Description and Purpose
The Midterm Teaching Evaluation is a formative assessment conducted midway through a course to gather student feedback about their learning and course experience. MTE provides instructors with student feedback during the semester, which instructors can use to adapt their teaching to benefit students currently enrolled in the course.
Rationale
Gathering feedback from students can provide important information about their learning and classroom experience, offering instructors the opportunity to refine instructional activities, revise policies and enhance student success. However, the most commonly used feedback tool, the end-of-semester student opinions of instruction, is often administered too late in the term to implement improvements that would benefit the current cohort of students (Donlan & Byrne, 2020; George, 2017; Holton et al., 2016; Nilson, 2016; Ufland & Aguiar, 2025), among other challenges (see Barkley & Major, 2024).
MTE offers a more formative and timely approach. It invites students to respond to clear, focused questions about which aspects of the course support or hinder their learning before the end of the academic term (Nelms, 2015; Payette & Brown, 2018; Taylor et al., 2025; Ufland, 2020; Veeck et al., 2016). Instructors review this feedback and determine what adjustments might enhance learning for the remainder of the term, and they respond directly to suggestions as appropriate for the given course (Donlan & Byrne, 2020; Gooblar, 2017; Veeck et al., 2016; Ufland & Aguiar, 2025).
There are several benefits to Midterm Teaching Evaluation. First, it benefits current students as well as future students. Second, when MTEs are used, students have a more positive outlook on the course, and instructors tend to receive higher ratings on SOIs at the end of the academic term (McGowen & Osgathorpe, 2011; Harris & Stevens, 2013). Third, teachers who use them tend to make sustained improvements to their teaching (Taylor et al., 2025). Additionally, Midterm Teaching Evaluations can help:
- Empower students by giving them input in their educational experience
- Promote a culture of dialogue and responsiveness
- Encourage reflective teaching
- Identify potential misunderstandings or communication gaps early
- Enhance student motivation and engagement
In addition to their benefits to teaching and learning, MTEs can provide an additional data point of teaching effectiveness that instructors can include in promotion and tenure or merit reviews.
UATA MTE Process
At UA, the Midterm Teaching Evaluation is administered between the sixth and eighth weeks of the semester. Instructors who wish to participate complete the form below for the courses they would like feedback on. There are five survey instruments with distinct items for students to rate based on class type: online, seminar, small lecture, large lecture or lab. Participating instructors receive feedback in four primary areas: Course design and clarity, communication and support, engagement and interaction, and feedback and learning.
The Teaching Academy distributes the survey directly to students in the instructor-identified courses, and the survey remains open for five days.
UATA shares results with the instructor within 48 hours after the survey closes; no one outside of UATA staff and the course instructor receives the results. The instructor chooses to share or not share the information, including with department or college administration, as they deem appropriate.
After receiving Midterm Teaching Evaluation data, instructors meet with a UATA faculty affiliate to discuss the results (instructors may opt out of this step if they wish, but most instructors will find the meetings beneficial). This brief conversation gives instructors the opportunity to talk through interpretations and possible responses to the feedback with a UATA affiliate peer who is trained in interpreting midterm evaluation data.
Using Your Feedback
Here are a few general tips for using the information effectively:
- Consider the feedback you receive and the implications carefully.
- Respond quickly to student feedback.
- Be sure that any potential changes to the coursework align with the established student learning outcomes.
- Communicate openly and directly with students about what, if anything, will change and why.
Sign Up Here
References
Donlan, A. E., & Byrne, V. L. (2020). Confirming the factor structure of a research-based mid-semester evaluation of college teaching. Journal of Psychoeducational Assessment, 38(7), 866-881. https://doi.org/10.1177/0734282920903165
George, P. L. (2017). Reimagining the student evaluation: Using democratic frameworks in college teaching and learning. In C. Willermet et al. (Eds.), Promoting social justice through the scholarship of teaching and learning. Indiana University Press.
Gooblar, D. (2017, October 31). The midsemester course correction. The Chronicle of Higher Education. https://www.chronicle.com/article/the-midsemester-course-correction/
Harris, G. L. A., & Stevens, D. D. (2018). The value of midterm student feedback in cross-disciplinary graduate programs. Journal of Public Affairs Education, 19(3), 537–558. https://doi.org/10.1080/15236803.2013.12001750
Holton, D., Mahmood, H., Cunningham, K., Diamond, M. R., Wright, M., Bali, M., Brown, S., & Dominguez, E. (2016). Midterm student feedback guidebook. Center for Research on Learning and Teaching, University of Michigan. https://bit.ly/msfguidebook
Nilson, L. B. (2016). Teaching at its best: A research-based resource for college instructors (4th ed.). Jossey-Bass.
Payette, P. R., & Brown, M. K. (n.d.). Gathering mid-semester feedback: Three variations to improve instruction (IDEA Paper No. 67). IDEA Center. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED588349
Taylor, R. L., Knorr, K., Ogrodnik, M., & Sinclair, P. (2025). Exploring immediate and sustained changes in teaching practices following midterm student feedback. Teaching and Learning Inquiry, 13, 1–18. https://doi.org/10.20343/teachlearninqu.13.30
Ufland, P., & Aguiar, C. (2025, April 7). Mid-semester course corrections: Using the MSF model to engage students and improve courses. Faculty Focus. https://www.facultyfocus.com/articles/educational-assessment/mid-semester-course-corrections-using-the-msf-model-to-engage-students-and-improve-courses/
Veeck, A., O’Reilly, K., MacMillan, A., & Yu, H. (2016). The use of collaborative student evaluations to provide actionable results. Journal of Marketing Education, 38(3), 157–169. https://doi.org/10.1177/0273475315619652
Questions?
Send us an email at teachingacademy@ua.edu.