Administrator FAQs

Student Learning Experience (SLE) Survey Overview

The Student Learning Experience Survey (SLE) offers students and instructors the opportunity to work together to improve the quality of teaching at Oregon State University. This process was known as the electronic Student Evaluation of Teaching (eSET) from 2012-2021 and the SET from 2004-2012.

The SLE consists of a set of standard university questions that were developed in alignment with the Quality Teaching Framework adopted by the Faculty Senate in 2021. In addition to the standard questions, instructors may also opt to ask students for input on their teaching methods in a personalized fashion (own questions). After the course withdrawal deadline, students are invited via email or Canvas to begin the survey process to provide feedback on their learning experience to their instructors in a convenient and confidential manner. Following the end of the survey period and after final grades are due, reports are generated. Once this process has been completed, instructors are informed via email that reports are available.

Greater response rates assure breadth and confidence in your students’ feedback. For helpful pointers on how to encourage student feedback, please see this document which was drafted by the Faculty Senate Advancement of Teaching Committee.

Student Learning Experience (SLE) Survey Login Information

Use the https://beav.es/Student-Learning-Survey link to log in to the SLEs.

Survey/Evaluation Permissions

If a Department Head, Director, or Dean would like eSET or SLE access for themselves or an administrative assistant, then the Department Head/Dean must send a request to SLE Help with the following information for each person:

  • Name
  • Position title
  • OSU ID number
  • OSU email address

In order to preserve confidentiality, Curriculum Management requests that access to eSET/SLE reports be limited to non-student, permanent employees who normally have access to sensitive information.

If someone who has access to eSET/SLE reports leaves the department or changes roles, please inform Curriculum Management so unit-level permissions can be removed.

Administrative reports are not available for terms designated by the Faculty Senate and Provost’s office as blocked for COVID-19 accommodations. These terms are Summer 2020, Fall 2020, Winter 2021, Spring 2021, Summer 2021, Fall 2021, and Winter 2022.

Department Chairs, Program Directors, and Deans have access to quantitative information and signed student comments for the programs and faculty they supervise. This applies to both SLE and eSET.

Select administrative personnel who work in university departments, colleges, campuses, and Academic Affairs may have access. These accounts are created specifically for each individual and reflect their role and need for survey information.

Instructors have access to their own quantitative and qualitative results. Only instructors see comments or responses to open-ended questions unless students “sign” their comments, in which case Department Chairs and Deans can also see the comments.

Curriculum Management stresses that everyone follow confidentiality protocols, per the Faculty Senate regulations.

Administrative reports are not available for terms designated by the Faculty Senate and Provost’s office as blocked for COVID-19 accommodations. These terms are Summer 2020, Fall 2020, Winter 2021, Spring 2021, Summer 2021, Fall 2021, and Winter 2022.

For cumulative data reports, not specified by individual instructor, please contact Curriculum Management. Instructors can always view their reports for all courses surveyed or evaluated through their individual SLE portal.

To access eSET or SLE reports, use this link and enter your ONID username and password.

You also can access SLE through MyOregonState.

  • Enter your ONID username and password
  • Go to the Resources tab
  • Choose "Academic" resources
  • Click on "Student Learning Experience Survey (formerly eSET)"

You can obtain departmental summary reports by selecting “Rollup Reports” or individual course reports by selecting the “Report Browser” link. Administrative reports are not available for terms designated by the Faculty Senate and Provost’s office as blocked for COVID-19 accommodations. These terms are Summer 2020, Fall 2020, Winter 2021, Spring 2021, Summer 2021, Fall 2021, and Winter 2022.

Questions in SLE

The standard questions can be found on the Standard University Questions page.

In Fall 2021, OSU began using the Student Learning Experience survey for all eligible courses. See the new questions. SLE questions focus on how students’ experiences in a course and their learning are interrelated. The questions are linked to OSU’s Quality Teaching Framework.

The two previous evaluation questions most faculty relied on for P&T will continue to be on the SLE survey until new guidelines are set up for how to use the surveys. These questions are Q1, “The course as a whole was” and Q2, “The instructor’s contribution to the course was”.

Due to the rapid change to remote education in Spring 2020, the Faculty Senate voted on April 14, 2020 to ask different questions for Spring 2020 evaluations.  The questions were:

  1. In regard to your interactions with the content, instructor, and other students in the course, what went well this term?
  2. In regard to your interactions with the content, instructor, and other students in the course, what didn't go well or could be improved?; and
  3. Please comment on your workload for this course. Were the number of hours per week needed to prepare for this course appropriate to the knowledge gained?

These alternate questions were presented alongside the standard eSET questions for Summer 2020.

Yes. Some colleges and departments add additional questions to the courses taught in their area. Please contact Curriculum Management to pursue this option. Historically, the Baccalaureate Core Committee occasionally added questions to Bacc Core courses for assessment purposes.

Courses and Instructors Included in SLE

SLE reflects course information uploaded from Banner at the end of week 7. Each course is designated by the CRN (Course Record Number), and further divided by instructors or teaching assistants who have been assigned 2% or more of responsibility for the course in Banner. Once courses have been uploaded from Banner into the SLE system, they cannot be changed.

All OSU credit classes are included in SLE except:

  • Courses with fewer than 6 students, per the Faculty Senate (2012)
  • INTO IEP courses
  • Certain Veterinary Medicine courses
  • Certain blanket courses (those whose numbers start with 401-410, 501-510, 601-610, 701-710, and 801-810)

In a course with multiple instructors, only those with at least 2% responsibility for the class in Banner will receive surveys from students. The Banner deadline for instructor changes is week 7.

Otherwise, if a course with multiple instructors is set up under only one faculty member's name, then only that faculty member will receive a survey.

Teaching assistants receive surveys only if they are assigned a minimum of 2% responsibility for the class in Banner. The Banner deadline for instructor changes is week 7.

Otherwise, if a class is set up under just the faculty member's name, then only the faculty member will receive a survey.

Survey Results and Reports

There are two pieces of documentation--how to read reports and how to run them. A brief document provides additional information about running rollup reports.

After the grading period closes, instructors receive an email notifying them that reports are available. Visit the SLE calendar to find out when survey results are available.

eSET and SLE reports from previous terms are always available, except for those from AY 2020-21 (Summer 2020, Fall 2020, Winter 2021, and Spring 2021), Summer 2021, Fall 2021, and Winter 2022. Administrative reports are not available for terms designated by the Faculty Senate and Provost’s office as blocked for COVID-19 accommodations. For cumulative data reports, not specified by individual instructor, please contact [email protected].

Administrative reports are not available for terms designated by the Faculty Senate and Provost’s office as blocked for COVID-19 accommodations, specifically AY 2020-21 (Summer 2020, Fall 2020, Winter 2021, Spring 2021), Summer 2021, Fall 2021, and Winter 2022. For cumulative data reports, not specified by individual instructor, please contact Curriculum Management. Instructors can always view their reports for all courses surveyed or evaluated through their individual SLE portal.

The department/administrative reports do not include:

  • Unsigned comments
  • Instructor added questions
  • Bacc Core questions

Each instructor only has access to their individual reports. Any course or unit-specific questions must be added to each instructor’s SLE survey.

Instructors are evaluated only if they are assigned a minimum of 2% responsibility for the class in Banner. The Banner deadline for instructor changes is week 7.

For reports on multiple instructors, a departmental administrator can compile a report for the class as a whole. They can do this by going into SLE and selecting the relevant courses and sections and exporting as an Excel file or as PDFs. These can then be sent to the listed instructors of record. Per University policy, instructors will not see the comments for the other instructor(s) (unless the comment is signed) or responses to open-ended questions.

When assigned class responsibility, teaching assistants access their individual reports as instructors.

TAs are evaluated only if they are assigned a minimum of 2% responsibility for the class in Banner. The Banner deadline for instructor changes is week 7.

For reports on multiple TAs teaching the same class, a departmental administrator can compile a report. They can do this by going into SLE and selecting the relevant courses and sections and exporting as an Excel file or as PDFs. These can then be sent to the listed instructor of record. Per University policy, the instructor will not see the student comments on the TA's evaluation (unless the comment is signed) or responses to open-ended questions.

View the How to Run Reports documentation. Contact [email protected] if you have additional questions.

Reports for eSET evaluations (2012-2021) are available through the current SLE software. Log in to the SLE/eSET on-line system.

For data/reports prior to 2012, please contact [email protected]. Most pre-2012 data is available only as a PDF.

The median is the value on the score scale that separates the top half of the group from the bottom half. OSU uses a calculation that assumes that multiple values within a range are distributed evenly over the range.

A calculation of this type results in a more complete set of values. (The traditional computation of median might result in values of 5.0, 5.5, 6.0. The OSU calculation results in values 5.0, 5.1, 5.2, and so on to 6.0). This calculation has been used for OSU student evaluations since 2004.

Department heads, school heads, and administrators can track response rates as the survey period progresses. The response rate is available either on the home/dashboard page or through a Status Tracking Report.

Technical Issues

Instructors are notified when they can add questions to their course and are reminded when the period is about to close. Instructors are also notified when reports are available.

Students are notified when surveys are open, are reminded during the evaluation period, and are notified when surveys have closed.

Administrators are not sent SLE notification emails. See the SLE calendar for dates.

Contact [email protected] if you are unable to access the SLE survey. Please describe the issue in your email; screen shots are always appreciated.

Your ONID is not fully linked to SLE. Please contact [email protected] for assistance.

What Do You Think, or CollegeNet, continues to be the platform for OSU’s student input regarding courses. While the name has been changed to SLE and the individual questions are different, all eSET data is retained and can be found using the original reports.