What is the Student Perception of Teaching (SPOT) survey?
The Student Perception of Teaching (SPOT) survey is UW–Eau Claire's end-of-term course evaluation, administered through the Explorance Blue platform. SPOT gives students a structured, confidential opportunity to share feedback on their learning experience in a course, including the instructor's teaching effectiveness, course design, and overall classroom environment.
What is Explorance Blue?
Explorance Blue is the third-party software platform UW-Eau Claire uses to administer course evaluations campus-wide. Instead of each department managing evaluations separately, all evaluations are centrally administered through this system, ensuring a consistent experience for students and instructors across all courses.
Why should I complete my SPOT survey(i.e. Course Evaluations)?
Your feedback matters — here is why:
- Your participation helps instructors reflect on their teaching practices and improve course design for future students.
- Your feedback helps identify patterns across departments that can improve your overall experience at UW-Eau Claire.
- Course evaluation results are considered during instructor performance evaluations.
- Completing the survey gives you an opportunity to reflect on your own learning experience and preferences.
How do I complete my SPOT survey(i.e. Course Evaluations)?
You can access your course evaluations in several ways:
- Email invitation: You will receive an email invitation sent to your UW-Eau Claire email address from feedback@uwec.surveys.edu. Click the link in the email to go directly to your survey.
- Canvas: Access evaluations by clicking the "Course Evaluations" link in the navigation menu of your Canvas course.
- Direct login: Log into UWEC Blue Dashboard directly using your UW-Eau Claire credentials.
Evaluations can be completed on any device — computer, tablet, or smartphone. Surveys take approximately 10-15 minutes to complete.
How Do I Provide Useful Feedback?
Thoughtful, constructive feedback helps instructors and administrators improve teaching and learning.
To write effective comments:
- Be specific, respectful, and constructive — vague or general comments are less actionable.
- Describe what worked well for you as a learner.
- Focus on the course learning environment, including course activities, organization, instructor interactions, and technology.
- Avoid comments that are personal in nature, insulting, or based on stereotypes — these are not appropriate and are generally ineffective in improving instruction.
- If you have no comment relevant to a prompt, it is fine to leave that field blank.
When Can I Complete My SPOT survey (i.e. Course Evaluations)?
You can complete your course evaluation anytime between the Start and End dates of the administration period.
Key things to know:
- You will receive an email on the day your evaluation opens with the start and end dates.
- You will receive friendly reminder emails for any course in which you have not yet submitted an evaluation. These reminders are automatically generated by the software.
- For in-person and synchronous online courses, instructors are expected to provide class time for completing the evaluation.
- Completion periods cannot be extended, so please pay attention to the dates.
Is My Participation Confidential?
Yes! Your responses are confidential and won’t be connected to your name, student ID, or academic record. Instructors can see how many students completed the evaluation (the response rate), but they can’t see who did or didn’t participate. Results are only shared with instructors after final grades have been submitted.
Note: Your responses are meant to be anonymous, but anonymity can’t be guaranteed if you (1) include identifying details in your written comments or (2) share something that suggests harm to yourself or others.
Does Completing a SPOT survey (i.e. Course Evaluation) Affect My Grades?
Course evaluations are confidential. You will never be penalized for choosing not to complete an evaluation. Some instructors may offer extra credit when a class reaches a certain response rate, but individual student responses will not be released to
When Will My Instructor See the Results?
Instructor reports are made available after final grades have been submitted to the registrar. No results are made available to any UW-Eau Claire employee — including the instructor — before that point. Only response rates (not individual responses) are visible to instructors during the open evaluation period.
Need More Help?
If you have questions, issues, or concerns about the course evaluation process, please contact the appropriate office:
Email: nelsonwa@uwec.edu