What is the CER?

The Course Experience Review (CER), formerly the Student Evaluation of Courses and Lecturers (SECL) commenced at the UWI St Augustine campus in the 2010-2011 academic year. The evaluation process is implemented by the Centre for Excellence in Teaching and Learning (CETL) and is scheduled for each semester.

The purpose of the CER is to provide feedback to Lecturers and Campus Management on students’ learning experiences garnered from their perceptions. Each course is reviewed by students and summarized reports are prepared and distributed to the relevant lecturers, Heads of Departments (HODs) and Faculty Deans.

The CER is a strategic tool for lecturers who should use the feedback to improve students’ learning opportunities and address student matters in their teaching that impact student learning. It is anticipated that HODs, and in some cases, Deans will provide lecturers with the requisite assistance and guidance to improve students’ learning experiences.

The CER System

The CER is administered via the online platform Qualtrics. This has fully replaced the traditional paper-based version in Academic Year 2016/2017. All Deans, HODs, Teaching staff, Department administrators and registered students are provided with Qualtrics user accounts where they can login and access their summary reports each semester.

Use of the CER Reports

The CER reports can be most effectively used for developmental purposes primarily aimed at helping lecturers refine their teaching skills and personal attributes which impact teaching effectiveness. These include communication efficacy, student engagement and creation of facilitating learning environments.

On using the feedback provided, following these suggestions will not only impact the quality of student learning experiences at the institution, but will also address steps in the quality assurance process that distinguishes The UWI as a higher education institution of best practice in teaching and learning.