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Below are Frequently Asked Questions about Student Perceptions of Teaching (SPOT) specific for departmental coordinators: please click on each question to see its answer.
If you have any additional questions, please email spot@unt.edu.

Does my department have to administer SPOT?

Yes, departments may opt to administer additional departmental evaluations, but every department at the university must administer SPOT.

When will the SPOT be administered?

Session Dates and Survey Administration Dates for the spring sessions are listed below.

SESSIONS

SESSION DATES

SURVEY ADMINISTRATION DATES
Regular Academic Session

January 13 - May 9

April 14 - May 1

8W1

January 13 - March 7

February 24 - March 6

8W2

March 17 - May 9

April 28 - May 8
Why does an evaluation survey need to be set up for the courses in the department?
House Bill 2504 mandates that public universities administer end-of-course student evaluation surveys. Although SPOT is administered at UNT to meet this state requirement, the ultimate goal is to use the results to improve teaching effectiveness. Classes excluded from evaluation include special problems courses not linked to larger enrollment classes, thesis and dissertation courses, and classes with only 1-2 students enrolled. If your department is not wishing to set up an evaluation for a course outside of these, it needs to be documented.
How will I know which forms to choose when setting up course evaluations for my department?
Each department will set its own protocol about how forms are chosen. Some department chairs will choose the same form for the entire department and some will give their faculty a choice of 1 or 2 or all forms to choose from. A list of the 15 different types of forms can be found on the SPOT website.
When do I need to know the form the faculty or department has chosen?
This decision will be made at the departmental level. You will not be able to create the evaluations until you know which form is chosen. In order to allow faculty at least a week to add their own questions, we advise setting a departmental deadline of at least two weeks prior to the launch of the survey.
How should I organize which form is being used by specific instructors?
You will only need faculty feedback if the form and/or protocol set by the chair has changed or if the course and/or instructor is new to your department. IASystem keeps a record of forms that are used every semester. You can view forms used in previous semesters under the 'View and Manage Evaluations' function and the tab titled 'other type'. All past evaluation details such as enrollment, form, and course type are saved here.
How do I create the surveys for my department?
The coordinator user guide, as well as other resources can be found on the SPOT website. In order to create evaluations or manage/add instructors you must log in to the system. If you have any questions, email spot@unt.edu.
Can I create evaluations after the survey has opened?
If you forgot to create evaluations before the survey administration went live; you will need to contact SPOT (spot@unt.edu) to unlock the open dates for you.  Reminder: you cannot open a survey the same day you create the survey; because of the automated process.  If you miss the deadline, you will have to choose a future date as an open date.  Please keep in mind the survey administration dates are posted at least one semester in advance on the SPOT calendar.
What do I do if the instructor's name is incorrect for a course?
If the instructor's name is incorrect in the system, you need to check to verify it is correct in EIS. If it is incorrect in EIS, please notify the registrar's office because that is where the data is pulled from, and the change needs to happen there as well for state reporting. You can change the instructor and/or add an instructor (i.e. TF or TA) through the manage instructors and students function. An evaluation CANNOT be edited once the surveys are live. A user guide can be found on the SPOT website.
How do faculty access the evaluation survey?
Faculty will receive email notification as soon as an evaluation is created for their course. Instructions for faculty as well as the faculty portal link can be found in the SPOT faculty user guide and on the SPOT website under Faculty Resources. Examples of what the email content will be can be found under Faculty Resources as well (SPOT Notification Emails). The email will have the survey creator (departmental coordinator)'s name on it .
How can I view survey summary reports for the department?
Reports are available in the IASystem portal. Release dates for reports will be three days after grades are posted for the semester.
My department has specific questions they have been using for years that we would like to use for comparison data, how do we add these?
IASystem has created a template form that each department can utilize. This form includes the four summative global questions for institutional comparisons, but the opportunity exists for departments to create their own specific evaluation form. If your department is interested in this option, please contact spot@unt.edu at the beginning of the current semester you wish to utilize this function.