Class Climate

This information was moved to the HELP DESK: BLACKBOARD CLASS SITES site (new window) at sites.google.com/site/helpdeskclasssites/class-climate

Information will only be updated there in the future.

One of the tools the University supports, Class Climate, is not part of Blackboard. It is used for course evaluations by many units at USC. You do get notification about current course evaluation surveys in Blackboard and through email.

Class Climate Course Evaluations

There are two places where you will get a link to the course evaluations when they are available for a course:

1) On the My USC tab, the module on the top, left side of the screen will have links. (In this example, it currently shows that you have No Evaluations Available at this Time):

2) You will get an email when the course evaluation becomes available and you’ll get reminder emails.

If you are not seeing notifications at this time, that means that none are currently available.

Note that the course evaluation is only available for a specific period of time each semester, usually a few days prior to the exam date. In the summer, there are nine sessions, with various end (exam) dates. Also, the sessions are shorter in the summer, so the course evaluation period is probably fairly short. You can check with your instructor to find out the official end date of the course. (Note that some instructors change the dates they hold class on their own (against the rules of the University), so you may be ending the coursework, but the course may officially not end until later in the summer.)

If you think you should be seeing the surveys at this time, contact the UTS Service Desk and ask to be routed to the Class Climate group (which is not the same as Blackboard.) They should be able to tell you the dates your specific course evaluations will be available.

UTS Service Desk

• The URL for getting to the UTS Service Desk is ridiculous: http://www.sc.edu/about/offices_and_divisions/university_technology_services/support/servicedesk.php

  • You can still type in http://uts.sc.edu. Go to the bottom right corner under Popular Links and choose Service Desk.

  • From here you will see a link to the log in to "Submit an online request through our Self-Service Portal.”

• They don't like to advertise this, but you can also still call them at 803-777-1800 or email your ticket information to servicedesk@sc.edu NOTE (I just discovered this!): The service desk email account only accepts emails from USC email addresses (email.sc.edu, mailbox.sc.edu, etc)

Class Climate, the Survey Tool

We know very few instructors or offices that use Class Climate for other surveys, mostly because they use surveys in Blackboard or one of the free survey tools with much more friendly interfaces such as Survey Monkey.

Notice that much of the information you find about Class Climate is about paper scanning. (Class Climate was created by Scantron.) You sometimes have to look a little for the online survey feature in Class Climate.

From University of South Carolina

• ClassClimate Sub-Unit Administrator Handout (PDF) 40 pages; unclear of source or date http://uts.sc.edu/docs/SUBUNIT%20ADMINISTRATORS%20INSTRUCTIONS.pdf

• Survey Creator [UTS] (PDF) 17 pages from Spring 2010

• http://uts.sc.edu/docs/surveycreatorinstructions.pdf

• Class Climate Survey Creator Instructions [UTS] (PDF): http://uts.sc.edu/academic/surveyassessment/docs/class-climate-instructions.pdf

• Survey Creator Tutorials [UTS] (videos)

• http://uts.sc.edu/academic/surveyassessment/ccsurveycreator.shtml

• Course Evaluation Tutorials [UTS] (videos) http://uts.sc.edu/academic/surveyassessment/cccourseeval.shtml

From Scantron and Other Sources

• Class Climate: Overview http://www.scantron.com/software/course-evaluation/class-climate/overview

• Class Climate [brochure] http://www.scantron.com/~/media/Scantron/Files/products/class-climate/CC_education.ashx

• Class Climate: How It Works http://www.scantron.com/software/course-evaluation/class-climate/how-it-works