Course Evaluations
Every semester, students have the opportunity to evaluate their courses against a vetted series of evaluation questions. Faculty can customize their course evaluations to ask additional questions that are relevant to their own course development plans.
During the Spring 2025 semester, we launched an updated list of course evaluation questions. Starting in 2023, we convened deans and hosted a series of meetings with a faculty
committee. We also collected resources and looked at our peer institutions to establish
benchmarks. In consultation with the faculty committee, we began drafting new questions
and soliciting feedback through meetings and surveys to faculty, administrators, and
students. After discussing the results of those surveys, faculty voted on the penultimate
list of questions, and the committee approved the final questions. These questions
were approved by the University Sentate during the 2024-25 academic year. For more
information, please review the Course Evaluations Slides from the February 2025 University Senate Meeting.
Stony Brook University uses Anthology Course Evaluations. Login below to see the current evaluation data (Fall 2022-Present):
Generating a Course Evaluation Report
Use the logins below to see previous evaluation data (summer 2022 or earlier):
FACULTY LOGIN DEPT. ADMIN LOGIN
Learn more
Faculty Course Evaluation Resources
Student Course Evaluation Resources
Evaluation Timeline
The timeline below provides approximate dates/timing for our course evaluation process. Exact dates will vary with the academic calendar from year to year.
| Semester/Term* | Notification to faculty and administrators | Evaluation Surveys Open | Evaluation Surveys Close | Results Made Available to Faculty | Results Posted to Classie |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fall Semester (Main Interval) | First week of November | Third week of November | Third week of December; Last day of term per the academic calendar | After academic standing has been processed; typically first week of January | By the end of January |
| Spring Semester (Main Interval) | First week of April | Third week of April | Third week of May; Last day of term per the academic calendar | After academic standing has been processed; typically first week of June | By the end of June |
| Winter Session | Second week of January | Last Monday of winter session | Sunday after classes end | 10 days after survey close | By the end of February |
| Summer Session I | Third week of June | Fourth week of June | Last day of session I classes | 10 Days after survey close | Second week of September |
| Summer Session I Extended | Fourth week in June | Second week of July | Last day of session I extended classes | 10 Days after survey close | Second week of September |
| Summer Session II and II Extended | First week in August | Second week in August | Last day of session II and II extended classes | 10 Days after survey close | Second week of September |
*In addition to the main semesters/terms listed above, evaluations are also administered for courses with varying start/end dates (shorter intervals in PeopleSoft). For these smaller administrations, faculty and administrators are notified one week before evaluations open, surveys remain open for at least one week, and faculty receive results 10 days after evaluations are closed.
General Course Evaluation Information
In Fall 2010, with Faculty Senate and Provostial approval, Stony Brook adopted an online course evaluation system that began during the Spring 2011 semester. This adoption was preceded by a pilot test of the system in Fall 2010 involving 200 course sections and significant discussion with stakeholder groups across the University.
The system is in place for all West campus courses, and serves the majority of HSC programs. All undergraduate and graduate courses will be evaluated online, unless department chairpersons designate courses that should not be evaluated (such as dissertation, readings, small seminars, etc.)
The system is hosted by an external company which provides an extensive set of services including the survey engine, question banks, pre-created analysis and reports of the survey results, as well as a system for managing survey assignments and email reminders to faculty and students. The system is accessible via any Web browser from any Internet-connected device or computer.
Faculty and students will automatically receive email notifications and instructions before and during each of the following events.
- Instructors will be given 7-10 days before the evaluation period starts to prepare their own customized questions and add them to the evaluation system.
- Student access to the course evaluations will start during the final third of a course (approximately four weeks before for full semester courses), and will end the last day of the official final examination period. Students will receive multiple email reminders during this period if at least one course evaluation remains uncompleted.
All instructors and teaching assistants listed as primary and secondary instructors in PeopleSoft/SOLAR are evaluated. If a faculty member manages a course, but does not teach it, he or she should be listed in the SUP field in PeopleSoft to prevent an evaluation being assigned. It is very important that instructor information for courses be correct in PeopleSoft prior to the beginning of each evaluation period or faculty may not get evaluated or the wrong instructor may be evaluated for a course.
All instructional staff who are assigned as Primary Instructors or Secondary Instructors are evaluated, including TAs. It is important for academic departments to enter TA teaching assignments accurately and in a timely manner in order for the course evaluations to be accurately assigned, usually within the first 4 weeks of the semester. If your courses are not listed or you are listed as teaching the wrong course, please contact your department administrator to make the changes in SOLAR and contact the CELT Course Evaluation Team to make corrections in the course evaluation system: CourseEval@stonybrook.edu
Evaluations are assigned based on the data entered by departmental staff in SOLAR. Please contact the appropriate staff member in your department to ensure that your correct teaching assignments are up to date before each semester's evaluation period begins. If you are assigned an evaluation for a course that you are not teaching or have not been assigned to a course that you are teaching, please contact the person in your department who is responsible for maintaining faculty teaching assignments in Peoplesoft/SOLAR. Then, that person needs to contact the CELT Course Evaluation Team: CourseEval@stonybrook.edu
Yes, policies and procedures determined all courses including low enrollment will automatically be evaluated except those designated as TUTorial or SUPervisory or CLN (clinical).
However, faculty and departments can choose to evaluate these courses by submitting an exception request. To submit an exception request, fill out the exception form. Please note you must be logged in to your Stony Brook Google account to complete the form.
The system administers separate evaluations for all instructors in the course. Common questions such as those focused on the learning space are delivered only one time to each student within each course.
Technical support regarding login, navigation, incorrect instructor assignments, adding custom questions, downloading reports/data, and interpreting results is available to all users. Please email CourseEval@stonybrook.edu for details.
About the Evaluations
Yes, faculty can their own questions. You can add questions from the question bank or, submit a question to be added. If you choose a question from the question bank, you will need to select it each semester.
Requests for new questions not already in the question bank must be submitted at least three business days prior to the survey becoming active.
After an extensive two year process led by a faculty committee in which feedback was gathered from faculty, staff, and students, the following questions were approved by the University Senate during the 2024-25 school year.
Beginning this spring, students will be asked 10, rather than 13, questions. New questions are in bold. Five questions did not change.
- The instructor clearly communicated what was expected of me in this course and the rules of classroom engagement. [5-point Likert scale: Strongly Agree to Strongly Disagree]
- The instructor was effective in teaching the subject matter. [5-point Likert scale: Strongly Agree to Strongly Disagree]
- I think the overall quality of the course was [Excellent, Very Good, Good, Fair, Poor].
- The course content (assignments, readings, lectures, etc.) helped me meet the learning expectations set forth by the instructor. [5-point Likert scale: Strongly Agree to Strongly Disagree]
- The textbook, readings and required resources were valuable. [Agree / Disagree / I did not read the required materials / No text, readings or resources were required]
- The class environment was inclusive towards people of diverse backgrounds, identities, life experiences and diversity of thought. [5-point Likert scale: Strongly Agree to Strongly Disagree]
- The methods of evaluating my work were fair. [5-point Likert scale: Strongly Agree to Strongly Disagree]
- On average, how many hours did you spend on the course outside of class? [0-3 hours / 4-6 hours / 7-9 hours / 10+ hours]
- What did you find most valuable about this course? [open]
- In what ways could the course be improved? [open]
Deans, Department Chairs, or their designated administrators can add questions for all courses in a department (see steps 6-9). To request questions be added for all current and future sections of a specific course (e.g. WRT102), please contact courseeval@stonybrook.edu
Evaluation Results
The evaluation data is made available approximately 15 days after the evaluation period ends to ensure that all grades have been submitted. While the Registrar's grade submission guidelines ask for grades to be submitted 72 hours after final exams, many faculty do not submit grades for several weeks. Consequently, results are delayed until the Registrar indicates that all grades have been submitted.
Faculty are able to review their own evaluation reports, including student comments, before they are published to the university community, by logging into Course Evaluations.
After reviewing student feedback from the evaluation reports, faculty may request redaction of any comments that harass, threaten, defame, slander or otherwise fall outside the scope of the course by submitting a request to the department chair.
Year Administration Term Evaluations Expected Evaluations Received Completion Rate 2024 Fall 124,453 35,503 28.50% Summer I 8,026 1,621 20.20% Summer I Extended 1,854 367 19.80% Summer II & II Extended 9,940 1,756 17.70% Spring 110,159 32,227 29.30% Winter 3,695 539 14.60% 2023 Fall 117,656 38,772 33% Summer I 7,658 903 11.80% Summer I Extended 1,751 472 27% Summer II & II Extended 8,973 1,686 18.80% Spring 106,767 27,920 26.20% Winter 3,732 663 17.80% 2022 Fall 119,089 34,838 29.25% Summer I 8,062 1,790 22.20% Summer I Extended 2,029 461 22.72% Summer II & II Extended 8,783 1,741 19.82% Spring 108,974 30,649 28.13% Winter 3,613 866 23.97% 2021 Fall 121,951 36,770 30.15% Summer I 7,765 1,845 23.76% Summer I Extended 1,403 257 18.32% Summer II & II Extended 8,674 2,069 23.85% Spring 109,035 30,530 28.00% Winter 3,192 846 26.50% 2020 Fall 119,453 40,896 34.24% Summer I 7,403 2,575 34.78% Summer I Extended 1,380 501 36.30% Summer II & II Extended 8,861 2,700 30.47% Spring 107,886 47,048 43.61% Winter 3,274 486 14.84% 2019 Fall 116,082 39,967 34.43% Summer I 6,580 1,915 29.10% Summer I Extended 1,153 245 21.25% Summer II & II Extended 7,485 1,739 23.23% Spring 106,198 43,414 40.88% Winter 3,393 517 15.24% 2018 Fall 118,832 54,773 46.09% Summer I 7,118 2,053 28.84% Summer I Extended 1,263 302 23.91% Summer II & II Extended 7,320 1695 23.16% Spring 105,745 45,751 43.27% Winter 3,028 989 32.66% 2017 Fall 117,795 57,598 48.90% Summer I 6,639 2,121 31.95% Summer I Extended 1,562 627 40.14% Summer II & II Extended 6,773 2,148 31.71% Spring 103,016 45,869 44.49% Winter 2625 858 32.69% 2016 Fall 114,661 57,739 50.36% Summer 1 6,723 2,068 30.76% Summer II 7,064 1,905 26.97% Summer 1 Extended 1,776 419 23.59% Spring 103,305 455,08 44.05% Winter 2373 804 33.88% 2015 Fall 111,181 55,551 49.96% Summer 1 7,271 2,234 30.77% Summer II 6,839 1,788 26.14% Summer 1 Extended 1,562 480 30.73% Spring 103,276 47,868 46.35% Winter 1,932 720 37.27% 2014 Fall 109,972 50,950 46.33% Summer 1 7,207 2,168 30.08% Summer II 113 57 50.44% Summer 1 Extended 1,272 335 26.34% Spring 104,422 43,955 42.09% Winter 2,389 690 28.88% 2013 Fall 107,730 41,094 38.15% Summer 1 8,051 1,831 22.74% Summer II 6,067 1,294 21.33% Summer 1 Extended 727 82 11.28% Spring 102,222 0 0.00% Winter 2,241 302 13.48% 2012 Fall 103,941 0 0.00% Summer 16,107 3,920 19.57% Spring 96,597 25,534 20.91% Winter 2,358 570 19.47% 2011 Fall 102,390 3,346 24.62% Summer 17,871 2,817 13.62% Spring 98,907 25,619 20.57% - Course evaluation results will be emailed to faculty and approved reviewers after the survey concludes and grades are posted. Approved reviewers can access the evaluation results of all the faculty within a department and generally tend to be department chairs or their designees. Should chairs wish to designate additional reviewers they should email a request which includes the reviewer's 9-digit Stony Brook ID Number to CourseEval@stonybrook.edu
- The evaluation data will remain online as long as the University maintains its contract with this vendor. Each semester, all Stony Brook results are exported and stored in the data warehouse along with all previous course evaluation results so that faculty course summaries will always be available.
- When the online system was being considered by faculty, conversations were conducted with student government and they told us that many students rely on public "rate-my-professor" websites to make course decisions and expressed instead the desire to see Stony Brook's instructor ratings to make informed course choices. Subsequently, the University Faculty Senate approved a motion to make course evaluation data available to students.
