Programs & Services » Course Instructor Survey » Course Instructor Survey for Faculty and Staff » CIS FAQ
To make finding answers to your questions easier the questions have been sorted by the following categories:
If you still have questions about the eCIS or the paper CIS please contact us at ctl-cis@utlists.utexas.edu or call the CIS office at 471-8175.
See important Dates and Deadlines on the CIS Homepage.
Enrollment counts used within the CIS system are taken on the 12th class day and at the opening of the Registrar's grades submission period.
Fall and Spring: Anytime in the last two weeks of class, until the last day of class.
Summer: The survey period is the last week of class.
This is the same period as the availability for the paper survey.
Provisional results for eCIS are available for viewing via MyCIS two days after grades have been posted. Provisional results for paper surveys will be available, via MyCIS, by the first class day of the following semester. Official results are released by the 8th week of the following semester.
MyCIS, https://utdirect.utexas.edu/ctl/ecis/results/mycis.WBX
Official CIS results, https://utdirect.utexas.edu/ctl/ecis/results/index.WBX
For each cross listing there will be one Parent Unique Number, all the remaining Unique Numbers will be Child Unique Numbers. The lowest Unique Number is by default made the parent by IMA.
1. Perform a search for the Parent Unique
2. Click on the unique number to open the details page
3. Enter the Child Unique Numbers in the grid below the information
4. Click on "Update this Record"
5. Search the Parent Unique again, make sure it is marked as "yes, paper" or "yes, electronic" in "Receive Survey?" column
6. Make sure each Child Unique is marked "no" in "Receive Survey?" column
1. Contact the department who is currently the Parent Unique
2. Ask them to search their Unique, open the details page, delete any Child Unique Numbers by checking the boxes next to the number and click "Update"
3. Search for the Unique Number you want to be the Parent
4. Open the details page
5. Add the other department’s Unique Numbers in the Child Unique grid
6. Click on "Update this Record"
7. Search the new Parent Unique, make sure it is marked as "yes, paper" or "yes, electronic" in "Receive Survey?" column
8. Make sure each Child Unique is marked "no" in "Receive Survey?" column
For each course to be surveyed, email the instructor name, course ID, unique number, total enrollment, and form preference to ctl-cis@utlists.utexas.edu Please include the date you wish to pick them up, and we will email you when the forms are available.
Yes. A record for a survey that is not for official CIS purpose can be added using the administrative site.
Groupings of Unique Numbers to be surveyed together as a single class is permitted by the CIS Office. However, if the grouping is not consistent with that sent to the CIS system from the Office of Information Management and Analysis (IMA), the results from the survey will not be included in official CIS reports. This holds true for both paper and electronic (eCIS) survey cases.
No. At this time, survey administration records are automatically included in the CIS system only for instructors of record.
Individual Instruction is a designation that is sent to the CIS system from the Office of Information Management and Analysis (IMA). A course that is recognized as being Individual Instruction by the Office of IMA is declared Individual Instruction in the CIS system as well. For more detailed information, contact the CIS administration office by email at ctl-cis@utlists.utexas.edu.
Because a survey administration record is automatically created for every instructor of record in each course, and automatically set to receive paper surveys, paper survey packets will be delivered for each instructor in each course.
A survey record can be cancelled by setting the record to 'No' survey.
* Do Not return a packet that has been altered or one with an unofficial label
* Do Not return packets with mixed forms
* Do Not switch instructor names on packets
* Do Not return CIS forms commingled with separate classes in the same packet
The excessive administrative burden for continuing this service greatly reduces accuracy and timeliness for the majority of survey processing.
Frequency Counts are available as an alternative to formal CIS processing. Frequency counts are not included in the University’s official data record, and are not tracked by the CIS department. A printed summary of results is returned with the original surveys to give the instructor access to student feedback. This is a method of providing helpful feedback when a survey packet’s credibility is in question due to the survey administration.
The CIS system assumes that every instructor of record for every class as sent to the CIS system from the Office of Information Management and Analysis (IMA) will be surveyed. Thus, a survey administration record for each of these instances is automatically created in the CIS system.
Course and instructor information is based on official information sent to the CIS system from the Office of Information Management and Analysis (IMA).
Instructors may choose to administer either a paper survey or an electronic survey but not both.
Your CIS department contact has three primary tasks:
* requesting a paper or electronic Course Instructor Survey for all faculty members, AIs, and TAs in courses assigned to your department
* turning off requests for courses/instructors that should not be surveyed
* adding surveys for classes that are not found in our database
* collects surveys from CIS, distributes them to the designated student administrators, collects completed paper survey packets, delivers them to CIS, and finally collects and distributes processed paper surveys.
Tell your CIS department contact person whether you'd like the paper CIS or eCIS option, so that he or she can record your option in the request system.
Both paper and electronic (eCIS) survey administration options are available for official courses that are offered by official UT academic departments as sent to the CIS system from the Office of Information Management and Analysis (IMA).
A set of results from a single CIS survey is associated with only one instructor/TA for a class.
For official paper CIS survey administration, the number of survey sheets that will be delivered is the same as the 12th class day enrollment as sent to the CIS system from the Office of Information Management and Analysis (IMA). For paper survey administration that is not for official CIS purposes, the number of survey sheets that will be delivered is the number of forms that are requested.
CIS must receive Dean's requests for new or modified college-wide supplemental forms, not individual course or instructor forms, at the beginning of the fall semester in the academic year before the planned implementation semester (ex: planned implementation: FA08, CIS must receive the request by FA07). Supplemental sections are written and distributed at the discretion of the Dean. A one year lead time requirement is in place for purposes of designing and ordering.
At this time, official reports of CIS results are produced for the Office of the Executive Vice President and Provost, the Office of Information Management and Analysis (IMA), and the official CIS Results site. If a different type of report is needed by your office, it is recommended that you go through Information Quest (IQ). Questions regarding Information Quest can be directed to Jamie Sweeney at jsweeny@austin.utexas.edu.
Recognized CIS information conforms to SIS (Student Information System) and IMA (Information Management and Analysis; previously OIR) data in the aspects of: Instructor of Record, Unique numbers and groupings of unique numbers, and class enrollments. The practice of independently processing and storing data made it impossible for official CIS data to match other data reported by SIS and IMA, and it cannot be sustained in an online environment. Agreement of records is also desired for comparative and analytical purposes.
Surveys for classes that match the IMA records are posted on the official results site for anyone with an active University status and UTEID to view. The Basic Form questions were designed and used with the intention of public disclosure. The committee that developed these questions intended the public to have access to the responses to these questions.The Texas Legislature has determined the answers to these questions are public domain. If the instructor used a form other than the Basic Form (Form B), the instructor, the dean, and chair overseeing the class will be able to view results for the entire form.Others will only be able to view the nine questions determined to be public domain.
CIS can not return survey results before the registrar receives grades for the semester. We recommend you use Blackboard's informal surveying tool.
The act of delivering the original official forms to individual faculty members does NOT make the forms personal property. CIS forms are official government documents and therefore not the personal property of the faculty members. The public has a significant interest in knowing student opinion regarding their instructors’ performance at a state-supported institution and these documents fall within the definition of a completed report, audit, evaluation, or investigation made of, for, or by a governmental body. If a governmental body could withhold records relating to official business simply because they are held by an individual, it could easily and with impunity circumvent the act. On a more practical level, the survey forms remain university property also because the university pays for and provides the survey material.
The University has a legal right to require that the faculty return the original documents when requested to do so. Regardless of where a government document is stored, it remains the property of the State of Texas. As such, the University has the absolute right to determine the location or repository where it will be stored.
At the end of the retention period, the official state record must be destroyed following the official approval process. It is best practice to destroy convenience copies at or before the end of the retention period or as soon as they have served their purpose. Any copies of survey documents that are retained beyond the record retention period become the official documentation. As such they fall under the Texas Public Information Act and TORA. Upon an open records request or subpoena, they must be produced. While an agency employee or agent is prohibited from destroying the original or official copy of a record prior to retention period, an agency employee or agent generally has discretion to retain either the original or a copy of a record beyond the record retention period as they deem appropriate. Copies may be destroyed anytime as long as the master is saved.
The electronic CIS (eCIS) is a web based survey system for students, which is accessible via an internet browser. Its content is equivalent to the paper version of the CIS.
No. The eCIS is only available for students to complete during the standard CIS administration period for a semester.
Because the selection of eCIS is an option available to instructors and TAs, only those students officially registered in classes whose instructors/TAs have selected this option are allowed to take the eCIS.
The eCIS option is available to all instructors and TAs of courses that are offered by official UT academic departments.
Yes. Both students and instructors/TAs of classes who are participating in the eCIS will receive four email notifications. Emails will be automatically sent out during the eCIS administration period on the opening day, 3 days after opening day, 2 days before closing, and the last day.
In terms of survey content, they are the same. However, the following differences exist between the paper CIS and the eCIS:
* the eCIS is not available for early survey requests
* the eCIS is only available for courses that are offered by official UT academic departments
* the eCIS is not available for survey situations that are not for official CIS purposes
* the eCIS is available for students to complete at any time during the survey submission period
* administration of the eCIS does not require any tasks to be carried out by the instructor/TA in the distribution of survey forms to students
For more detailed information, contact the CIS administration office by email at ctl-cis@utlists.utexas.edu.
The eCIS can be found at https://utdirect.utexas.edu/ctl/ecis/index.WBX.
Yes. A department contact may add a survey administration record for a TA and then set it to receive the eCIS.
No.
Typewritten student comments collected on the eCIS system are subject to open records requests but still must be fully redacted. You can find details about the current interpretation under the Texas Public Information Act regarding student comments from the CIS here.
National and UT-specific research indicates that the ratings do not differ significantly between paper and electronic forms, either at UT Austin or at other institutions.
National and UT-specific research indicates that after an initial drop in response rates for electronic compared to paper systems, the rates trend upward as use of electronic systems becomes commonplace.
Suggested strategies include:
* discuss in class the uses for and importance of student feedback on the survey
* send students personal reminders by e-mail and to educate them about the importance of their evaluations.
* familiarize students with online evaluations through the Ongoing Course Assessment (OCA).
Research indicates that online evaluations may be less susceptible to non-response bias than are paper evaluations. Results may be biased if responses from students who complete an evaluation are different from responses that would have been provided by students who did not complete an evaluation. Because online systems provide all students an equal opportunity to participate, online evaluations may be less susceptible to this type of bias.
Most of our peer institutions have replaced or are beginning to replace their paper systems.
We have published a comprehensive report, Electronic Course Instructor Survey Report, of three studies we've completed addressing whether an eCIS system provides information and security comparable to the paper-based CIS system. We recommend that you and administrators consider these findings when you make your choice of paper or electronic Course Instructor Surveys.
Contact us at ctl-cis@utlists.utexas.edu or call the CIS office at 471-8175.