General Guidelines for QSSET

Guidelines for Administering QSSET

Last Updated: January 13, 2021

PDF

These guidelines will be in effect during the pandemic while remote teaching is the main form of course delivery. The Guidelines will be reviewed periodically when the University has a fuller return to on-campus teaching.

1. QSSET is mandatory for all members of QUFA and recommended for all other courses deemed suitable for QSSET.

2. QSSET is designed to enable students to provide feedback on each course instructor. Students in courses with only one instructor will receive one QSSET to complete for the course. Students in courses with multiple instructors will be asked to complete the QSSET, including all sections of the survey, for each instructor.

3. QSSET will be run towards the end of the course, and instructors will be consulted about the preferred timing. Students in courses that span multiple terms (e.g., continuing from the fall to the winter term) will only receive the QSSET towards the end of the term in which the course concludes. Students in courses that run for less than one full term will receive the QSSET towards the final week of the course.  

4. QSSET will be left open for one week to allow students adequate time to complete the survey.

5. QSSET is administered when then are five or more students enrolled on a course. Instructors may request a QSSET for a course with fewer than five students through their departmental administrator, but the results from these surveys will not be shared by the registrar’s office with department heads.

NOTE: In the past a minimum of 10 students was required to create a statistically valid pool of responses and to ensure that student handwriting could not be traced back to a specific individual. Since QSSET does not set averages or means against other courses, the statistical rationale is now irrelevant. And, since the QSSET is administered online, the concern about identifying students through their handwriting is also irrelevant.

6. For courses not suitable for QSSET, decisions to opt out must be approved by the department head and communicated to the OUR (qsset@queensu.ca) by the departmental administrator. Examples of these courses include thesis, independent reading, and other courses where the instructor of record is not engaging in formal instruction of the students during course delivery.