Processing Student Rating of Instruction Forms
Introduction
There are currently two versions of the Student Rating of Instruction (SROI) form available for use. The primary version has been used since Fall 1995 and consists of 6 general questions followed by 36 generic 5-choice fields. The alternate version of the form consists of the same 6 general questions as on the primary form, two additional items on the course and instructor, plus boxes for written comments from the students. The primary version of the form is currently used by all colleges at NDSU *except* the College of Science and Mathematics, whereas the alternate version is *only* used by Science and Math. Both versions of the SROI form are printed on ivory-colored paper and are processed in an identical fashion with one exception.
Gold header sheets are used to provide information about a stack of student sheets. The gold sheets have three fields in the upper left hand corner of the page, one field each for the call number, the number of the last question (labelled LQ on the gold sheet) used for the class, and an optional code. Each bundle of student sheets associated with a call number *must* have a gold header sheet accompanying it or the student forms cannot be properly processed.
Processing Outline | Example Report
SROI Processing Questions and Answers
SROI bundles are processed using the same basic principles as the Optical Mark Reader (OMR) test scoring system used on campus. Forms for each course are submitted as a stack, with a header sheet (gold) as the top sheet, followed by the student sheets (ivory). The questions and answers below provide the information required to process a bundle of SROI sheets.
Blank SROI student sheets can be obtained from the Office of the Dean for your College. Please use only the forms provided by your College. Do *NOT* photocopy these forms if you run short --- photocopiers alter the size of the image slightly, but just enough so that the scanner cannot recognize the form. Also, the paper used in photocopiers is typically not appropriate for running through the scanner.
Students should blacken in the bubbles for their responses using a #2 lead pencil (ink pen and felt tip pen marks will not be detected by the scanner). Changes must be erased cleanly or the scanner will 'see' two bubbles filled in for an item. In this case, the data is invalid and the response is coded as an asterisk (*) in the raw data file.
Instructors are encouraged to have students write in the call number and fill in the appropriate bubbles on these sheets even though this field on the student sheets is ignored during processing. Handling the student forms in this way provides a safeguard against mixing up SROI forms from different classes.
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An SROI bundle consists of a header sheet and the completed student sheets. All forms in the stack must be positioned the same way; i.e., make sure that all sheets in the stack have the title at the top. If the sheets are not all oriented in the same way, the scanner cannot read them and it stops (which makes our Operations people unhappy :-)). If we encounter a stack with many sheets improperly oriented, we will return the stack to you unscanned.
Torn or otherwise damaged sheets may not be scannable. Please remove any such sheets from your stack in advance (sheets that have simply been folded in half will usually be OK if carefully unfolded). If students have written across the timing marks (the small rectangular blocks along the right edge of the form) or in line with the skunk marks (the square blocks at the bottom of the form), the form will not scan. Again, please either remove these sheets from the stack or erase all writing from these locations.
You must fill out a header sheet for each unique course call number. (If you have a course which has multiple instructors for a single call number and you want evaluations tallied separately for each instructor, you can use the Code field on the header sheet to supplement the call number. See the instructions below for this scenario.) Using a #2 lead pencil, fill in the bubbles for the call # and LQ (Last Question) fields. The course call number you provide on the header sheet is associated with every sheet in the stack. Even if a student sheet already has the call number filled in, it is ignored and replaced by the call number on the header sheet. If you are only collecting data from questions 1 through 6, you may leave the LQ field blank. Otherwise the number in this field determines the number of questions that are tallied. If you use any of the additional generic fields and you leave the LQ field blank, then you will only get results for the first six items. The Code field is not required for processing most SROI bundles, so you may leave it blank unless you have multiple instructors for a single call number (e.g., a team taught course).
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Several departments have course call numbers with more than one instructor, yet would like to get separate evaluation runs on each instructor rather than just the course call number. You may use the Code field on the header sheet to create a unique code for each instructor. The codes may be as simple as using single letters; e.g., Jones=A, Smith=B, etc., or you can use all 5 characters in the Code field if you like (Jones=AAAAA, Smith=BBBBB). You must then create a separate SROI bundle for each instructor rather than just for the course call number. If done properly, you will get separate summaries for each call number-instructor combination.
There is only one difference in the way in which the two versions of the SROI form are processed. You must code a last question of 88 (not 08) on the header sheet for the alternate (Science & Math) form. If you use 88 for the last question, a special program that properly processes the alternate form is called. If you neglect to use 88 and you are using the Science & Math form, your printouts will only include the results for the first 6 items, even if you entered 08 in an attempt to get results for 8 items. The reason for this is that the last 2 items on the alternate form are not located in the same place as items 7 and 8 on the primary form.
Starting with Fall semester 1998, all SROI bundles are routed through the College offices before being sent over to ITS. The general procedure which we prefer is listed below:
- Each academic department should collect all evaluations for its courses at the department office.
- Each department then forwards all of its evaluations to its respective college office. We request that you create SROI "megabundles" -- simply combine successive SROI bundles into a larger stack as each course's evaluations are returned to the department office. The gold header sheets are adequate separators between SROI bundles. We prefer that you do not place each individual bundle in a separate envelope as has frequently been done in the past --- this simply adds lots of extra handling time prior to scanning. Departments should deliver their SROI megabundles to their respective college office.
- At the college office, the departmental megabundles can be combined into a "superbundle" for the college --- don't you just love the new jargon :-). We suggest placing a separate brightly colored page (hot pink works well) between megabundles from different departments. This will allow ITS to keep all sheets for a department together which will facilitate returning them to the respective departments after they have been scanned.
- Once a college has collected all of its evaluations for a semester, the entire "superbundle" should be delivered to IACC 142 for scanning. Alternatively, ITS can send couriers to collect the forms at the college office and deliver them to IACC 142.
- After scanning, ITS will return the superbundles to the appropriate college offices. The college offices will also receive the summary reports and will be responsible for routing the SROI bundles and summary reports to their respective departments.
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The change in the format of the summary reports that was adopted Fall semester 1998 requires that all forms for the university be scanned and available prior to generating the reports. We suggest that as a general rule, all SROI bundles should be delivered to the college offices within one week after the end of finals. College offices should then route their superbundles to IACC 142 as soon as possible after all departments sheets have been collected.
Yes, you can write some comments on the headers but only in specific locations. We suggest that you write such comments either directly above or directly below the heavy black bar in the middle of the header sheet. Please carefully avoid the following locations: the timing track (black rectangles) on the right edge of the page, the skunk marks (black squares) at the bottom of the page, and the area around and between the three fields in the upper left hand portion of the page.
We hope to add instructor names to the summary reports with the Spring semester 1999 run.
Additional Questions?
Questions or comments regarding the content or design of the SROI form should be forwarded to the Teaching and Professional Services Committee. Questions/comments/problems with the processing of these forms should be directed to Curt Doetkott (1-7031) in Information Technology Services.
A brief outline of the steps involved in processing the SROI forms follows.
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Student Rating of Instruction --- Summary Report
North Dakota State University
Report Generated on 14JAN99
Instructor Information Number of Students: Response Key:
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Call #: 77777 # Enrolled: This Class .... 87 VG= Very Good....(5)
Dept: OCEANOGRAPHY G= Good....(4)
Course: 202 # Sheets Scanned: This Class .... 128 IB=In Between....(3)
Your Dept ..... 596 P= Poor....(2)
Your College .. 3285 VP= Very Poor....(1)
Frequencies (top row) and percents (bottom row) are provided to the right of each question.
S.D. is the Standard Deviation and #R is the Number of Valid Responses.
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Please rate: VG G IB P VP OMIT AREA MEAN S.D. #R
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| Class 3.484 0.851 128
1. your satisfaction with the 11 58 42 16 1 0 | Department 3.725 0.869 592
instruction in this course. 8.6 45.3 32.8 12.5 0.8 0.0 | College 4.115 0.862 3268
| University 4.015 0.913 32739
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| Class 3.555 0.895 128
2. the instructor as a teacher. 15 58 41 11 3 0 | Department 3.743 0.899 591
11.7 45.3 32.0 8.6 2.3 0.0 | College 4.192 0.879 3260
| University 4.091 0.930 32650
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| Class 3.328 0.973 128
3. the ability of the instructor 12 48 42 22 4 0 | Department 3.665 0.929 591
to communicate effectively. 9.4 37.5 32.8 17.2 3.1 0.0 | College 4.128 0.897 3262
| University 4.027 0.965 32642
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| Class 3.469 0.773 128
4. the quality of this course. 7 61 45 15 0 0 | Department 3.750 0.868 591
5.5 47.7 35.2 11.7 0.0 0.0 | College 4.029 0.872 3257
| University 3.917 0.888 32610
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| Class 3.977 0.827 128
5. the fairness of procedures 33 67 21 6 1 0 | Department 3.818 0.851 589
for grading this course. 25.8 52.3 16.4 4.7 0.8 0.0 | College 4.128 0.874 3254
| University 4.066 0.906 32499
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| Class 3.197 0.935 127
6. your understanding of the 7 42 54 17 7 1 | Department 3.609 0.843 586
course content. 5.5 32.8 42.2 13.3 5.5 0.8 | College 4.029 0.796 3251
| University 3.964 0.840 32548
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Questions beyond #6 are optional, vary by department, and use the following key:
A=5 B=4 C=3 D=2 E=1
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Please rate: A B C D E OMIT AREA MEAN S.D. #R
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Item 7. 10 62 36 17 3 0 | Class 3.461 0.904 128
7.8 48.4 28.1 13.3 2.3 0.0 | Department 3.660 0.889 591
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Item 8. 4 23 49 36 16 0 | Class 2.711 1.005 128
3.1 18.0 38.3 28.1 12.5 0.0 | Department 3.320 1.082 591
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Item 9. 57 55 14 2 0 0 | Class 4.305 0.727 128
44.5 43.0 10.9 1.6 0.0 0.0 | Department 4.217 0.758 589
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Item 10. 26 54 37 6 4 1 | Class 3.724 0.948 127
20.3 42.2 28.9 4.7 3.1 0.8 | Department 3.775 0.853 587
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Item 11. 24 62 29 10 3 0 | Class 3.734 0.935 128
18.8 48.4 22.7 7.8 2.3 0.0 | Department 3.836 0.904 590
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Item 12. 14 46 45 14 9 0 | Class 3.328 1.043 128
10.9 35.9 35.2 10.9 7.0 0.0 | Department 3.572 1.087 589
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Item 13. 10 53 37 19 9 0 | Class 3.281 1.042 128
7.8 41.4 28.9 14.8 7.0 0.0 | Department 3.587 1.044 589
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Item 14. 58 55 13 1 1 0 | Class 4.313 0.750 128
45.3 43.0 10.2 0.8 0.8 0.0 | Department 4.119 0.789 589
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Item 15. 19 46 33 19 11 0 | Class 3.336 1.159 128
14.8 35.9 25.8 14.8 8.6 0.0 | Department 3.548 1.052 586
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Item 16. 18 55 41 13 1 0 | Class 3.594 0.882 128
14.1 43.0 32.0 10.2 0.8 0.0 | Department 4.041 0.919 590
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Item 17. 36 59 28 3 0 2 | Class 4.016 0.780 126
28.1 46.1 21.9 2.3 0.0 1.6 | Department 3.778 0.971 585
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Item 18. 17 72 33 2 3 1 | Class 3.772 0.789 127
13.3 56.3 25.8 1.6 2.3 0.8 | Department 3.818 0.904 588
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Item 19. 4 31 54 26 13 0 | Class 2.898 0.987 128
3.1 24.2 42.2 20.3 10.2 0.0 | Department 3.447 1.040 591
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Item 20. 35 60 30 3 0 0 | Class 3.992 0.779 128
27.3 46.9 23.4 2.3 0.0 0.0 | Department 3.835 0.869 588
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Item 21. 13 41 51 17 5 1 | Class 3.315 0.965 127
10.2 32.0 39.8 13.3 3.9 0.8 | Department 3.676 0.896 587
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