This series of FAST Notes deals with how best to administer and use the Instructor and Course Evaluation System (ICES) for your benefit and for the benefit of your students.

Using ICES Forms to Improve Your Instruction-part 1 of 3

Before you administer ICES, you should choose a reliable and trustworthy student to collect and place the forms in the campus mail. Forms have been discarded and altered by students who have personal issues with the instructor.

In engineering, we ask students to leave the question about gender/sex blank, so that the small number of female students retain anonymity.

Be sure to allow plenty of time to complete the forms, at least 10-15 minutes. Students who are rushed may not give a fair evaluation.

Coffee thought: Which student can I ask to collect and mail my forms?

Using ICES Forms to Improve Your Instruction-part 2 of 3

Many students fail to complete questions 1 and 2 on the front of the ICES form because they are preprinted in different ink. You may want to alert students not to miss those questions; they are the campus global questions used for promotion, tenure, and awards.

Encourage students to thoughtfully complete the back of the form, emphasizing constructive comments about the course and your instruction. You may want to note that most instructors find these comments to be very helpful when improving their instruction.

Consider crafting additional, open-ended questions specific to your course, and have students respond in the extra spaces on the back of the form.

Coffee thought: How can I best use the open-ended question space on the back of the ICES form?

Using ICES Forms to Improve Your Instruction-part 3 of 3

Many students think that (ICES) forms are not used to improve courses. In some cases these students may be right!

Yet students who are completing your course may be the best resource you have for improvement. Students are particularly qualified to comment on instructional design, instructional delivery, course management, and, in some cases, their personal achievement. They are, after all, professional learners who have experienced many hours with you.

Students are clearly less qualified to comment on course content, however as they complete your course, many students will have enough expertise to make valuable suggestions in this area too.

Before administering ICES, you may want to note how you have used previous student feedback to revise the course, e.g., "The addition of review sessions this semester was directly due to student suggestions last semester." This will reassure students that you will take their feedback seriously.

Coffee thought: Student feedback is valuable; do I believe that?