Student Assessment of Instruction (SAI)
Teaching is imperative to the mission of the University of West Florida and, thus, its effectiveness must be assessed.
Student Assessment of Instruction (SAI) now online
Help build a better UWF.
At UWF our mission is to provide students with high-quality, relevant learning experiences. Student input on their instructors’ teaching helps UWF achieve its mission and continually improve the courses offered.
The online Student Assessment of Instruction (SAI) gives students an opportunity to make their voices heard on the quality of teaching at UWF and is an important part of our tradition of excellence. Students can complete the assessment from a computer, tablet or mobile device.
More detailed information, and instructions, can be accessed in Confluence:
- SAI Process Overview: Student Assessment of Instruction (SAI)
- Instructors (and authorized administrators)
- Student Instructions: Completing a Student Assessment of Instruction (SAI)
Technical problems should be referred to the ITS Help Desk (850.474.2075). Other questions and issues should be referred to uwfsai@uwf.edu.
When are the assessments due?
We open the Student Assessment of Instruction to students three weeks prior to the last day of class. You will receive an email notice of when the assessments are ready for your input. To see the deadlines for your courses, go to My Classes on my.uwf.edu.
Who sees the completed assessments?
SAI reports are not available to the instructor until the evaluation period has closed. Each instructor can see aggregated data from numeric scores. Any comments provided by students have identifiers removed so that the comment cannot be traced to a specific student.
Your feedback provides valuable information that improves the high-quality, relevant learning experiences for students.
How much time will it take to complete an SAI?
There are 15 questions that ask for a ranking from poor to excellent plus a place to put written comments. Once you click submit, the assessment is completed. Here is a list of the questions:
- Clarity of Communication of Ideas and Information
- Respect and Concern for Students
- Availability to Assist Students
- Intellectual Challenge of Course Requirements
- Value of Course Assignments
- Explanation of Grading Practices
- Return of Student Work
- Facilitation of Learning Environment
- Instructor Responsive to Tecnical Issues
- Instructor's Command of the Subject
- Overall Assessment of Instructor
- Overall Assessment of Course Organization
- Based on your performance to date, what grade do you anticipate earning in this course?
- Approximately how many hours per week have you devoted to working on this particular course in addition to required class sessions?
- This student assessment of instruction form enables me to express the quality of my experience in this course.
How will I know my assessment has been successfully submitted for each course?
After you click submit, the main page will give you a message that the evaluation has been successfully submitted for that course. You must submit an SAI for each course in which you are enrolled.
What happens if I accidentally submitted an SAI?
Once the SAI has been electronically submitted for a course, the system closes for that course and you will not be able to change or add answers or comments. So make sure you’ve scored each question and completed all your comments before clicking the “Submit” button for each course.
When do instructors see the reports?
A report of the completed assessments for each class is made available to instructors after the evaluation period for that term has closed.
I’m in a small class. Will my instructor be able to tell who made specific comments?
All responses are confidential. Your instructor will only see a report that shows the aggregated numeric rankings and comments without any identifiers. You can choose to only provide numerical rankings without leaving specific comments.
How is the data from the assessments used?
The Student Assessment of Instruction is designed so that UWF may collect student views of instructional effectiveness. The SAIs provide us with important information about teaching methods, curriculum and related areas that need improvement along with areas of strength. Over time, the SAIs provide the faculty member, chair, and dean with one important part of the picture of how each professor is performing. The SAIs are an important part of the information we need when evaluating faculty members’ teaching effectiveness.