Staff FAQs

The Student Evaluation of Learning and Teaching (SELT) survey serves as the current online evaluation tool at ACU for unit and teaching surveys. The survey is structured to gather confidential feedback from students on different aspects of learning and teaching quality at the unit level.

In accordance with the Evaluation of Learning and Teaching Policy and Procedures, SELT surveys are conducted for relevant coursework units in each study period to allow students to provide constructive feedback on their learning experiences at the unit level and their perspectives on teaching practices within the unit.

The SELT survey is administered centrally through Quality Assurance in the Centre of Education and Innovation (CEI). The CEI is a central area of the University that reports to the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Education).

Units and teaching staff are included in SELT surveys if they meet the following criteria: the unit and lecturer/tutor information has been verified by the respective Faculty or School nominee on the Data Integrity Gateway (DIG), and the unit is a coursework unit with an enrolment of 10 or more students on the Banner system.

The evaluation process at ACU consists of eight stages:

1. Verification of Teaching Staff and Units: School/Faculty nominees verify teaching staff and units on the Data Integrity Gateway (DIG) system.
   
   
2. Preparation of Data and Survey Creation: The Centre of Education and Innovation (CEI) prepares the data and creates surveys.
   
   
3. Optional Item Request Period: Staff can request the inclusion of additional (optional) items in the survey.
   
   
4. Surveys Commence: Students receive email invitations from Evaluations.CEI@acu.edu.au and can access surveys via Canvas.
   
   
5. Promotion and Reminder Initiatives: Promotion initiatives are undertaken during the live survey period, and automated reminder emails are sent to students to encourage participation.
   
   
6. Survey Closure: At the end of the survey period, the CEI conducts verification checks and analyses the data before generating reports.
   
   
7. Interim Report Release: Teaching staff gain access to interim individual reports after the release of exam results.
   
   
8. Final Reporting Release: Final individual reports and summary-level reporting is generated around one month after the interim reports are released.

This structured process ensures the collection of valuable feedback from students, which is crucial for enhancing teaching quality and learning experiences at ACU.

As part of the SELT survey process, you are required to access the read-only Data Integrity Gateway (DIG). A notice is shared via the ACU Staff Bulletin. In the DIG, you are required to check that you are correctly associated with the unit(s) you are teaching. If needed, liaise with your Faculty/School nominees to make any necessary changes to DIG information.

Following the verification and data preparation stage, you will receive an email invitation to submit any additional (optional) items for your unit(s) SELT survey.

To view the survey questions, please see the Core Items for SELT survey resource.

As an ACU teaching staff member, you will receive an email notification from CEI, inviting you to request an additional (optional) item for your SELT survey via a unique link. Alternatively, staff can request an optional item via Canvas during the specified request period. Instructions for requesting an optional item are provided in the email. Please be aware that late requests for an optional item will not be accepted. Any delay in this process has serious implications for conducting and reporting all SELT surveys in the university for a study period.

Depending on your role in the unit, you can include an additional survey item in each section of the standard SELT survey:

• Section A (on unit aspects): Lecturers in Charge (LiC) and National Lecturers in Charge (NLiC) can include one survey item related to the unit from the predefined list.
  Access the Staff Guide | How to include an Optional Item in Section A
  
  
• Section B (on teaching aspects): All teaching staff can include one personalised survey item related to their teaching in the unit.
  Access the Staff Guide | How to include an Optional Item in Section B

Examples of optional items for Section B (teaching aspects) include:

Overall, [lecturer/tutor]...

•  provided clear instructions for completing the assignment task.
• provided opportunities to demonstrate and share my [specific knowledge/skill] in classes.
• teaches in ways that emphasize the relevance of this unit to my future profession.
• supports the learning experience of online student.
• shows interest in my welfare and learning by reaching out.
• helped to increase my confidence in…… [specific aspect of knowledge/skill development].

SELT survey dates are determined by the official published dates for end of teaching period (semester, terms, etc.), and the published dates for the release of exam results (i.e., published on the University web pages) that are approved by the Academic Board. Please refer to the SELT survey schedules below:

• SELT Survey Schedule 2024 Second Half

Evaluations CEI send students an email invitation with a unique link to access their survey(s). Additionally, students can access their SELT survey(s) by navigating to the 'Surveys' option in their Account profile within the Global navigation or from the unit navigation in your Canvas course.

For teaching staff names to be linked with units for online surveys, verification by the respective Faculty or School nominee on the Data Integrity Gateway (DIG) is essential. It is extremely important that the information on the DIG system is verified.

At the appropriate time, all staff teaching in ACU can access the DIG to view the units (if any) that they are linked to for the relevant study period, and therefore all staff should alert the respective Faculty or School nominees when they notice any omission or error.

To ensure your name is associated to the correct unit, please liaise directly with your Faculty/School nominee who has the responsibility to verify information on the DIG system for the next cycle of unit/teaching evaluation.

Your SELT report will include Section B (teaching aspects) data only if feedback from a minimum of 5 students is provided on your teaching in the survey. If this threshold isn't met (i.e., less than 5 students provide feedback), you'll only be able to view the Section A (unit aspects) data of the survey.

SELT reports are only generated if feedback for the unit is received from at least 5 students. If this threshold isn't met, a unit report isn't generated.

The university provides applicants with an Achievements Summary for Promotions that includes relevant metrics. For further details, please refer to the Schedule 3 - Academic Promotions Criteria and Evidence Guide.

Please contact Evaluations.CEI@acu.edu.au for feedback or any enquiries related to SELT surveys.

Response rates are an area of ongoing concern to staff and institutions alike.

ACU implements the following strategies to educate staff and students about the importance of SELT:

• Communication about how the feedback process operates and comprehensive guides for completing the survey(s).
• Providing real-time response rate updates to teaching staff during the live survey period.
• Promotional materials, including short videos are available for staff to share in class with students.
• Individual email invitations and reminders to students to encourage their participation.
• Posting reminders and information on social media platforms.
• Offering positive incentives to students for participating in surveys.
• Providing students with early result release in both semesters, subject to the completion of all SELT surveys and none of the usual circumstances that may delay access to results (e.g., unpaid fees, incomplete compulsory modules, or results needing further review).

Teaching staff should encourage students by:

• communicating the importance of unit evaluations to improve the student experience and quality of teaching at ACU.
• educating students about how to provide constructive feedback – students can be supplied with this Student Guide | How to provide constructive feedback in the SELT Survey.
• discussing what you have learnt from feedback previously and how this influenced change. 
• sending a reminder message to complete their SELT survey via Canvas.
• utilising CEI's marketing tools in your classes.

Students have said that they are more likely to complete the surveys if they are reminded in class, and if they see some value in completing the surveys.  CEI will continue to work towards developing a stronger marketing campaign which promotes student participation in online evaluations.

Yes, each staff member will receive a link which will allow you to view the number of invited and number of responses for each survey which includes your name. You can also view the real-time response rates for your survey(s) in Canvas by navigating to the 'Surveys' option in their Account profile within the Global navigation. Please see How to Check Response Rates on Canvas.

(IMPORTANT NOTE: Staff members will not be able to identify the status of any students or who has completed the evaluation.)

For instructions on how to access your evaluation reports, please access the How to Access Student Evaluation of Learning and Teaching (SELT) Reports guide.

Lecturers/tutors will be notified via email when reports are available to view, and the email will include a unique link for accessing the reports. Additionally, the reports can be accessed in Canvas by navigating to the 'SELT Reports' option in the Account profile within the Global navigation.

Please refer to the How to Access Student Evaluation of Learning and Teaching (SELT) Reports guide and the SELT survey schedule for optional item request period, survey start and close dates, and report release dates.

CEI generates all reports after the SELT survey periods have closed for a particular survey cycle, so you cannot access your SELT reports earlier if the survey is still open to students.

For more information, please refer to the Introduction to SELT reports webpage.

For information, please refer to the Understanding and Interpreting Student Comments within SELT Reports webpage.

For more information on interpolated median values, please refer to the Interpolated Median and Semi‐Interquartile Range in Learning and Teaching Evaluation Reports guide.

Once the SELT surveys close for a specific study period, CEI undertakes necessary preliminary data verification and releases interim reports. The SELT survey schedule indicates approximate reporting times. Relevant staff will receive an email with a link to their interim report(s).  Access to interim reports is removed when final reports are released, and the web link in the interim report email will no longer work.

Final reporting is undertaken twice each year, for all study periods within the First Half or Second Half of the year. Final reporting requires significant data verification. Relevant staff will then receive another email containing a link to their final report(s).

No, access to individual reports is restricted to the teacher assigned to the unit and the supervisor of the department to ensure only the relevant staff member has access.

However, the Head of School (or equivalent) may choose to distribute summary information from Section A (on unit aspects) of the survey report to others involved in teaching the units as part of the quality enhancement/assurance process.

In accordance with the Evaluation of Learning and Teaching procedures, relevant SELT reports will be accessible to the appropriate Head of School (or equivalent), Associate Dean (Learning and Teaching), and Executive Dean.

You can save reports in either HTML or PDF format. Alternatively, you can print reports directly from the web interface. It's recommended that staff download and store their SELT reports.

Requests should be made at least a month (ideally 2-3 months) prior to the date the survey data will be needed. This lead time is necessary to accommodate the tasks associated with such a request (i.e. data extraction, collation, analysis, verification, etc.) along with the standard survey processes that must take place as scheduled.

The initial request for data will need to be through the Faculty office, the Associate Dean – Learning and Teaching (ADLT) or equivalent and sent to the Evaluations CEI (Evaluations.CEI@acu.edu.au) email account.

The reason for this protocol is that CEI staff are responsible for:

(a) ensuring data security on behalf of the University, and

(b) maintaining an appropriate mechanism for enabling restricted access to reports based on confidential student feedback processes.