What is SPOT?

The university’s system for collecting end-of-semester course feedback was updated during summer 2024. The updated system, known as Student Perceptions of Teaching (SPOT), replaces the Assessing the Classroom Environment (ACE) system. 

SPOT is a homegrown solution that provides us the flexibility to continually evolve and develop the tool to meet the needs of our university community. If you have feedback or suggestions for how we can enhance SPOT, please contact the Office of the Provost at provost-office@uiowa.edu.

Using SPOT

In many ways SPOT will remain the same for students as the previous system, with a small number of changes designed to make the system easier to access and use.  Similarly, SPOT will remain the same in most ways for instructors, with an updated reporting system and streamlined report access. SPOT will continue to use the same questions (updated in 2020) as ACE, but SPOT will be implemented directly through ICON.  

For Instructors:

  • SPOT will ask the same questions that have been asked since the 2020 item update. View the Executive Summary of the 2020 ACE Task Force Recommendations to learn more about the work that went into developing the questions. 

  • The timeline for students to complete end-of-course feedback forms remains the same. The system will automatically email students invitations to complete the feedback forms.

    SPOT surveys always open on Sundays at midnight CST and close on Saturdays at 11:59 p.m. Visit our SPOT dates webpage for a complete list of survey dates for Fall 2024. 

    Courses ending in the last week of the semester (Week 16) have feedback surveys open for two weeks. Other courses that are not semester-length will have feedback surveys open during the final week of class.

  • Instructors can access the invitation system through ICON if they want to send out an additional email invitation to students. Many instructors have observed that they get better response rates and more constructive feedback when they take the time to let students know how they have benefited from student feedback in the past.  Instructor invitations are most effective in person during class, and an email message can be a good way to reinforce that invitation. 

  • Instructors can access an interactive reporting dashboard through ICON after grades have been submitted. 

Instructor FAQ

For Students:

  • SPOT will ask the same questions that have been asked since the 2020 item update. 

  • The timeline for students to complete end-of-course feedback forms remains the same. The system will automatically email students invitations to complete the feedback forms.  

  • Students can access feedback forms through a single link in the ICON course site. 

  • Students will also be able to access student feedback forms through a link in MyUI. 

Student FAQ

In addition, an optional confidential midterm feedback survey is built into the system, allowing instructors to initiate their own midterm check-in and benefit from student feedback while the course is still in session. The built-in midterm SPOT Check addresses the same topics as the end-of-course survey. Instructors who have additional questions that are not addressed by the SPOT survey are welcome to use other models for collecting midterm student feedback instead of (or in addition to) the midterm SPOT Check. 

Please see the following browser requirements for using SPOT.  Please contact the ITS Help Desk if you need assistance in upgrading your browsers.

  • Safari 17.6 or newer (released July 29, 2024)
  • Chrome version 103 or later (released June 2022)
  • Firefox 102 or later (released June 2022
  • Edge version 103 or later (released in 2022)