Quality in teaching – Faculty of Natural Sciences

Course evaluation

Course evaluations by students – in German Lehrveranstaltungsbewertung (LVB) – are a key tool for assessing the quality of teaching and are regularly carried out at the Faculty of Natural Sciences. They give students the opportunity to highlight positive aspects of a course as well as suggest possible improvements.
For teaching staff, this feedback is an important way to reflect on their teaching and to decide whether any adjustments should be made for future courses.
The Dean of Studies is responsible for managing the evaluation process and discusses results with the lecturers when the outcomes call for it. The Faculty Council receives the overall evaluation results for the Faculty.

The faculty questionnaires include both faculty-specific questions and four mandatory university-wide core questions. These cover the following areas: course structure, teaching methods, teaching competence, and the learning environment.
The Centre for Quality in Teaching and Learning (Zentrale Einrichtung für Qualität in Studium und Lehre / ZQS) calculates the average feedback results for these four core questions – the Teaching Quality Index (Lehrqualitätsindex / LQI). At the end of each semester, a faculty-specific report is compiled, listing all courses for which an LQI could be calculated.
The report uses a colour-coded system to categorise courses as green, yellow, or red. The yellow and red categories indicate potential need for improvement and serve as an initial reference point for the Office of the Dean of Studies. Based on this, further information can be gathered and action taken where appropriate.

Further information on the LQI

Course evaluation at the Faculty of Natural Sciences (only in German)

LQI report WiSe 2025/26 [PDF]

Previous reports
(only in German)
LQI-Bericht SoSe 2025
LQI-Bericht WiSe 2024/25
LQI-Bericht SoSe 2024
LQI-Bericht WiSe 2023/24
LQI-Bericht SoSe 2023
LQI-Bericht WiSe 2022/23

FAQ on course evaluation

Which courses are evaluated and when?

Courses with five or more participants are evaluated, except colloquia, specialised lab courses, and scientific tutorials.
Each semester there is an evaluation week, usually the third-to-last week of the lecture period, in which all weekly courses during the semester are evaluated.
Block courses and other formats have individual evaluation periods based on their end dates.

For courses without dates:
Course dates are required in order to set a suitable evaluation period.
Dates can be submitted for the course catalogue via vvz@nat.uni-hannover.de.

In exceptional cases, a last-minute evaluation can be requested by e-mail to evaluation@nat.uni-hannover.de, including the relevant dates.
Which system is used?

LUH uses the evasys survey software, which is linked to Stud.IP.
Course evaluations are created in Stud.IP and then transferred to evasys. Once an evaluation has been set up, teaching staff can see the “Lehrveranst.-Evaluation” tab in their Stud.IP course and later access the report there.

At the Faculty of Natural Sciences, all evaluations are conducted as “online in class” surveys; students can take part via their phone during the session or from home.
Course evaluations via paper questionnaires are not possible.
What questionnaires are used?
There are three questionnaires at the Faculty of Natural Sciences:
Questionnaire for Faculty of Natural Sciences courses:
Can be used for all types of courses (lecture, seminar, exercise, etc.). It includes the university-wide core questions, so the LQI is calculated by ZQS; these questions cannot be removed or changed.
Questionnaire for experimental courses:
Designed for experimental courses and lab classes and does not include the university-wide core questions, so no LQI is calculated. By default, all experimental courses are linked to this questionnaire.
Questionnaire for modules:
For modules in which, for example, lecture, seminar, and experimental course are taught by the same person and cannot be meaningfully separated; this can be used to increase response rates and includes the university-wide core questions.
Can course evaluations be adjusted?
The evaluation coordinator can make the following changes in Stud.IP:
Change the evaluation period
Change the questionnaire
Change the order of teaching staff
Changes are only possible until the evaluation has started; after that, no changes can be made.
A new evaluation (for example, due to a low response rate) cannot be set up.
How can the response rate be increased?
To improve the response rate, the following steps are recommended where possible:
Schedule the evaluation so that at least one session takes place during the evaluation period and can be used to announce it.
Allow about 10 minutes during class for students to complete the questionnaire.
If the response rate is low (the “Lehrveranst.-Evaluation” tab shows the number of completed forms and whether it is sufficient for a report), send a reminder e-mail to students.
Explain to students that their participation is important so that teaching staff receive a meaningful report to support ongoing improvement of teaching.
Which persons are mentioned in the questionnaires?

The evaluation is issued in the name of the person listed first for the course in the course catalogue (HIS-LSF) and in Stud.IP; all others appear as “involved persons”.

The person who actually delivers the course should therefore be listed first; module responsibility can instead be marked as “responsible” in the course catalogue.
Evaluations are issued only for teaching staff, not for tutors in Stud.IP.

If additional people should be included on the evaluation, they must be entered as teaching staff in the course catalogue; requests for this can be sent to vvz@nat.uni-hannover.de.The evaluation form is issued to the person who is listed first in the course catalogue (HIS-LSF) and Stud.IP for the course. All other persons are listed under “persons involved.” It is therefore important that the person who conducts the course is listed first. Module responsibilities can instead be indicated with the note “responsible” in the course catalogue.

Evaluations are only issued for lecturers – not for tutors in the Stud.IP course. If other persons are involved in the course and should therefore also be listed on the evaluation, they must be entered in the course catalogue as teaching staff. If teaching staff are to be included in the course catalogue, please report this at: vvz@nat.uni-hannover.de
Is there a minimum number of participants?

Evaluations are only created for courses with at least five students, because at least five completed questionnaires are required for evasys to generate a report and to ensure anonymity under data protection rules.
How are students informed and who can take part?

Students receive an automatic Stud.IP message when the evaluation for a course is opened, and the evaluation should also be announced again in class by the lecturer.

They can complete the questionnaire on their smartphone during the session or from home. Only students who were registered in the course when the evaluation was created can take part; students who register later cannot.
Evaluations are therefore usually created about three weeks after the start of the semester so that, for example, place allocation has been completed.
What happens to the results?

If the response rate is sufficient, teaching staff receive a report and are expected to take the feedback into account when they next offer the course.
The Dean of Studies discusses results confidentially with teaching staff where necessary.

Results are presented and discussed in an appropriate form in the Curriculum and Teaching Committees and the Faculty Council.