Schreyer Institute for Teaching Excellence, Pennsylvania State University

Which courses will have the SEEQ form auto-assigned?

Only standard full-semester (15-week) courses will have the MSEEQ and SEEQ form auto-assigned. They will be assigned approximately two-weeks before the MSEEQ opening date.

Reps will need to assign MSEEQ forms to short-courses after consulting with the instructor about timing. Some courses might be too short to offer MSEEQs.

Which courses will not have forms auto-assigned?

MSEEQ and SEEQ forms will need to be assigned to short-courses and courses with other dates, after consulting with the instructor about timing. Some courses might be too short to offer MSEEQs.

The following courses will not have MSEEQ or SEEQ forms auto-assigned because they typically do not involve groups of students that have same educational experience.

Courses Not Auto-Assigned MSEEQs or SEEQs

294, 494, 594: Research Projects
295, 495, 595: Internships
296, 496, 596: Independent Study
600, 610: Thesis Research
601, 611: Ph.D. Dissertation
603: Foreign Academic Experience
890: Colloquium
896: Individual Studies
899: Foreign Studies

What should I do if I cannot assign the SEEQ form to a course?

You should be able to assign the SEEQ form to any course in your area. Check with your college/campus SEEQ Setup Representative to make sure you have access to the correct areas.

Will we be able to add questions to the SEEQ form?

No. The SEEQ is intended to be the same for all instructors. No additional teaching assessment questions are allowed.

We have future plans to offer a survey tool for use with students in a course, e.g., for accreditation purposes. However, to avoid over-surveying students, access to the tool will be limited and require approval. You will be notified when the tool is available.

How do students and instructors access their SEEQs?

Student SEEQ: https://seeq-student-client.k8s.psu.edu/

Instructor SEEQ: https://rateteaching.psu.edu/

How will students and instructors know when the SEEQs are available?

The SEEQ system generates an announcement email to students and instructors on the first day that the SEEQs are available for their courses. Each message includes a URL, instructions, and the start and end dates. Additional email messages are sent to students, but only if they have any unsubmitted SEEQs. Instructors receive only one message.

When are the SEEQs available for full-term (15-week) courses?

For full-semester (15-week) courses SEEQs begin the week after the Late Drop deadline and are open for 2 weeks beginning on the Monday of week 13 and ending on Sunday at 11:59 p.m. before the last week of classes.

Students requested that the SEEQs not be offered during the last week of class.

When are the SEEQs available for short courses?

For short courses (less than 15-weeks), the offering period is the last week of class.

We had to change the instructor for a course during the semester. What should I do to ensure the new instructor receives a M/SEEQ?

The instructor first needs to be changed in LionPATH. The new instructor should be visible in the SEEQ tool within 24 hours after the LionPATH change.

If the change is made before the M/SEEQs are open, the form will be auto-assigned (unless is it on the list above).

If the change is made when the M/SEEQs are open, the new instructor will be listed, but a form will need to be assigned using the "Assign Forms" function in the SEEQ tool.

What will motivate students to complete their SEEQs?

Faculty are the most important determinant of student participation. Students are more likely to complete the SEEQ if they believe that the instructor values their feedback. In general, it is good practice for faculty to communicate how they have incorporated past student feedback into the course (e.g., provided more structure, increased the number of visual examples, reordered topics). See Talking to Students about SEEQ.

Will students who do not regularly attend class be able to complete a SEEQ?

Yes. If the number of students not attending is sufficient to influence your results, it may help you understand why they are not attending. Students who lack the motivation to attend class are typically not motivated to complete the SEEQs.

Can I tell which students submitted their SEEQ for my course, or ask for proof of submission?

No. This is a voluntary and anonymous survey. A student's identity is separated from their response. Asking students to provide proof of submission is not appropriate.

What are the SEEQ items?

You can see the questions on the End-of-Semester Feedback (SEEQ) page. Only the results from items 1 through 4 will be shared with administrators.

Why are some responses only visible to the instructor?

Items 5 through 8 are only visible to instructor because the faculty senate wants to provide access to some student responses without them being used to evaluate teaching. Instructor-only items include questions about students' use of materials, students' perceptions about the most important things they learned, and their recommendations for the course.

How can I tell if SEEQs have been setup for my course(s)?

You will receive a notification email from the SEEQ on the first day SEEQs are available to students. The message lists all of your courses that have SEEQs assigned and the start and end dates for the SEEQ.

The message also reminds you that SEEQs are offered earlier in the semester, but not during the last week of classes (for 15-week full-semester courses).

At any time you may visit https://rateteaching.psu.edu/ to confirm that all courses have been setup as you expect.

If you notice an error, contact the staff member in your academic unit that is responsible for SEEQ setup. If you do not know who that is, contact the SEEQ Representative for your campus or college.

How can I monitor my response rates?

After the offering period has started, visit https://rateteaching.psu.edu/. Your response rate will be displayed along with the beginning and end dates for the SEEQ submission period.

May I set aside time in class for students to complete the SEEQ?

Yes, you may set aside class time for students to complete the SEEQ for your course. You should leave the room so that students do not misinterpret your presence as pressure to provide positive feedback.

How do I talk to my students about providing feedback at the end of the semester?

Mention that you and the university take student feedback seriously. Mention changes you've made to the course in response to past feedback. Thank students for their feedback and assure them you do read what they say. Avoid high-pressure appeals such as “My job depends on your feedback.”

See Talking to Students about End-of-Semester Feedback for a more detailed response to this question.

How can I improve my student response rates?

We asked a group of faculty with a 70% or greater response rate to share advice about getting students to submit the SEEQ. Visit Faculty Strategies for Encouraging Students to Complete the SEEQ.

You may also want to contact one of the Schreyer Institute's faculty teaching consultants to discuss other ways to encourage student feedback.

May I award extra credit to students who complete the SEEQ?

University Faculty Senate Policy 47-20, Basis for Grades, is clear that students' grades need to be based on scholastic achievement. You should not award extra credit simply for submitting a SEEQ for your course.

Some academic units have forbidden instructors from offering extra credit for completing the SEEQ. If your unit is not in this group, you might offer students an opportunity to earn extra credit on a course-related task.

For example, if your response rate reaches 70%, you might offer all students (not just some) the opportunity to complete an in-class assignment or you could add an extra credit question to the final exam.

If you do offer an extra-credit opportunity, be clear that you are interested in all feedback (not just positive feedback) and explain that higher response rates are more likely to represent all students' views.

Why doesn't Penn State require SEEQ participation by holding back grades?

Penn State's SEEQs (and previous SRTEs) were designed to be voluntary. Students receive their grades after the end date for the SEEQ has passed. By the time students realize their grades have been withheld, they would not be able to change their minds about completing the SEEQ. Grades cannot be held back indefinitely.

Why doesn't Penn State make SEEQ responses public as an incentive for students to participate?

SEEQ results are considered part of an instructor's personnel record so access is restricted.

How do I view my results?

All results are available at https://rateteaching.psu.edu/. Penn State authentication is required for access. We recommend that you download a PDF of your results for each course so that you have a copy for your own records. See below for information about how long SEEQ/SRTE results are retained.

When will reports be available for my review?

SEEQ results are typically available within five business days of when all final grades for your course(s) have been recorded in LionPath. If grades have not been recorded, or the course is a "no grade" course, SEEQs will be released on the "Hold for Grade Transcripts" date, which can be found on the Registrar's Activity Calendar. If your results are not available after this date, please check with your unit SEEQ Representative to verify that the SEEQ was offered for your course.

Who has access to my results?

Instructors of record for a course automatically have access to 10-years of summary reports (SEEQ & SRTE results), unless you leave Penn State.

Access is also granted to your academic unit administrators. There may be other people with access. Decisions about who should have access are made locally by college and campus SEEQ Results Administrators.

SEEQ results for instructors who teach World Campus courses are sent to World Campus. World Campus shares these results with the academic administrators in your home department.

What should I do if a student writes inappropriate comments in their feedback?

Please contact your college or campus SEEQ Results Administrator to discuss your options.

Comments that may be removed:

Discriminatory (biased) or harassing comments (see AD91 Discrimination and Harassment and Related Inappropriate Conduct)
Comments that are sexual in nature
Violent or threatening comments

Comments that cannot be considered for removal:

Mean-spirited or angry comments
Comments about an instructor's looks or what they wear
Suggestions that the instructor is a poor teacher or should be fired (even the best teachers receive these)
Comments that refer to another instructor or course (we trust administrators and peers to ignore these)

If you are hesitant to submit a request to your SEEQ Results Administrator, please send an email message to SEEQ@psu.edu.

May I ask someone to screen my written feedback for hate speech and biased or harassing comments before I read it?

Instructors who are concerned that their written feedback will include biased comments may choose to have an intermediary review their feedback. If the comments meet the criteria for removal above, a request for their removal may be submitted. Please send your request for an intermediary screening to SEEQ@psu.edu.

How long does the University keep my SEEQs?

The summary reports of your SEEQ and SRTEs are retained for 10 years in accordance with Policy AD35 University Archives and Records Management and its concurrent General Retention Schedule.

All SEEQ/SRTE data that have been imported into Activity Insight will continue to be available to you.

If you leave Penn State, you will no longer have access. We recommend that you download a copy of your results the first time you view them online, so that you always have a copy for your own records.

How does the new Teaching Assessment Framework affect graduate students?

Graduate students who are instructors of record will receive both the Mid-semester Student Educational Experience Questionnaire (MSEEQ) and Student Educational Experience Questionnaire (SEEQ) surveys. Your department determines whether you will be assessed in additional ways, e.g., a course observation.

I am a TA, will I receive a SEEQ for my course?

Go to https://rateteaching.psu.edu/

If you do not see the course listed, you are not assigned as an instructor of record and will not receive a SEEQ. Your department determines if TAs are listed as instructors.
If you see your course listed as Pending, Assigned, or Active your students will receive a SEEQ.
If you see your course with a “No SEEQ Assigned,” you need to request that staff in your department assign a SEEQ to your course.

The questions asked on the SEEQ are different from those asked on the SRTE. How should I explain the change in my application materials for awards, postdocs, and/or jobs?

You can refer to the change in your cover letter and provide a link to the Assessment of Teaching webpage.
If you need to include copies of your SEEQ/SRTE reports, you may want to use this SEEQ Coversheet for Applications.
You may want to consider creating a Student Course Feedback Annotation Report to contextualize the feedback from your course and keep track of any changes you might make in future courses as a result of that feedback.
For more information about understanding and using student feedback as a graduate student instructor of record or TA, visit the GA and TA Canvas group.
You can also request a meeting with a Schreyer Institute graduate student consultant to discuss your student feedback and how to incorporate the feedback into your teaching philosophy statement or teaching portfolio.

Who created the Faculty Teaching Assessment Framework?

Read the University Faculty Senate reports that created the framework and additional reports from the subsequent Joint Implementation Taskforce and its subcommittees.

How does Penn State assess teaching?

See the Faculty Teaching Assessment Framework page.

How does Penn State define effective teaching?

See the Elements of Effective Teaching page.

What are the MSEEQ items?

You can see the questions on the Midsemester Feedback (MSEEQ) page.

When will the MSEEQ open?

The MSEEQ will be administered during weeks 6-7 of the 15-week semester as of Spring 2025. In Fall 2024, the MSEEQ was offered in weeks 4-5, but that determined to be too early in the semester. Results are released within 48 hours of the closing date.

Do I have to do anything to “turn the MSEEQ on”?

MSEEQs are automatically assigned for most full-term (15-week) courses and standard semester dates. If you teach a shorter or longer course, please reach out to your local MSEEQ/SEEQ representative.

May an instructor ask for the MSEEQ offering period to be extended?

Yes, the date can be extended by the staff member in your academic unit responsible for SEEQs. Choose a date that is not too late to implement changes and not too close to the SEEQs.

If you do not know who that is, please reach out to your Campus or College SEEQ/MSEEQ Setup Representative.

May an instructor opt out of the MSEEQ?

No. The Standing Advisory Committee for Assessment of Teaching Effectiveness determined that we need to implement the MSEEQs for at least a few semesters before altering the process outlined by the Faculty Senate. The system does not allow local staff to unassign forms.

Can faculty or departments add or change the MSEEQ questions?

No. Like the SEEQ, the MSEEQ is the same for all instructors and TAs.

May I set time aside in class for students to complete the MSEEQ?

Yes, please set aside class time for students to complete the MSEEQ. We recommend that you offer 10-15 minutes at the beginning of class. You should leave the room so that students do not misinterpret your presence as pressure to provide positive feedback.

Can instructors see their MSEEQ response rates during the offering period?

Yes. You may view your MSEEQ response rates and results in the same place you view your SEEQ results.

How do I talk to my students about midsemester feedback?

See Talking to Students about Midsemester Feedback for sample comments you can make to (or adapt for) your students about the MSEEQ, including why they are important, what student can expect, what kind of feedback is most useful, and how to share the results.

When will MSEEQ results be available?

Results will be available within 48 hours of the end date.

Where can I view the midsemester (MSEEQ) feedback?

You will access your MSEEQ Results where you access your SEEQ results, under Instructor Reports. You need to select MSEEQ or SEEQ, in addition to selecting the semester.

How long is the MSEEQ feedback accessible to me?

One semester. Midsemester feedback will be available until the start of the next semester. We recommend that you download the pdf of your results the first time you access them.

Who has access to see the MSEEQ feedback?

Only the course instructor has access to the MSEEQ feedback. Co-instructors do not have access to your MSEEQ or SEEQ results.

May I discuss with students their MSEEQ or SEEQ feedback?

The is no policy preventing you from discussing the feedback (MSEEQ or SEEQ) with students. However, it is never appropriate to admonish, reprimand, or argue with students about their feedback. Doing so can undermine students' trust, which could lead to little or no feedback in future. A persistent pattern of no feedback could have a serious negative impact on your career given that student feedback is a required element of faculty teaching assessment.

Before discussing your feedback with students, you may want to confer with a Schreyer Institute faculty teaching consultants.

Can individual faculty members give proxy access to someone else?

Yes. However, we recommend that instructors not give proxy access to administrators, because it could result in unintended consequences. Instructors are free to refer to the MSEEQ in their annual review or narrative statement.

Can an administrator require a faculty member to share or give proxy access?

No. Administrators and supervisors may not request or compel access to MSEEQ results, per the Senior Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs. Faculty may choose to refer to their MSEEQ feedback in their narrative statement; but that is in no way required.

Who is my point of contact for the MSEEQs?

The staff member in your academic unit that is responsible for the SEEQs. You should contact that person if you do not have MSEEQs assigned but should. As noted above, MSEEQs are not automatically assigned for certain courses including those listed above and short-courses, courses longer than a typical semester, and courses that have semester dates other than the standard fall, spring, and summer dates.

Policy questions about MSEEQs should go to the SEEQ/SRTE Results Administrator for your campus or college.

Who do I contact for assistance interpreting my MSEEQ results?

Please contact your Schreyer Institute liaison or email SITE@psu.edu if you’d like to confidentially discuss your MSEEQ results with a Schreyer Institute consultant.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) About the Faculty Teaching Assessment Framework