Yale Center for Teaching and Learning

Mid-Semester Feedback Tool (Canvas)

Mid-Semester Feedback FAQ

What is Mid-Semester Feedback?

  • A feedback survey designed to elicit constructive feedback from students.
  • Four optional questions created by the Yale College Teaching and Advising (TLA) Committee are provided by default.
  • Instructors have the ability to customize questions for each course.
  • Some schools have opted out of using the Mid-Semester tool in Canvas because they are promoting other methods of soliciting mid-semester evaluations.

What is the Mid-Semester Feedback Schedule for Spring 2024?

For schools that have opted to participate with Mid-Semester Feedback, this tool will automatically follow the schedule outlined here:

  • Instructor Tool Opens: October 12, 2023 12:00 AM (ET): The tool appears in the course navigation bar and instructors can begin creating/editing the survey (instructors can add up to four custom questions). Students will also see the tool, but if students click on it before the feedback open date, the student will only see the feedback open/close dates.
  • Custom Question Deadline: February 29, 2024 10:00 PM (ET): The form closes for faculty to select and create custom questions for the survey.
  • Feedback Open: March 1, 2024 9:00 AM (ET): Students can begin submitting feedback in their courses.*
  • Feedback Close: March 8, 2024 10:00 PM (ET): The survey closes for feedback from students.*
  • Submission Purge Date: September 1, 2024 12:00 AM (ET): Survey responses will be deleted from the Mid-Semester feedback tool.**

* Faculty are able to view student responses immediately upon submission.
** Faculty must download their students’ responses prior to the purge date if they would like to retain a copy of their feedback.

Why is the Mid-Semester Feedback tool not appearing in my course navigation?

  • Your school may not be participating in Mid-Semester Feedback.
  • If your course is cross-listed with a school that is not using Mid-Semester Feedback, the tool may not appear in your course.
  • In each course, as an instructor you can choose whether you want to use Mid-Semester Feedback in Canvas, or if you wish to use another method for mid-semester evaluations. If you opt to not use Mid-Semester Feedback in your course, the tool will no longer appear in your course navigation. You can visit the Poorvu Center website to learn about other effective mechanisms to collect feedback.

My school has opted out of using Mid-Semester Feedback. Why is the Mid-Semester Feedback tool appearing in my course navigation?

  • If your course is cross-listed with a school that is using Mid-Semester Feedback, the tool may appear in your course.
  • If you do not want to use the tool, please follow the instructions for removing the Mid-Semester Feedback tool.

What optional questions are provided by default?

  1. What is helping your learning in this class?
  2. What elements of the class are hindering your learning?
  3. What could the instructor change to improve your learning experience in this class?
  4. What could you do differently to improve your learning experience in this class?

What do instructors see and what do students see when they click on the Mid-Semester Feedback tool?

  • Instructor View
    • Only users with the role of “Instructor” in the Canvas course site can see the instructor view.
    • Instructors will use this tool to:
      • View the feedback schedule for the term.
      • Select which of the optional default questions to include in the feedback survey.
      • Create up to 4 custom questions for the feedback survey.
      • View student submissions.
      • Download a CSV of all student submissions.
  • Student View
    • Only users with the role of “Student” or “Auditor” in the Canvas course site can see the student view.
    • All feedback is totally anonymous.
    • Students can only submit feedback once per course.

In spring 2020, there were 2 buttons - a Mid-Semester Feedback Instructor button and a Mid-Semester Feedback button for students.  Why is there only one button now?

For Fall 2020, the Instructor tool and the student tool were merged into one button to simplify the course navigation menu.  When a user clicks on the now consolidated Mid-Semester Feedback button, they will see the appropriate view (instructor view or student view) based on their role within the Canvas course site.

What if I don’t want to use Mid-Semester Feedback in my course?

  • In the Mid-Semester Feedback tool, instructors can choose to remove the tool from their course. By selecting this option, the Instructor tool will be removed from the course navigation menu and the student tool will not become visible to students on the feedback open date. (NOTE: If you remove or disable the tool from the course, you can re-add and enable it.)
  • If the instructor does not opt out, the tool will automatically appear to students based on the outlined schedule.
  • Visit our Instructor help guide to find out how to remove the Mid-Semester Feedback tool from your Canvas course.

Who has access to the student submissions?

  • Only users with the role “Instructor” in a course site can see the student feedback for that course. No one else (including administrators) can access the submissions.

Will student submissions be available in the course forever?

  • Student submissions will remain visible in the course until the end of the academic year.
  • Student submissions will be purged at the end of the academic year.
  • The Mid-Semster Feedback tool displays the official date.  For help finding the schedule, visit our Instructor help guide to find out how to view important feedback survey dates.

How do I download a copy of my students’ feedback?

I do not use Canvas - Can I still use the Mid-Semester Feedback Tool?

  • Mid-Semester Feedback tool is only available through Canvas. If you would like to use this tool, you need to publish your Canvas site to make the course site, and thus the tool, available to students. For information on how to publish your site, see the following article.
  • There are many ways to conduct Mid-Semester Evaluation. We hope providing this integrated tool through Canvas course sites will encourage more instructors to implement this valuable practice. Visit the Poorvu Center website to learn about other effective mechanisms to collect feedback.

I’m not sure how to use the tool. How can I get help?