The IDEA Student Ratings of Instruction, in use at Utah State University since 2011, assesses effectiveness by focusing on learning and curricular objectives. The hallmark of the IDEA system is the opportunity for students to provide feedback on their progress in achieving specific learning objectives that are identified by the instructor, while adjusting for extraneous circumstances like class size. The IDEA system has a documented history of reliability and validity, and the IDEA Diagnostic Feedback tool also provides specific feedback on teaching methods and practice.
For instructors, all courses are accessible via a single dashboard, including current and historical information. Students are invited to complete course evaluations at the end of each semester as their feedback plays an important role in assessing course effectiveness and supporting continuous improvement in teaching and learning.
There are many helpful resources throughout this page. For more information about the IDEA system, please contact us at idea@usu.edu.
For Faculty
Find training materials, IDEA guides, sample evaluations, and more.Resources for Instructors
Find answers to common IDEA evaluation questions.Faculty FAQs
Request an IDEA evaluation assignment for your course.Canvas Assignment Request
Review your individual evaluation trends and results across semesters.Instructor Evaluation Summary (Cumulative Results)
Find your department's IDEA evaluation contact.Department Setup Admin List
For Department Administrators
Access training materials, timelines, and tools for managing IDEA evaluations.Resources for Setup Admins
Step-by-step instructions for settign up and managing IDEA evaluations.Setup Admin User Guide
Explore interactive reports on evaluation results, scoring trends, and learning objective selections.Department Admin Tools
For Students
See what your course is designed to help you learn and achieve.Learning Objectives
Get answers to common questions about course evaluations and survey participation.Student FAQs
Explore published course evaluation results by course and instructor.Course Evaluation Search