you survey students separate from the official evaluation process since the responses would be for personal use only and would not be eligible for inclusion in your PAF.

Who decides the content of the evaluation questionnaire?

Colleges and departments compile the elements of their evaluation instruments. The Academic Senate has mandated (AS-759-13) that all evaluation instruments allow students to offer comments, and that all evaluation instruments include two summative evaluation prompts that are now the last two prompts on every evaluation instrument.

How did we establish the timeline for running the evaluations?

 The timeline was established in light of feedback from the Academic Senate, department chairs and heads, college deans, and associate deans and was established by an Academic Senate resolution (AS-821-16).

Whom should I contact with questions?

Start with your department and/or college. You may email courseevals@calpoly.edu to reach the Academic Personnel staff responsible for course evaluations.