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What do course evaluations look like at Duke?

The Office of the University Registrar manages evaluations for the majority of Duke Schools through a standard, centralized process using a system called Watermark Course Evaluations & Surveys. The process is comprised of smaller windows including course list review, custom questions, data collection and reporting.

What are they used for?

For students, course evaluations provide an opportunity to submit confidential feedback about the course experience, and results may help inform course registration decisions.

For instructors, evaluations offer feedback on pedagogy, classroom engagement, and instructional effectiveness, helping inform improvements to teaching practices and course design. Results also provide documentation of teaching experiences, and are often used in summary reporting for Appointment, Promotion, and Tenure (APT) review.

For departments and schools, summarized reporting can provide some high-level takeaways on the courses they offer.

While course evaluation data belong to instructors, departments, and schools, the Office of the University Registrar is the custodian of these data, thereby responsible for establishing and enforcing policies to ensure data protection and safeguarding of proper use.

Points of Access

All authorized users can access the OUR’s Watermark instance by signing in to eval-duke.evaluationkit.com with NetID and password. During the evaluation window, email reminders may also contain individualized account links. DukeHub provides points of entry to Watermark via the student course evaluation menu item, as well as the “Additional Links” section under course descriptions from the class search function.

Who has Access?

Access to Watermark is automatically enabled for students, instructors, and TAs based on their affiliation with a course, while department members may submit a request specifying their permission needs.

RoleHow is access granted?

Permissions / Responsibilities

Student

Added when invited to evaluate their enrolled course(s) for the first time [i]

  • submit course evaluation surveys
  • view results in SACES [ii]

Instructor / Teaching Assistant (TA)

Added from instructor record in DukeHub to be evaluated in participating course(s), or added within Watermark during the departmental window

  • view course(s) [iii]
  • add custom questions [iv]
  • view results [v]

Department Admin

Administrators requiring course evaluations for their role are added by request, via the Access Request Form

  • manage courses [vi]
  • add custom questions [vii]
  • view results

[i] Incoming undergraduate students are added to the system early to support their course selection

[ii] Access to the Student Accessible Course Evaluation System (SACES) varies by school

[iii] Instructors may have access to view course(s) listed for the purposes of evaluation

[iv] Access to instructor custom questions varies by school

[v] Results are private to each instructor/TA, including team-taught courses

[vi] Once available in Watermark, departments of participating schools may log into the system to review their courses listed for evaluation and make updates as needed

[vii] Access to departmental custom questions varies by school

Participating Schools

The following schools and programs are currently supported by OUR:

  • The Divinity School
  • The Graduate School: Certificate in College Teaching (CCT) & Graduate Liberal Studies (GLS)
  • School of Law
  • Nicholas School of the Environment (NSOE)
  • Office of Biomedical Graduate Education Programs (OBGE)
  • Pratt School of Engineering and Masters Programs (EGRP)
  • Sanford School of Public Policy
  • Trinity College of Arts & Sciences
Course Evaluation Projects

In Watermark, a project refers to the unique combination of questions, timeline, and course grouping for the implementation of course evaluations. The figure below illustrates how course evaluation projects are organized under OUR’s process.

Course Evaluation Projects by School
General Timeline of Course Evaluation Processes

Each semester, after the add/drop deadline, the Office of the University Registrar imports course data with instructors and TAs into Watermark Course Evaluations & Surveys. Once course data are in the system, there are several phases in the course evaluation timeline, depending on the process determined at the school level.

General timeline of course evaluation processes

Calendars with specific dates for each evaluation project are published and shared each term.

  • Course import: Course data are pulled from DukeHub and imported to Watermark after the drop/add deadline each term. After this import, further updates made in DukeHub will not carry over. Any changes needed for the purposes for evaluation must be made in Watermark.
  • Departmental window
    • Course list review: At this time, administrators of participating schools are given access to review and edit courses, instructors, and TAs in Watermark to ensure evaluations are distributed appropriately.
    • Custom Questions - Departments (optional): Department members are given access to attach custom questions to evaluation(s) for any selection of courses under their purview.
  • Instructor window(s)
    • Instructor review of courses: Instructors in participating projects are given a review window overlapping with departments to view and verify that their courses and any TA assignments are appropriate for the purposes for evaluation. 
    • Custom Questions - Instructors (optional): After departmental access closes, instructors of participating projects may add custom questions to their course evaluation(s).
  • Evaluation window: During this time, course evaluation surveys are open, and students receive reminders throughout the window to complete their evaluations in Watermark. Instructors and administrators also receive communications during this time to monitor response rates in Watermark.
  • Release of results: Reports will be released based on the timeline of individual schools and programs. Instructors and departments will be notified of reports available in Watermark.
Where to find results
Watermark

Visit Watermark for recent results dating back to fall 2023. Results can be pulled by term or by instructor. Watermark also offers customizable reporting via the Report Builder tool, or high level summaries in Results Home.

Tableau

The Office of the University Registrar maintains a Tableau dashboard of historical course evaluation data for Trinity College of Arts & Sciences (Spring 2006 - present) and Pratt College of Engineering (Fall 2021 - present). Department users with access to Watermark also have access to this data workbook. Instructors can access this dashboard with their NetID.

Refer to instructions on our reports page to download course evaluation results.

Additional Resources 

The Duke Course Evaluations team offers several resources to support instructors and staff with preliminary processes to configure the set-up of evaluations to fit their needs, as well as understanding how policies intersect with process.

  • Access Request Form. Submit a request for access to Watermark and other administrative tools managed by OUR.
  • Course Evaluation Questionnaires. Published questionnaires and their role permissions are available for question results access.
  • Course List Review. Instructions for administrators managing courses in Watermark.
  • Custom Questions Guide. Navigational steps to add custom questions to your evaluations in Watermark.
  • Office Hours. Course evaluations office hours are available to department administrators seeking support with course list management or custom questions.
Contact us 

Send us an email at course-evaluations@duke.edu.