Students
Why course evaluations are important
At UF, continuous improvement is part of how we strengthen teaching and learning - and student feedback is central to that culture. Student evaluations are one of the most direct ways you can shape the learning experience at UF. When you take a few minutes to share your perspective, you help highlight what supported your learning and what could make the course even stronger for future students. Your feedback also offers instructors a clearer sense of how their teaching approaches are working for you, allowing them to adjust activities, materials, and strategies in ways that benefit the entire class. Thoughtful participation ensures that your voice contributes to a better academic environment for everyone.
Overview of the process
You will be invited to complete the GatorEvals for your courses. There are 3 ways to access your evaluations:
- Canvas: students who are taking a course(s) that use Canvas can also complete their evaluation by clicking on the GatorEvals link in the navigation menu. If there is not a GatorEvals link in the navigation menu, please contact the GatorEvals Support team for assistance at gatorevals-support@ufl.edu.
- GatorEvals Portal: Students may access their evaluation on the GatorEvals portal opens in a new tab.
- Log in with your Gatorlink username and password.
- You should see your course(s) listed.
- Click on a course to complete the evaluation.
- Email: Students will receive 3 emails from GatorEvals with a link to their evaluation.
After final grades are released at the end of the term, evaluation results are shared with the instructor and administrators within the department and college. Therefore, keep in mind that you are communicating directly (though confidentially) with the instructor – they see the evaluation results (without your identity).
If you have trouble logging into the system or completing your evaluation, contact the GatorEvals Support staff via gatorevals-support@ufl.edu
Prior to completing your course evaluations, consider:
Research shows that we may evaluate identical course content and teaching differently based on unintentional stereotypes, such as professor age, gender, nationality, race, title or other characteristics. For example, women and people of color may be rated lower even when no actual differences exist. Please keep this in mind and focus evaluations on course content (assignments, readings, in-class materials) and not unrelated matters (instructor’s appearance). Remember that your evaluation is a professional communication.
Comments that suggest violence to oneself or others or behaviors that require reporting to proper authorities such as Title IX violations can result in identifying the student providing the comment.
Guidelines to provide your instructor with constructive feedback
- Provide constructive suggestions and specific examples from lectures, activities, assignments, discussions, feedback, etc.
- Comments about clothing, hairstyle, the temperature in the classroom, etc., are unhelpful for the instructor to develop their instruction.
- Be respectful and avoid derogatory or offensive language as this is inappropriate and unhelpful.
You will find more examples below.
Examples of free response comments
Feedback that is vague or less helpful |
Feedback that is specific and more helpful |
|
“The instructor was great” |
“Dr. Smith was quick to respond to student questions and concerns. She fostered an environment that encouraged us to speak up and contribute to the conversation.” |
|
“The instructor just lectured the whole time” |
“In a 3 hour course, I would suggest taking a few breaks between the topics being covered. A little more time should be spent on interaction with the students with hands on learning and discussion.” |
|
“The instructor was engaging” |
“The instructor included multiple class discussions throughout class. They posed questions for us to grapple with and asked us to formulate how we would approach the issue.” |
|
“Improve organization of the course” |
“I never really knew what to expect when coming to class. The syllabus did not include an outline of what would be covered each week. The wording in the slides were unorganized and led to confusion on relatively simple topics.” |
|
“Tests were not on what I learned” |
“The content in course materials was very general or in some cases very specific. It was very difficult to know what topics to review for the upcoming exams. It would be nice to have a review guide that covered the relevant material to review.” |
|
“The textbooks were unhelpful” |
“The textbook did not appear to relate to the concepts covered in class. It would have been useful if the instructor highlighted the portions of the textbook that supplemented the content learned in class or included relevant problem sets or review questions. I appreciated that the instructor added journal articles and other shorter materials that enhanced what we learned in class.” |
|
“The teacher really cared about the students.” |
“I really appreciated that the instructor always answered emails within 24 hours and never canceled their office hours. They also made it a point to learn all of the students' names and a little bit about each of us.” |
Student FAQs: Course Evaluations
Have questions about completing your course evaluations? Browse the topics below to get quick answers and guidance.
There are 3 ways to access your evaluation:
- Canvas: students who are taking a course(s) that use Canvas can also complete their evaluation by clicking on the GatorEvals link in the navigation menu. If there is not a GatorEvals link in the navigation menu, please contact the GatorEvals Support team at gatorevals-support@ufl.edu.
- GatorEvals Portal: Students may access their evaluation via the following link: https://my-ufl.bluera.com/ opens in a new tab
- Log in with your Gatorlink username and password
- You should see your course(s) listed
- Click on a course to complete the evaluation.
- Email: Students will receive 3 emails from GatorEvals with a link to their evaluation.
Yes. GatorEvals can be completed on your mobile device.
If you do not see one of your courses on your dashboard when you log in to the GatorEvals central portal opens in a new tab, it could be for the following reasons:
- The evaluation period for the course has not begun yet.
- The course/class number has fewer than 5 students - which typically, by policy, are not setup for evaluation.
- Dissertation, thesis, practicum, internship, or other related courses are not typically setup for evaluation.
If you still have questions, please contact the GatorEvals support team via gatorevals-support@ufl.edu
An evaluation response can be edited and resubmitted, but only during the evaluation period. Once the evaluation period closes, it cannot be edited. Log back into the GatorEvals central portal opens in a new tab via to edit your evaluation and re-submit.
Your instructor will not be able to see any student identifiable information associated with responses. Course evaluations are not shared with the instructors until after grades are posted. However, your SIS (Student Information System) information may be accessed by University Officials for legitimate education and other appropriate purposes.
If you have trouble logging into the system or completing your evaluation, contact the GatorEvals Support staff via gatorevals-support@ufl.edu