Communication
Communication with students
The evaluation system sends out personalised emails to students at the beginning of the evaluations period. Each student receives the initial email when their first evaluation is available. Two reminder emails are sent to students who have not completed their evaluations.
Additionally, a Moodle-wide notification is sent to students during the last week of teaching. This is another reminder for students and works especially well for those who infrequently check their email or have particularly sensitive email filters.
Evaluation information is also posted in Student E-News, the Student Learning Facebook page, and on the Student Learning Twitter account. When main semester evaluations are open, there are posters around campus that contain a QR link, and various screens across the University (including the library) display evaluation messages. Our Student Learning tutors and e-Tuts remind students about the importance of providing feedback as well.
If you have suggestions to further engage students and encourage them to provide feedback about their experiences, please email the Evaluations Team: evaluations@waikato.ac.nz
Communicating with your tutor
It is a good idea to communicate with your tutor about when the evaluation is to be conducted in class, or how it will be set up on Moodle. Tutors can also remind students about providing feedback through the evaluation in their tutorials or labs.
Template message for face-to-face papers:
Dear [insert tutor name here],
This semester we are conducting evaluations during one of the final lectures for PAPERCODE / TITLE. I have chosen to do this to improve student engagement with the process as well as increase the number of students who provide feedback through the formal evaluation.
The date that I have chosen for this paper is [insert date and time of lecture chosen]. I have sent a Moodle message / email message [delete the one that doesn’t apply] to let students know that this will be happening, and to ask them to bring a device to class if they have one. As a tutor for this paper you have been added to the evaluation so that students can provide feedback about your teaching. Receiving feedback about the paper and teaching is important because this information can be used to make improvements to the paper and our teaching where possible. I would appreciate it of you could remind the students about the in-class evaluation in your tutorial(s) this week as well.
If you have any questions about evaluations or if you would like to discuss this further, please contact either myself or the Evaluations Team at evaluations@waikato.ac.nz
Kind regards,
[Paper Convenor]
Template message for NET or blended papers:
Dear [insert tutor name here],
This semester we are conducting evaluations via a lesson in Moodle for [PAPERCODE / TITLE]. I have chosen to do this to improve student engagement with the process as well as increase the number of students who provide feedback through the formal evaluation.
The evaluation will appear in week [insert week number here] so that students complete the evaluation as one of their weekly tasks. I have sent a Moodle message / email message [delete the one that doesn’t apply] to let students know that their feedback is valued and that information about the evaluation will be included in the lesson.
As a tutor for this paper you have been added to the evaluation so that students can provide feedback about your teaching. Receiving feedback about the paper and teaching is important because this information can be used to make improvements to the paper and our teaching where possible. I would appreciate it of you could remind the students about the evaluation when you are in contact with them.
If you have any questions about evaluations or if you would like to discuss this further, please contact either myself or the Evaluations Team at evaluations@waikato.ac.nz
Kind regards,
[Paper Convenor]
Communicating with your Class Rep
All evaluations for face-to-face papers can be conducted during class. Because the evaluations are open for 6 weeks, those who do not attend the class are still able to provide feedback. It is the Class Reps responsibility to run the evaluation so please contact your Class Rep about arranging a date for the evaluation to be completed.
Template message for face-to-face papers:
Dear [Class Rep name],
This semester we are conducting evaluations during one of the final lectures for PAPERCODE / TITLE. I have chosen to allow some class time for this activity to ensure that all students have the opportunity to provide feedback on the paper. I am writing to ask you to assist me with running the end-of-semester evaluations in-class. I use student feedback to make improvements to the paper, so I would really appreciate your assistance with this activity.
The date I have chosen for the evaluation to be completed is [insert date and time of lecture chosen]. I have sent a Moodle message / email message [delete which is not appropriate] to let students know that this will be happening, and to ask them to bring a device to class if they are able to. I will allow a few minutes at the beginning of the session for you to speak to the class about providing feedback and then there will be 10 minutes available for students to complete the evaluation. There is training to assist you with this activity, and the details of the training sessions can be found here.
For any further assistance with running this evaluation in class or more information about evaluations processes, please contact the Evaluation Team evaluations@waikato.ac.nz.
If you have any other questions, please don’t hesitate to contact me.
Kind regards,
[Paper Convenor]
Template message for NET or Blended papers:
Dear [Class Rep name],
This semester we are conducting evaluations via a lesson in Moodle for [PAPERCODE / TITLE]. I have chosen to do this to improve student engagement with the process as well as increase the number of students who provide feedback through the formal evaluation.
The evaluation will appear in week [insert week number here] so that students complete the evaluation as one of their weekly tasks. I have sent a Moodle message / email message [delete the one that doesn’t apply] to let students know that their feedback is valued and that information about the evaluation will be included in the lesson. I am writing to let you know that this will be happening and to ask if you could encourage students in the class to complete the evaluation through Moodle. I use student feedback to make improvements to the paper, so I would really appreciate your assistance with encouraging student feedback in this way.
There are resources available on the CeTTL website to assist you if needed (videos and template messages). They provide information about giving feedback and the online evaluation process.
For any further assistance with running this evaluation in class or more information about evaluations processes, please contact the Evaluation Team evaluations@waikato.ac.nz.
If you have any other questions, please don’t hesitate to contact me.
Kind regards,
[Paper Convenor]