E-CLASS Frequently Asked Questions
Can the survey be adapted for other disciplines or to be more applicable beyond physics lab courses?
How do I go about using the E-CLASS in my course?
When will I receive a link to the pre-survey?
When will I receive a link to the post-survey?
I can't find the email with the survey link; what should I do?
When will the E-CLASS survey link become active (i.e., begin accepting responses from students)?
When will the E-CLASS survey link close (i.e., stop accepting responses from students)?
Can I change my pre- or post-survey open-dates?
Will I get the names of the students who completed the survey so I can give them credit?
When will I receive the report describing my students' responses?
Can I get access to my students' raw data?
What is E-CLASS? (top)
The Colorado Learning Attitudes about Science Survey for Experimental Physics (E-CLASS) was developed as a broadly applicable assessment tool for undergraduate physics lab courses. At the beginning and end of the semester, the E-CLASS assesses students' views about their strategies, habits of mind, and attitudes when doing experiments in lab classes. Students also reflect on how those same strategies, habits of mind, and attitudes are practiced by professional researchers. Finally, at the end of the semester, students reflect on how their own course valued those practices in terms of earning a good grade.
Can the survey be adapted for other disciplines or to be more applicable beyond physics lab courses? (top)
The short answer is no. The E-CLASS instrument has been validated in its current form, and the addition, removal, or manipulation of any items or formatting on the assessment could potentially invalidate the survey. Changes to the survey would require extensive re-testing to ensure that they did not meaningfully disrupt either students' or experts' responses to, and/or interpretation of, any items or the assessment as a whole. If you are interested in a more general attitudinal assessment about science, we recommend looking into the CLASS.
How do I go about using the E-CLASS in my course? (top)
Any instructor interested in administering the E-CLASS in their physics laboratory course should complete the Course Information Survey prior to their course start date. A general description of the process that follows is provided here.
When will I receive a link to the pre-survey? (top)
The automated system will send you an email containing the pre-survey link typically within 1-2 hours of when you submit the Course Information Survey. If you complete the survey more than a month in advance of your course start-date, there will be a more significant delay prior to receiving the link; however, the link will still go out well in advance of the course start-date. The automated system will re-send the link email a second time on the date you selected as the pre-survey open-date when you filled out the Course Information Survey.
When will I receive a link to the post-survey? (top)
The automated system will send you an email containing the post-survey link both 5 days before and on the date you selected as the post-survey open-date when you filled out the Course Information Survey. If you need the post-survey link to be delivered more than 5 days in advance, you can request the link early by emailing us at: eclass@colorado.edu. Please allow at least one full business day for a response.
I can't find the email with the survey link; what should I do? (top)
If you need the survey link to be resent for any reason, you can request the link by emailing us at: eclass@colorado.edu. Please allow at least one full business day for a response.
After distributing the survey link to my students, can I find out how many students have already completed it? (top)
The automated system will send you a reminder email, which includes the number of students who have completed the survey, 3 days in advance of the post-survey close date. If you would like additional updates on the number of students who have completed the survey, you can request an update by emailing us at: eclass@colorado.edu. Please allow at least one full business day for a response.
When will the E-CLASS survey link become active (i.e., begin accepting responses from students)? (top)
The survey link is active and accepting responses as soon as you receive it. Be aware of this if you post the link online to your students before the actual survey start date.
When will the E-CLASS survey link close (i.e., stop accepting responses from students)? (top)
The survey link will stop accepting responses from students 7 days after the survey open-date you selected when you filled out the Course Information Survey. The survey close-date is also included in all initial and reminder emails which contain the survey link. NOTE: Surveys close and open the morning of the date given in the email. So if the survey close-date is 09/30/2015 00:00:00, this means the survey will continue accepting responses through the evening of 9/29 and close on the morning of 9/30. If you need to extend the survey close-date, you can do so by emailing us at: eclass@colorado.edu. Please allow at least one full business day for a response.
Can I change my pre- or post-survey open-dates? (top)
If you need to change the survey open- or close-date for your course, you can do so by emailing the new dates to us at: eclass@colorado.edu. Please allow at least one full business day for a response.
Can I get the names of the students who completed the survey so I can give them credit? (top)
Yes. The automated system will send you a list of the names and ID numbers for all students who complete the E-CLASS once the survey has closed.
When will I receive the report describing my students' responses? (top)
Timing of the report delivery is somewhat variable depending on the number and type of courses using our automated system each semester. Generally, you can expect to receive your report within 1 month of the post-survey close-date.
Can I get access to my students' raw data? (top)
Generally, the answer is no. Since our work is classified as Human Subjects research, we are obligated to keep students' responses confidential.