Course evaluation survey examples show you how instructors and institutions turn student opinions into specific, usable changes. A course evaluation survey is a short questionnaire that asks students to rate a course, its materials, and its teaching. The right sample saves hours of drafting and keeps your questions fair.
This guide gives you eight working examples, each with sample questions and a note on when to use it. You will also learn how to choose between them, raise response rates, and read the results without over-trusting a single number.
What is a course evaluation survey?
A course evaluation survey is a structured questionnaire that collects student feedback on a course’s content, teaching, workload, and learning outcomes so that instructors and institutions can improve it. Students answer with rating scales, multiple-choice items, and written comments. Schools use the results to refine lessons, update materials, and review teaching quality.
A typical course evaluation covers four areas:
- Instruction: Clarity, feedback, and availability
- Content: Readings, tools, and relevance
- Structure: Pacing, workload, and organization
- Outcomes: What students can do after the course
Some institutions also use the results in tenure and promotion reviews, which raises the stakes for how the questions are written.
What is the difference between formative and summative evaluation?
Course evaluations fall into two timing groups. Wikipedia’s overview of course evaluation describes both.
- Summative evaluation: Students complete it near the end of the term. It judges how the course went and often feeds teaching reviews.
- Formative evaluation: Students complete it during the term. It gives the instructor time to fix problems while the same students are still enrolled.
Use both when you can. The mid-term check gives you time to improve before the final survey.
How is a course evaluation different from similar surveys?
A course evaluation focuses on one course, while related surveys focus on a person, a program, or the whole student experience. Teams often mix these terms up, which leads to surveys that ask the wrong people the wrong questions.
| Survey type | What it measures | Who answers | Typical timing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Course evaluation | Content, structure, workload, outcomes for one course | Enrolled students | Midterm and end of term |
| Instructor evaluation | Teaching style, clarity, availability of one person | Enrolled students | End of term |
| Program evaluation | Curriculum across several courses | Students and alumni | Yearly or at graduation |
| Student satisfaction survey | Campus services, housing, support, overall experience | All students | Yearly |
| Post-training survey | Learning and relevance of a short course | Participants | Right after the session |
Most course evaluations include a few instructor questions, so the first two rows overlap. Keep the course questions about the course and the instructor questions about teaching behavior.
Course evaluation survey examples you can copy
These eight examples cover the situations instructors and administrators face most. Each one lists sample questions you can paste into your survey tool and adapt. Start with the example that matches your goal, then trim it to the questions you will act on.
1. End-of-term instructor effectiveness survey
This survey asks students how clearly and fairly the instructor taught. It works best as a rating-scale block of 6 to 8 items at the end of the term.
Sample questions, each rated from strongly disagree to strongly agree:
- The instructor explained difficult concepts clearly.
- The instructor treated students with respect.
- The instructor gave feedback that helped me improve.
- Class time was used well.
- The instructor was available when I needed help.
Add one open-ended item at the close: “What is one thing the instructor should keep doing?” Ask about observable behavior, not personality. “The instructor returned work within a week” is easier to answer honestly than “The instructor was good.”
2. Course content and materials survey
This survey checks whether readings, videos, and tools help students learn, and what they cost. Use it when you are choosing textbooks or updating a syllabus.
| Question | Scale | What it reveals |
|---|---|---|
| The required readings helped me learn the material. | Agree/disagree | Reading value |
| How much did you spend on course materials this term? | Ranges, such as under $50 | Cost burden |
| Which digital tools helped you most? | Select all that apply | Tool value |
| The video lectures were clear. | Agree/disagree | Media quality |
| Was any material repeated across sessions? | Yes/no, then comment | Redundancy |
The cost question matters because material prices can limit what students buy. Pair every low rating with a “why” comment box so you know what to change.
3. Course structure and workload survey
This survey tests whether the course is paced and organized well. It answers questions like “Did lectures and practice balance out?” and “Was the workload realistic?”
Use these items:
- The course was well organized from week to week.
- The balance between lectures and hands-on work was right for me.
- The workload was manageable alongside my other courses.
- Assignment deadlines were reasonable.
- Course materials were available when I needed them.
Mix scale types here. Use agreement scales for structure, a “too little, about right, too much” scale for workload, and one open-ended question for suggestions. The mix keeps students from straight-lining, which means giving the same answer to every item without reading it.
4. Learning outcomes self-assessment survey
This survey asks students what they can do now that they could not do before. It ties the evaluation to the course’s stated learning objectives instead of to general satisfaction.
Write one item per objective. Say a course promises that students will “analyze a data set.” Ask: “I can analyze a data set using the methods taught in this course.” Students rate it from strongly disagree to strongly agree.
Add a before-and-after pair for your two most important objectives. Ask about confidence at the start of the term and again at the end. The gap between the two scores shows growth more clearly than a single rating. Students rate their own ability, so treat the result as perception, not as a test score.
5. Inclusion and learning experience survey (Oregon State University)
Oregon State University publishes the 14 standard questions in its Student Learning Experience survey. The survey goes beyond teaching style. It asks about belonging, access, and resources.
Sample items from the list:
- “I felt like I belonged in this course.”
- “The course materials were accessible to me.”
- “Feedback on tests, assignments, and/or graded activities informed my thinking and learning.”
- “Directions and expectations for tests, assignments, and/or graded activities were clear.”
It also closes with two open prompts about how the course supported learning and how it could do better. This model suits institutions that want equity and accessibility data next to teaching data. You can borrow the wording for your own surveys.
6. Mid-semester stop, start, continue survey
This survey asks three open questions at the midpoint of the term, while the instructor can still act. The University of Rochester’s mid-semester evaluation guide recommends this format.
Stop: What is the instructor doing that makes learning harder? Examples include slides that are too small to read.
Start: What would help you learn that the course does not do yet? Examples include more worked problems.
Continue: What is working and should stay? This tells you which habits to protect.
Keep it anonymous, and give students class time to answer. Then pick two or three trends to act on, and tell students what you changed. A quick poll during class works well here, and a classroom response system can collect answers live.
7. Post-course survey for short courses and training
This survey suits workshops, certificate programs, and continuing education. Those students leave quickly and rarely finish long forms. University College London’s sample course evaluation questions group items into clear blocks:
- Overall experience and likelihood to recommend
- Whether the course met expectations
- Course design, such as navigation and level of detail
- Quality of activities and instructions
- Tutor support and engagement
- Impact, such as how learners will apply what they learned
Ask the impact question as open text: “Give one example of how you will use this learning in your work.” Keep the whole survey to a few minutes, because participants answer on their way out.
8. Online and hybrid course evaluation survey
This survey adds technology and engagement questions to the standard blocks. Online students judge a course by access and interaction as well as by content.
Add these items to your base survey:
- The course platform was easy to navigate.
- Technical problems did not stop me from completing work.
- I had enough chances to interact with classmates.
- The instructor responded to questions in a reasonable time.
- Recorded sessions helped me review difficult topics.
Include a question on time zone or schedule fit if your students log in from different places. Keep one comment box open. Ask: “What would make this course easier to take online?” Hybrid courses benefit from one extra question: “Did you attend in person or online most weeks?” It lets you compare the two groups.
How do you choose the right course evaluation survey?
Choose the survey by the decision it must support, not by the length of its question list. A survey that asks everything usually produces data that nobody uses. Match your goal to one primary example, then borrow two or three items from the others.
| If you need to… | Start with | Questions to aim for | Run it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Judge teaching quality | End-of-term instructor survey | 8 to 12 | Last two weeks |
| Fix a problem while it matters | Stop, start, continue | 3 to 5 | Week 6 to 8 |
| Pick or replace materials | Content and materials survey | 8 to 10 | End of term |
| Check pacing and workload | Structure and workload survey | 8 to 10 | Midterm or end |
| Prove learning against goals | Learning outcomes survey | One per objective | Start and end |
| Review equity and access | Inclusion survey | 12 to 15 | End of term |
| Evaluate a workshop | Post-course survey | 8 to 12 | Same day |
The question counts are working ranges, not research-backed rules. Shorter surveys tend to get completed, so cut any item you would not act on. If you want more starting points, browse QuestionPro’s course evaluation survey templates built from university forms.
Step-by-step guide to building a course evaluation survey
You can build a solid course evaluation survey in one afternoon if you decide the purpose before you write a question. Follow these steps in order.
- Name the decision.
Write down what you will change based on the results, such as dropping a textbook or splitting a long lecture.
- Pick the example.
Choose the closest match from the list above.
- Write to your objectives.
Add one item for each learning objective in your syllabus.
- Mix question types.
Use mostly rating scales, plus two or three open-ended questions at the end.
- State the purpose.
Open with one sentence on why you are asking and how you will use the answers.
- Test it.
Have two students or colleagues take it and note any confusing items.
- Send it with class time.
Give students a window to answer during class when possible.
- Report back.
Tell students what you learned and what you will change.
The academic evaluation survey templates library gives you a ready draft for steps 2 to 4.
How to write course evaluation questions students answer honestly
Honest answers come from clear, neutral questions that ask about one thing at a time. Students often complete these surveys quickly, so every item has to be understood on the first read.
Which question types should you use?
Each question type answers a different need. A balanced survey uses three or four of them.
| Type | Best for | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Likert scale (agreement scale) | Attitudes and perceptions | “The course was well organized.” |
| Multiple choice | Facts, such as format or cost | “How did you attend most weeks?” |
| Rating scale | Overall quality | “Rate the course from 1 to 5.” |
| Open-ended | Reasons and ideas | “What should change next term?” |
| Net Promoter Score (NPS) | Willingness to recommend | “How likely are you to recommend this course?” |
Put open-ended questions last. Students who tire of typing will already have answered the scored items.
How do you rewrite a biased question?
Leading and double-barreled questions distort results. A double-barreled question asks two things at once, so a student cannot answer both with one rating.
- Biased: “How much did you enjoy the excellent lectures?” Better: “The lectures helped me understand the material.”
- Double-barreled: “The instructor was clear and approachable.” Better: Split it into two items.
- Vague: “The course was good.” Better: “The assignments matched what we learned in class.”
Read each item aloud. If you hear the word “and,” check whether it needs splitting.
How can you raise course evaluation response rates?
Give students class time to answer. Edgar Treischl and Tobias Wolbring studied this in 2017. The Council of Independent Colleges summarized their finding: online evaluations without class time lost an average of 21.6 percent of responses compared with paper. Online rates matched paper when students had time in class and an emailed invitation. The authors drew on three field experiments at one institution, so test the effect at yours.
Other steps help as well:
- Send the link by email and post it in your learning management system, which is software that hosts course materials.
- Tell students how earlier feedback changed the course.
- Keep the survey short enough to finish in a few minutes on a phone.
- Confirm that responses are anonymous.
- Send one reminder, not five.
Low response rates make results less trustworthy, because the students who answer may not represent the class.
How do you measure and read course evaluation results?
Read results as patterns across items and terms, not as one overall score. A single average hides splits in opinion, and a small sample can mislead. Collect the numbers below before you draw any conclusion.
What should you calculate?
Track these figures for every course:
- Response rate: Completed surveys divided by enrolled students.
- Mean and distribution: The average and the share of students at each rating. A 3.5 average can mean everyone chose 3 or 4, or half chose 1 and half chose 5.
- Item gaps: Items that score well below the rest of the survey. Review any item that falls below your own set threshold, such as 3.5 out of 5.
- Trend over terms: Changes in the same item across at least three terms.
- Comment themes: Tag open-ended answers by topic and count each topic.
Compare a course with similar courses, not with the whole institution. A large lecture and a small seminar do not face the same conditions.
What are the limits of student ratings?
Student ratings are one useful signal, not a full measure of teaching. Research reviewed on Wikipedia notes that scores can track expected grades. In one study of Air Force Academy students, instructors with higher ratings produced better common-exam scores, yet their students did worse in later courses (Carrell and West, 2010).
Pair ratings with peer observation, sample work, and your own notes. Use student feedback to start a conversation about teaching, not to end one.
What are the most common course evaluation mistakes?
Most failures come from asking too much, asking too late, or never using the answers. Check your survey against this list before you send it.
- Too many questions.
Students give rushed, repetitive answers on a long form.
- Asking only at the end.
Without a midpoint check, you cannot fix anything for current students.
- Mixed topics.
Combining course, instructor, and facility questions blurs what each score means.
- No open-ended question.
Ratings show where a problem sits, but comments show why.
- No follow-up.
Students stop responding when nothing visibly changes.
- Ignoring context.
Class size, required versus elective status, and course difficulty all move scores.
- Unclear anonymity.
Students soften their answers if they fear identification.
The last two cause the most lasting damage, because they shape how students treat every future survey.
How does QuestionPro support course evaluation surveys?
QuestionPro’s academic solution targets one problem in particular: running the same evaluation across many courses and teams without rebuilding it each time. The features that matter for course evaluations are specific.
- Learning management system access: Distribute surveys inside Canvas, Moodle, and Blackboard so students do not need a separate login.
- Logic and branching: Show a follow-up question only to students who give a low rating.
- Reusable templates: Copy a base survey into each course and edit the course-specific items.
- Multiple languages: Offer the survey in a student’s own language with multilingual surveys.
- Role-based administration: Give departments their own access while a central office sees the combined results.
- Reporting: Export dashboards for department reviews and accreditation reports.
If you are building your first survey, QuestionPro survey software lets you start from a template and add your own questions.
Why do course evaluations only work when you act on them?
A course evaluation is a conversation with students, and silence afterward ends it. The best surveys are short, aimed at one decision, and followed by a visible change. When students see a new reading list or a clearer assignment brief because of their answers, they answer honestly next time. That loop also feeds the wider student experience, because students notice when their opinions matter.
For the coming term, do three things:
- Pick one example from this guide and cut it to your top ten questions.
- Run a stop, start, continue check at the midpoint.
- Share two changes you made with your next class.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Run a short formative check at the midpoint and a fuller summative survey at the end of each term. Check your institution’s policy for the end-of-term survey. The midpoint check is what lets you fix problems for current students.
Yes, in most cases. Anonymity encourages candid answers, especially about grading and teaching style. Tell students plainly that you cannot see who said what, and group results so that small classes do not reveal individual responses through demographic breakdowns.
Many institutions use end-of-term student ratings as one input to tenure and promotion reviews. Research on bias suggests pairing them with peer observation, teaching portfolios, and sample student work so that no single score decides a career outcome.
Yes. Replace grading and credit questions with relevance and application questions, such as whether participants can use the skills on the job. Send the survey the same day, then follow up weeks later to check whether behavior changed.
Read a sample of 30 to 50 comments, create five to eight theme labels, then tag the rest. Count comments per theme and pull two representative quotes for each. Text analysis software can speed up tagging for large courses.
