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Student Perception of Instruction

Often referred to as SPI or SPoI, Student Perception of Instruction forms are surveys that students can complete at the end of each semester to evaluate the instruction in their courses.

SPI Survey Open and Close Dates:
  • Spring 2026
    • Open Date: April 13, 2026
    • Close Date: April 27, 2026
SPI Format:

The SPI evaluation survey consists of 10 items.
For the first 8 items, students are asked to provide a rating on a Likert scale that is scored numerically.
Strongly Agree (5), Agree (4), Neutral (3), Disagree (2), Strongly Disagree (1).

  1. The course expectations were clear.
  2. The course was well organized.
  3. Graded work was aligned with course content.
  4. The instructor made clear efforts to engage students.
  5. The instructor was helpful in responding to questions.
  6. I received sufficient feedback on my performance in class.
  7. The instructor was available for assistance.
  8. The instructor enhanced my understanding of the material.

The final 2 items are open-ended comment sections for students to provide feedback.

  1. Describe to the instructor the most effective elements of the course and its instruction.
  2. Explain to the instructor your suggestions for improving the course and its instruction.

Results are calculated for each survey item and two overall effectiveness averages.

  • Overall Effectiveness of the course and its content (a composite for questions 1-3).
  • Overall Effectiveness of the instructor and the instruction (a composite for question 4-8).
SPI Process:
  1. SPIs open for student completion two weeks prior to the final scheduled day of class for the semester.
    • During the SPI completion window, each time a student logs in to the Student Center section of myUCF they will see a popup reminding them to complete the surveys. The popup will no longer appear if the student completes the SPI surveys for all their classes.
  2. SPIs close for response at the end of the last day of class for the semester (just before the final exam period.)
  3. SPI results are released and distributed to the respective faculty and appropriate administrators after semester grades are due.
    • Results reports include results data for each course section, collated summaries of overall results, and additional summaries by class size, and division. Each report also includes comparable department and college averages.
Helpful Information for Faculty:
  • SPI Completion Tracker:
    • During the evaluation period, you can see a simple count of how many students have completed the SPI in each of your courses.
      • In myUCF
        • Within the “Tools” section in the left menu
          • Expand the “Faculty Resources” section
            • You will find “SPI Count” Tool near the bottom.
      • When you open the tool, you can simply click “search” to populate all the currently open courses. Or you can enter the name of the term (i.e. Spring 2026) in the “description” search field, or the Term Number in the “term” search field.
  • Why didn’t I receive SPI results for one of my courses?
    • There are a number of reasons why there may not be SPI results for a course.
      • Course sections with 5 or fewer students enrolled do not receive SPI results.
      • It may be that no students from the course completed the survey.
      • SPIs are not conducted for certain types of courses. (Individual Enrollment Courses)
        • Internships
        • Practicums
        • Thesis Supervision
        • Dissertation Supervision
        • Independent Studies
        • Individual Research
        • Non-Graded Labs
      • Instructors must be assigned to one of several designations to receive an SPI for a course. Note that SPI surveys will be created for all instructors assigned to one of the designations below. This can result in students being asked to evaluate the same course multiple times, once for each instructor of record.
        • Primary Instructor
        • Secondary Instructor
        • Teaching Assistant – Graduate Student or Staff
  • How can I improve my SPI scores or completion rates?
Contacts and Resources