The Mid-Semester Feedback tool supports Yale College faculty in the collection of anonymous student feedback during a pre-designated period of the traditional Fall / Spring semesters. The tool comes with four optional questions created by the Yale College Teaching and Advising (TLA) Committee by default. Instructors can edit and add questions.
Check out our resource page on the practice of collecting and using mid-semester student feedback.
This page will address the following information:
For schools that have opted to leverage the Mid-Semester Feedback tool, this tool will automatically follow the schedule outlined below.
| Event | Date | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Available for Edit | May 5, 2025 | 12:00 AM (EST) |
The Mid-Semester Feedback tool appears in the course navigation bar and instructors can begin creating/editing the survey (instructors can add up to four custom questions). Students will also see the tool, but if students click on it before the feedback open date, the student will only see the feedback open/close dates. |
| Custom Question Deadline | October 6, 2025 | 12:00 AM (EST) | The form closes for faculty to select and create custom questions for the survey. |
| Feedback Opens to Students * | October 6, 2025 | 9:00 AM (EST) | Students can begin submitting feedback in their courses. |
| Feedback Closes to Students * | October 13, 2025 | 10:00 PM (EST) | The survey closes for feedback from students. |
| Submission Purge ** | September 1, 2026 | 12:00 AM (EST) | Survey responses will be deleted from the Mid-Semester feedback tool.** |
* Faculty are able to view student responses immediately upon submission.
** Faculty must download their students’ responses prior to the purge date if they would like to retain a copy of their feedback.
Collecting feedback from students is a critical component to ensure that you and your students are getting the most out of your course. Feedback can be structured to confirm that students are understanding concepts presented in class and are comfortable with the format of the class and activities. Your students’ feedback can inform and guide you on changes that you may need to make to help students be successful in your course.
The Mid-Semester Feedback tool is a mechanism for instructors to collect valuable student feedback during the midterm of the course. Mid-Semester Feedback surveys are unique and can be customized for each course.
All Mid-Semester Feedback student submissions are fully-anonymous so that students can feel comfortable and confident in providing open and honest feedback to the instructor.
The Mid-Semester Feedback tool is used to collect feedback from students. Below are topics for questions you might consider when preparing your survey:
To learn more about how to record and use the Mid-Semester Feedback tool in your course, please reference:
Instructors should communicate with their students if they intend to use the Mid-Semester Feedback Tool. If you are using it, we strongly recommend that you announce the open date of the Mid-Semester Feedback survey to your students and encourage them to submit feedback for your course.
Although an event with a due date will appear on the Syllabus page under the Course Summary area and on the course Calendar, students may miss or ignore the survey if you do not discuss it with them directly.
Students will not be able to submit feedback before the survey opens. However, they will see the Mid-Semester Feedback tool in the course navigation menu. If the student attempts to open the “Mid-Semester Feedback” tool [1] before the survey opens, they will receive a message [2] letting them know when the survey will become available.
As soon as the feedback open, students can click on the “Mid-Semester Feedback” tool [1] and then they will be presented with the course information [2] and your survey questions [3]. Once they have filled in their answers, they will need to click the “Submit” button [4] and then confirm their submission (click the “Yes” button [5] in the pop-up that appears) before their responses are posted.
Student who have already submitted and return to the “Mid-Semester Feedback” tool [1] will see a message indicating that their “Feedback has been submitted” [2].
Students who click on the “Mid-Semester Feedback” tool [1] after the feedback close date will see a message indicated that “The survey has ended” [2].
All users with the role of “Instructor” in the Canvas course site’s People tool will be able to view student submissions.
Mid-Semester Feedback submissions are NOT shared with departments, department chairs, DUS / DGS, registrar’s office or any other university administrators. The feedback submitted to this tool is only visible to the course instructors.
Only users with the role of “Student” or “Auditor” in the Canvas course site’s People tool will be able to submit feedback.
Guest students, viewers, visitors, etc. will NOT be able to submit.
The Mid-Semester Feedback submissions are totally anonymous, which means that you will not be able to tell which student submitted which response.
Students can only submit the Mid-Semester Feedback survey once per Canvas course.
The availability of Mid-Semester Feedback survey is controlled by the globally managed dates (which appear on the main page of the Mid-Semester Feedback tool for the instructor). These dates cannot be modified for individual courses or for individual students who miss the deadline.
The Mid-Semester Feedback tool may not appear in your course navigation for a number of reasons including:
If your course is cross-listed with a school that is using the Mid-Semester Feedback tool then it may appear in your course.
Student submissions will remain visible in the course until the end of the academic year. After that, they will be purged at the end of the academic year.
The Mid-Semester Feedback tool is only available through Canvas. If you would like to use this tool, you need to publish your Canvas site to make the course site, and thus the tool, available to students.