FAQs Admins

At SJSU course evaluations are called SOTEs (Student Opinion of Teaching Effectiveness) and SOLATEs (Student Opinion of Laboratory and Activity Teaching Effectiveness). These surveys provide students with an opportunity to share feedback about their experiences in a course and their perceptions of teaching effectiveness. Results may help instructors improve future courses and are considered as part of the periodic faculty review process for retention, tenure and promotion (RTP).

In accordance with University Policy F12-6, Section E.3 certain types of classes may be "excluded from all SOTE administration on technical or ethical grounds (e.g., individual studies, supervisions, experimental classes)." Furthermore, University Policy F12-6, Section E.4 stipulates that "Other than those classes excluded in E3 (above), SOTES shall be administered in all classes with enrollments of 5 or more students, and shall not be administered in classes with fewer than 5 enrollees. In courses with enrollments of 5-9 students, faculty may choose that SOTES not be administered in the course."

IRSA automatically excludes course sections with fewer than five enrolled students. For eligible sections, departments may choose to deselect courses for SOTE/SOLATE administration using the SOTE/SOLATE Selection Screens, consistent with the policy requirements outlined above.

The processes for determining which course sections are deselected each semester are set by the colleges/departments.   

Course evaluations are administered according to the course end date recorded in PeopleSoft and the timing requirements in University Policy F12-6, Section H.5.

For most courses, the survey is available during the final 10 calendar days of the term. Courses with terms of 15 instructional days or fewer are evaluated during the final four calendar days.

IRSA uses course, enrollment, instructor, and course end-date information from PeopleSoft Campus Solutions to automatically set up SOTEs and SOLATEs in Explorance Blue.

During the designated selection period each semester, authorized department administrators may use the SOTE/SOLATE Selection Screens to deselect eligible course sections, consistent with University Policy F12-6. By default, course sections are set to be evaluated. To exclude a course section, the administrator must uncheck the evaluation box. The selection made in PeopleSoft feeds automatically into Explorance Blue, where deselected sections are excluded from survey administration.

Typically department admins help verify course and instructor information, select or deselect eligible course sections during the designated selection period, and access departmental reports after they are released.

If you are responsible for entering course or instructor information in PeopleSoft, keeping these records accurate and up-to-date is essential to the proper administration of SOTEs and SOLATEs. This information feeds directly into Explorance Blue and is used to set up the evaluations.  

Faculty may access their own reports anytime in the Explorance Blue platform.

In addition, Associate Deans and DROs approve access to SOTE/SOLATE reports in the Explorance Blue platform for designated personnel in their colleges. This typically includes the department chair and department staff assigned to support course evaluation processes, as well as college level staff or administrators.

To request access to the SOTE/SOLATE reports please fill out the Course Evaluations Access Request Form. Your access request must be approved by your college's associate dean before access can be granted. 

Access may be granted at the department or college level, as appropriate.

Department-level access can be configured to include:

• Results for courses associated with the department, based on the department’s Acad Org code in PeopleSoft; and/or
• Results for faculty associated with the department’s four-digit Dept ID.

Access at the college level includes all results for departments and faculty within the college.

Use the direct link to log in to the Explorance Blue platform using your SJSU credentials. 

If you have access to view reports for your department or college, you will receive an email notification from Explorance Blue when reports have been released. Click on the link in the email to access your homepage in the platform. 

The SOTE/SOLATE Selection Screens are PeopleSoft screens that authorized department staff use to select or deselect eligible course sections for evaluation.

Access is available only during the published selection period in the spring and fall (typically October and March) and is restricted to authorized users. Exact dates are published on the Teaching Evaluation Calendar each semester. The screens can be accessed through PeopleSoft Campus Solutions.

SOTE/SOLATE surveys must be administered in accordance with University Policy F12-6, which establishes requirements for eligible courses, survey timing, student confidentiality, and the administration process. Faculty may encourage participation and provide at least 15 minutes of class time for students to complete the survey, provided they are informed that they may complete it outside of class and the faculty member is not present.

Under University Policy F12-6, Section E.6, the SOTE/SOLATE survey instruments are established through the Student Evaluation Review Board, an operating committee of the Academic Senate. Departments may not make changes to the university survey instrument.

For team-taught courses, students evaluate each instructor individually through a separate survey. Each instructor receives only the results associated with their own survey. Department admins should confirm that all instructors are correctly listed in PeopleSoft Campus Solutions for the applicable course sections.

Cross-listed and co-enrolled sections are evaluated based on the combined enrollment across all associated sections. If the combined enrollment is five or more students, the sections meet the minimum enrollment threshold. Survey responses from the associated sections are consolidated into a single report.

Department admins should not deselect cross-listed or co-enrolled sections on the SOTE/SOLATE Selection Screens. An individual department admin may not be able to view all associated sections, which could result in incomplete or inconsistent evaluation setup.

IRSA releases the course evaluation reports in Explorance Blue three times per year at the conclusion of each SOTE/SOLATE administration period (fall, spring, summer) for all surveys included. The release date can be viewed on the IRSA Teaching Evaluation Calendar.

After reports have been released, log in to Explorance Blue, open the applicable course or department report, and use the platform’s download or export option. 

Consult the Interpretation Guide for the SOTEs [pdf] for information about the survey instrument, reports, comparison information, and interpretation of results. Questions may also be directed to IRSA at institutional-research@sjsu.edu.

There are several reasons why a report may not be available:

• The course section may not have met the minimum enrollment threshold and therefore may not have been evaluated.
• The report may not yet have been released.
• The faculty member may not have been correctly associated with the course in PeopleSoft.
• The user may not have the appropriate access.
• The evaluation may have received fewer than three responses and therefore may not have generated a report in order to protect student confidentiality.

First, verify the course’s enrollment, the report release date, the instructor assignment, and the user’s access. If the issue persists, contact IRSA at institutional-research@sjsu.edu.

Confirm that you are using your SJSU credentials and the correct Explorance Blue login page. If you still cannot log in, contact IRSA at institutional-research@sjsu.edu.

Once a SOTE/SOLATE survey opens, the associated course and instructor information cannot be changed. Please verify that all information is accurate before the survey administration period begins.

If you cannot make the necessary changes in PeopleSoft Campus Solutions, contact your department’s appropriate academic or administrative office. You may also notify IRSA at institutional-research@sjsu.edu so that the evaluation setup can be reviewed. Course and instructor information in Explorance Blue is based on data fed from PeopleSoft.