ICES Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
What is ICES?
ICES is the acronym for the Instructor and Course Evaluation System.
ICES was developed at UIUC as one way to collect information from students
about your courses and teaching. With this system, you select items
from a catalog (or choose one of 4 complete forms) that you consider
most appropriate.
Your choices generate a questionnaire for students. Near the top of
each ICES questionnaire, two general items are preprinted. These items
ask students to rate the instructor and the course on a five-point
scale, ranging from "Exceptionally High to Exceptionally Low. " The
first two general items are used to produce longitudinal
profiles which summarize your ratings on items 1 and 2 for all the
semesters you've used ICES.
Your department may have a group of questions, called a department
core, which are printed on your questionnaire after the two general
questions. All UIUC instructors are encouraged to use ICES; some instructors
are required to do so. ICES is used in approximately 14,000 course sections each year.
Where can I find a copy of
the ICES Item Catalog?
In addition to the online ICES
Item Catalog, hard copies (also known as M & E Newsletter #1)
may be available in your department office or from the ICES office -
just drop us a note at ices@illinois.edu or
call us at 333-3490.
Back to Questions
What does an ICES Questionnaire look like?
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Ices Questionnaire: Front |
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Ices Questionnaire: Back |
How can I order ICES Questionnaires
for my classes?
Fill out one ICES request form for each class section. So, if you have
two class sections of a course, you need to fill out two request forms.
These forms should be sent to you each semester by the Measurement & Evaluation
(M & E) or you can ask for them in your departmental office. Fill
out the information requested on both sides of the request forms. Special note for TA's: On the ICES request form, all graduate students who are teaching should mark "Teaching Assistant" in section 6 for "Your Rank."
Send the completed request forms in the envelope provided through campus
mail to M & E, 247 Armory, MC 528.
The timetable for ICES varies with the academic calendar. However, the
deadline for turning in requests for ICES questionnaires comes about
three weeks before the end of classes in any given semester. Please allow
one week for forms to be printed and sent to you.
Back to Questions
Will my teaching assistants
receive their own information packets for ordering ICES forms?
Generally, teaching assistants receive their packets from the departments.
When we send out the first ICES mailing of the semester, we ask how many
teaching assistants each department has and send that many packets to
the department.
Back to Questions
What does an ICES request form look like?
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Ices Request Form: Front |
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Ices Request Form: Back |
Each semester, you have to fill out new ICES request forms for each
course or section. This is so even if you are using a departmental core
or one of the complete forms. Even if the items don't change, the number
of forms you need, your rank, and the release information may change.
Therefore, you should keep track of the items you choose each semester,
especially if you select them individually and think you may want to
use them again.
Send the completed request forms through campus mail to M&E, 247
Armory, MC 528.
Does my department have a
core?
To check your department, click Here
Back to Questions
What are my three ICES options?
You can select one of the following three options:
1. Departmental Core plus optional Instructor-selected Items
2. Instructor-Selected items
3. Complete Form
- Option 1: Departmental Core plus optional Instructor-Selected Items
Each department can designate a set of items called a department core.
These items will be automatically printed on each student questionnaire,
so you don't have to choose the items yourself. If your department has
a core, you may select up to 23 items minus the number of items
in the core. To find out if your department has a core and the number
of items on it, click here.
You may want to look at the actual core items before making other questionnaire
choices to avoid duplication of questions. Your department office has
a list of its core items or call for one at M & E, 333-3490.
If you do not wish to use your department's core, please contact M & E,
333-3490.
- Option 2: Instructor-selected Items (no department core)
You may select up to 23 items from the ICES catalog. You may choose
a different set of items for each section since you fill out one request
form for each section of students who provide feedback.
Selecting the university
student publication option adds another 6 items to your ICES. You
also need to know that if you select too many items, some will
necessarily be omitted. Questions are printed in this order: departmental
core items first (if there is a department core), then the student core
items (if selected), and finally the instructor selected items.
- Option 3: Complete forms
You can select one of 4
complete forms, ready-made questionnaires if your department doesn't
have a core, and you don't want to choose items from the catalog.
Note: The system doesn't allow for using both a form and instructor-selected
items on the same questionnaire.
Caution: Please do not use questionnaires generated in past
semesters as they cannot be processed. Photocopied questionnaires are
not acceptable either.
Back to Questions
How many items can I put
on an ICES questionnaire?
23 instructor-selected questions can fit on the front side of the questionnaire
unless the department has a core. A core is a common set of items that
appears on all questionnaires from the department. If the department
has a core, it limits the number of instructor items to 23 minus the
number of items in the departmental core. Click here for
a list of department cores.
If you check the student publication option on Box 7 on the
ICES request form, your student questionnaires will contain an
additional set of items.
Back to Questions
When is the deadline for
turning in requests for ICES questionnaires?
The timetable for ICES varies from semester to semester. The deadline
for turning in requests for ICES questionnaires usually comes a couple
of weeks before the end of classes in any given semester. Please allow
one week for forms to be printed and sent to you. During the last week
of the semester, a very limited supply of Complete Forms and questionnaires
with departmental core items may be available at 247 Armory Building.
These will be distributed on a first-come, first-serve basis until the
supply is exhausted. For questions, please call 244-3846 or e-mail ices@illinois.edu.
Back to Questions
What are the ICES complete
forms?
You have the option of choosing a questionnaire with pre-selected items
for your ICES. (You choose this option by marking one of the blocks in
the right hand column marked Complete Forms on side 2 of the ICES
request form. The seven choices available in complete forms are:
Form 1: CEQ: Course
Evaluation Questionnaire consists of 21 general concept questions (a good
general diagnostic tool).
Form 7:
CLQ: Costin's Lecturing Questionnaire contains 23 items primarily
applicable to large lecture sections.
Form 8:
CDQ: Costin's Discussion Questionnaire contains 23 items primarily
applicable to discussion sections or seminars.
Student core:
Contains six items which are released, along with the two global items,
to the Illinois Student Senate for posting to their web site.
General
Questionnaire: Contains nine items designed to be utilized in a
broad array of course types.
General
Questionnaire plus student core: Combines the above two forms into
one form. The results of the six student items will be released (and
two global items) to Illinois Student Senate.
Form Global:
This form contains only the two general preprinted questions, Rate the
Instructor and Rate the Course. Call Measurement and
Evaluation at 344-3490 if you want to use the Global form.
If you decide to use one of the forms, departmental core items will not
be included on your ICES questionnaires, and you can't add either instructor
selected items or the student core.
Does a student just put the ICES forms in campus mail?
Once your class has completed the ICES questionnaires, it is important
that you not handle them at all. Designate a student in the class to
collect the completed ICES forms, put them in the self-addressed envelope
provided, and then either drop the envelope in the nearest campus mailbox
or bring them by the ICES office at 247 Armory.
When will I get the ICES
results?
ICES results are processed after final exams. Results are sent through
the campus mail to instructors within about a month. The precise schedule
varies somewhat from semester to semester.
Back to Questions
Can I get a copy of Newsletter
#4 (ICES Interpretive Guide)?
Copies of Newsletter #4 ICES Interpretive Guide are available
by sending a note to ices@illinois.edu or
by calling the ICES office at 333-3490.
Back to Questions
How are ICES ratings used?
ICES ratings can be used in a number of ways within two broad areas:
improving teaching and making decisions. As examples of the first,
you might ask how students feel about a specific aspect of a course
i.e., a specific teaching strategy. After looking over student responses
to the question and discussing them with colleagues who teach well,
you'd be in a good position to make appropriate changes. Another way
that ICES results are used to improve teaching is during department
seminars about good teaching where faculty pair off to discuss their
ICES. And, third, department heads use ICES as one way to identify
instructors who might benefit from help with their teaching (for more
on this, give CTE's Instructional Development a call at 244-3861).
Longitudinal profiles are an important tool in decision-making, the second
area of the use of ICES ratings. Longitudinal profiles list all of an
instructor's ratings on the ICES general items 1 and 2. The profiles
are used in promotion and tenure decisions and for some teaching awards
(profiles are prepared for Teaching Assistants only when they are nominated
for teaching awards by their departments). Faculty members can request
a longitudinal profile at any time by sending e-mail to exams@illinois.edu or
by calling 333-3490.
Back to Questions
Who has access to my ICES
results?
When you fill out an ICES
request form, you determine in Box 7, Release Information,
who will receive ICES results.
1. If you indicate yes for the Incomplete
List...?, your name and course number are published if the results
qualify.
2. If you indicate yes for the
university student publication, the results from the extra set of
items added to your student questionnaires are published by the Illinois
Student Government.
3. If you indicate yes for Department Head, chp., or other
person..., one copy of your results for items 1 and 2 as well as
the results on your department core (if one exists) are sent to the department
head or his/her representative. Your signature is required for this information
to be released to the person designated.
What is the List of
Teachers Ranked as Excellent by Their Students... and how
can I get on it?
A "List of Teachers Ranked as Excellent by Their Students" is
compiled each semester. It is based on the previous semester's student
ICES ratings on the first two general ICES items, "Rate the Instructor's
Overall Teaching Effectiveness" and "Rate the Overall Quality
of this Course." To be included in the list, instructors must meet
the following criteria on ICES item #1 and #2:
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NOTE: "TA's" include anyone that marked "Teaching Assistant" as their rank on the ICES request form. "Faculty" includes all other ranks. All graduate students should mark "TA" as their rank even if they have full control of a course.
The List is usually published in the daily student newspaper
on the day that registration begins and is posted to our web site.
You have to give permission before your student ratings can be considered
for inclusion on the List. You do so by completing the List option
of Box 7 on the ICES
request form. The list is "incomplete" for a number of
reasons, including:
1. Instructors may choose not to participate in the list.
2. Instructors may not have completed Box 7 on the Request Form.
3. Not all instructors use ICES.
4. Too few students (fewer than 5) may have responded to the first two
items.
5. For some instructors who did complete Box 7 and whose students did
respond to the first two items, ratings may not be representative of
teaching ability.
To view past and current lists, and for more details about the list itself,
see our web site at List
of Teachers.
Back to Questions
What is the university
student publication and what questions do they use?
The Illinois Student Senate (formerly "Illinois Student Government")
publishes results of ICES data if released by faculty. If you check the "student
publication" option of Box 7 of the ICES
request form, an additional set of 6 items is printed on your student
ICES questionnaires. Results from this set of items, AND THE TWO GLOBAL
ICES ITEMS, are then given to the Illinois Student Senate (ISS) and may
be published on the ISS web site. The following items are included on
your questionnaire if you choose the student publication option:
1. |
The required texts and other materials were effectively utilized in the course. |
Strongly Agree - - - - - Strongly Disagree |
2. |
The instructor was respectful of differing beliefs on race, religion, or politics. |
Strongly Agree - - - - - Strongly Disagree |
3. |
Grading procedures for the course were fair. |
Strongly Agree - - - - - Strongly Disagree |
4. |
The workload for the course was appropriate for the credit received. |
Strongly Agree - - - - - Strongly Disagree |
5. |
The instructor was accessible to students. |
Strongly Agree - - - - - Strongly Disagree |
6. |
The instructor explained material clearly. |
Strongly Agree - - - - - Strongly Disagree |
Note: These 6 items are new items starting in Spring
2006. More information is available at the Illinois
Student Senate web site.
The student core is not available for TAs to select.
Back to Questions
What is an ICES longitudinal
profile?
Longitudinal
profiles are used in promotion and tenure decisions and for some
teaching awards. Instructors (faculty and TAs) can request a longitudinal profile at any time by using our web-based profile request form. For questions, contact us by email ices@illinois.edu or by calling 333-3490.
I want to use the same
items I used last semester. Will I have to complete a new request
form this semester?
Each semester, you have to fill out new ICES request forms for each course
or section. This is so even if you are using a departmental core or one
of the complete forms. Even if the items don't change, the number of
forms you need, your rank, and the release information may change. Therefore,
you should keep track of the items you choose each semester, especially
if you select them individually and think you may want to use them again.