What is SIRS-SOCT?

SIRS is the Student Instructional Rating System. This survey collects feedback from students in all courses and course levels to provide faculty and teaching units with feedback on their instructional practices and to provide teaching units with information considered when deciding on faculty retention, promotion, tenure, and salary. While the University provides departments a common student rating instrument, many departments have created customized SIRS forms for their special needs. The standard or customized forms are distributed to students at the end of the semester, and students traditionally have responded using a computer scan form or “bubble sheet.”

SOCT is the Student Opinion of Courses and Teaching. This is a separate survey used to collect feedback on a small set of questions for all undergraduate courses (except those taught by Teaching Assistants). The SOCT questions were developed to gather information that may be helpful to students when selecting courses and faculty members in those courses. The aggregate results of this survey are updated at least once yearly and are available to the MSU community online (soct.msu.edu). Like SIRS, SOCT responses have traditionally been collected using bubble sheets distributed in class.

What has changed?

In the Spring and Summer Term of 2004, the University worked with a group of departments to develop a process for collecting SIRS and SOCT student responses online through a secured system.

The system only allows students to report results for courses in which they are enrolled and for which online SIRS/SOCT collection is activated. The system notes that the student has or has not responded, ensuring that students only respond once per course for SIRS and SOCT. The actual responses, however, are not linked to any individual identifier and are kept entirely confidential. Students have the opportunity to provide feedback on each of the instructors in any particular course through a standard set of questions, and to submit the constructive comments they have typically been asked to write on the back of the SIRS form.

Faculty and departments do not have access to SIRS feedback until after they have submitted grades for the course.

Why did we change this process?

The electronic system will free faculty and department staff time from the technical tasks of administering forms, and will provide students the convenience of providing feedback at a time and place of their choosing. (Note, however, that access to SIRS-SOCT will be open for a limited, established period at the end of the semester.) The electronic system will ensure that answers are confidential. Faculty will not be able to see results until after grades are submitted, and will not have access to hand-written comments that may suggest the writer’s identity. Further, electronic collection will give more timely access to results.

When did this happen?

Effective Fall 2004. All SOCT forms must be submitted online, the paper forms are no longer available. Departments may elect to use online SIRS forms, or continue to use paper forms. Only data collected through online SIRS forms will be available online to faculty and departments.

How are faculty and students being notified?

Affected students and faculty will be notified by email when online SIRS or SOCT forms are available for their classes. The notification period, and the period during which the forms are "open" to be filled out varies depending on whether the class is a sub-term or full-term class.

Whom can I contact for more information?

Sandra Walther in the Office of the Associate Provost for Undergraduate Education (email: sirssoct@msu.edu)