Student Opinion of Teaching (SOOT)

General Overview

The Student Opinion of Teaching (SOOT) has been Binghamton University’s process for collecting student feedback on courses and teaching. Beginning in Fall 2025, SOOT is administered through the Watermark Course Evaluation and Survey (CES) platform, which provides an online system for distributing surveys and collecting responses.

While the evaluation process continues to be known as SOOT, the CES platform is being used to manage survey distribution, administration, and reporting.

Why are SOOTs administered through CES?

The university adopted the Watermark Course Evaluation and Survey (CES) platform following recommendations from the Joint Task Force on the Student Evaluation of Teaching. The goal was to modernize the administration of SOOT while maintaining the familiar evaluation process used across the university.

Using CES provides several advantages:

• A centralized and secure online platform for administering SOOT
• Improved ease of use for students and faculty
• Greater consistency in survey administration across the university
• Enhanced data management and reporting capabilities

Importantly, the evaluation process remains SOOT, while CES serves as the technology platform used to administer it.

Which Courses Are Evaluated in SOOT?

Student Opinion of Teaching (SOOT) surveys are administered through the CES platform in alignment with school- or college-specific participation policies. Course inclusion follows the guidelines below.

CCPA, Decker, Harpur, Pharmacy – Opt-Out Option

For colleges or schools without mandatory participation requirements, Spring 2026 courses will be loaded into the CES platform for SOOT administration, but faculty may choose to opt out.

This includes:

• College of Community and Public Affairs (CCPA)
• Decker College of Nursing and Health Sciences
• Harpur College of Arts and Sciences
• School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences

Watson, SOM – Mandatory Participation

Courses offered by faculty in colleges or schools with mandatory course evaluation policies—currently the School of Management (SOM) and the Thomas J. Watson College of Engineering and Applied Science—are automatically included in the SOOT process each term through the CES platform.

While minimum enrollment thresholds may vary by college or school, faculty in these units do not need to take any action to ensure their courses are evaluated.

Opt-Out Option

How do faculty opt out, and when?

Faculty who wish to exclude one or more courses from SOOT administration through the CES platform for Spring 2026 may do so during the opt-out window:

February 9 through April 14, 2026

Steps to Opt Out

1. Log in to my.binghamton.edu.
2. Select the Brightspace tab from the navigation menu on the left.
3. Under Brightspace, click Student Opinion of Teaching (SOOT).
4. Navigate to the Manage Course tab.
5. Click the View icon to see detailed course information.
6. Select the checkbox next to each course you wish to exclude from SOOT.
7. Click Delete Selected Courses.

Important Notes

SOOT surveys administered through CES provide two types of student feedback:

• Feedback on the course overall
• Feedback on the instructor’s role

If you are co-teaching a course, please read the following carefully to ensure that each instructor’s preferences are respected.

Co-taught Courses

The CES platform operates at the course level, not the individual instructor level.

If you opt out of a team-taught course, the SOOT survey will be removed for all instructors associated with that course.

Please coordinate with your co-instructor(s) before opting out at the course level.

If you wish to remove your instructor evaluation while keeping the course survey active, follow the instructions below.

Opting Out as an Individual Co-Instructor

If you are team-teaching a course and your co-instructor would like feedback but you prefer not to receive individual student feedback, you may change your role in Brightspace from:

Instructor → Instructor – No SOOT

Changing your role from Instructor to Instructor – No SOOT will exclude your instructor role from the SOOT survey while allowing the course evaluation to remain active for other instructors.

This change must be made before the start of the semester. If the role is not updated before the semester begins, the instructor will be included in the SOOT survey for that term. Once courses are imported into the CES platform, any subsequent changes to the instructor role in Brightspace will not be reflected in the system for that term.

Cross-Listed Courses

For cross-listed courses, Brightspace automatically consolidates individual course codes into a single combined course.

Opting out of the combined course will remove all associated sections from SOOT administration.

How to Change Your Role to “Instructor – No Course Evaluation” in Brightspace

1. From the course navigation bar, click Classlist.
2. Check the box next to your name (listed with the role Instructor).
3. Click Enrollment at the top of the class listing.
4. In the New Role column, click the dropdown menu next to your name.
5. Select Instructor – No SOOT.
6. Click Save to apply the change.

Once saved, your instructor role will not be included in the SOOT survey administered through the CES system for that term.

Survey Open and Closing Dates

When do evaluations open and close for students?

Fall and Spring semesters

SOOT surveys open two weeks before the course ends and close on the last day of the course.

Summer and Winter semesters

SOOT surveys open seven days before the course ends and close on the final day of the course.

Students may complete their surveys at any point during these evaluation windows.

Student Notifications

How will students know to complete their evaluations?

Students will receive an email from Student Opinion of Teaching
(notifications@watermarkinsights.com) when the SOOT survey opens.

• Fall and Spring: two weeks before courses end
• Summer and Winter: seven days before courses end

Reminder messages will be sent periodically until the survey closes.

Additionally, Brightspace will display a pop-up notification directing students to the evaluation link.

What if students miss the email?

Instructors are encouraged to remind students in class or through Brightspace announcements to:

• Look for messages from notifications@watermarkinsights.com
• Check Brightspace for the SOOT survey link

Encouraging Student Participation

How can faculty encourage students to complete SOOT surveys?

Faculty play a critical role in promoting strong response rates. Effective strategies include:

• Announcing the evaluation period in class and emphasizing how student feedback supports improvements in teaching and learning.
• Posting reminders in Brightspace with evaluation deadlines.
• Explaining to students how past feedback has informed course changes or enhancements.
• Urging students to complete the survey early and to watch for SOOT emails.
• Setting aside a few minutes in class for students to complete the evaluation on their devices.

Accessing Results

When can faculty see their evaluation results?

Faculty will have access to their individual SOOT reports in the CES system approximately three weeks after the survey closes.

Who can see aggregated or department-level reports?
Access to aggregated or department-level SOOT reports varies by school or college and is determined by unit-level policies.

In accordance with their faculty by-laws, the School of Management (SOM) and the Thomas J. Watson College of Engineering and Applied Science currently designate an administrator in the dean’s office who has access to SOOT reports for faculty within their respective units.

Other schools and colleges do not currently have this type of administrative access configured in the system. Discussions about broader access to aggregated or departmental reports are ongoing with faculty governance and union representatives, and additional guidance will be shared as it becomes available.

Using the CES Platform

How do I access the SOOT system?

Faculty can access the SOOT system through the CES platform:

• Directly from their Brightspace course site, or
• Through the Watermark CES website

What if I have trouble accessing the system?

If you encounter technical issues accessing the SOOT system through CES, please contact: soot@binghamton.edu

Future Development

Does SOOT use customized evaluation questions?

At present, the surveys administered through CES use the historical Student Opinion of Teaching (SOOT) questions.

In the future:

• Each school or college may develop its own evaluation instrument tailored to its teaching and learning context.
• A set of university-wide questions will also be developed and implemented.