Course evaluation & survey software for higher education

More than 30 institutions made the switch from their prior vendor to Watermark Course Evaluations & Surveys in the last six months alone. This year, a dozen switched from Blackboard (formerly Anthology), half a dozen from Explorance, and more than half a dozen from Scantron — plus a dozen institutions that moved from generic survey tools to a platform built specifically for student feedback. We make switching seamless, and our work is backed by numerous awards, including the 2026 EdTech Breakthrough Award for Best Course Evaluation Solution. See what sets us apart.

The platform is used by institutional effectiveness and institutional research offices, teaching and learning centers, academic leadership, department chairs, and faculty members involved in evaluation, assessment, and instructional improvement. Students are the most essential user, participating in the surveys that drive all the data.

It helps institutions address low survey response rates, inconsistent evaluation processes, fragmented survey tools, limited reporting capabilities, and difficulty connecting feedback to actionable improvements.

The platform enables institutions to deploy standardized or customized surveys, collect responses from students, and ensure consistent evaluation processes across departments and programs.

Yes, surveys can be tailored at multiple levels, including by the instructor. Questions can be tailored to align with institutional priorities, teaching models, program requirements, or accreditation standards.

First and foremost by putting surveys right where students are learning – inside their LMS. With automated reminders and prompts to drive participation. Other key response rate drivers include transparent response rate tracking for administrators and instructors, automated email programs, and SMS outreach options that can be used together to reach students at the right time and place for them.

Yes. Institutions often use aggregated and structured evaluation data to support faculty annual reviews, promotion processes, and teaching effectiveness documentation. CE&S is often integrated with Faculty Success to streamline this further.

Course evaluation data provides evidence of teaching effectiveness and student experience, which can be used in accreditation reports and institutional effectiveness documentation.

Watermark Course Evaluations & Surveys connects directly with Watermark Faculty Success. Once an evaluation project is complete, an authorized administrator can sync evaluation reports to the corresponding Scheduled Teaching records in Faculty Success. This gives instructors access to student feedback alongside their course and faculty activity information.

No. Faculty do not need to download spreadsheets, upload evaluation results or re-enter the data in Faculty Success. Once the integration is configured, an administrator initiates the sync and the software automatically matches the evaluation reports with the appropriate teaching records.

Yes. Course evaluation reports synced from CES can be accessed through Faculty Success and included as links within configured Faculty Success reports. This allows institutions to incorporate student feedback into annual review, promotion and tenure, and faculty development processes while maintaining appropriate permissions. Including CES reports in Faculty Success reports

Course Evaluations & Surveys and Faculty Success are purpose-built Watermark solutions that can be used independently or connected. When used together, they provide a connected workflow from collecting student feedback to making evaluation reports available with faculty teaching and activity records. This gives institutions specialized capabilities without requiring faculty to move data manually between systems.

Faculty Success offers several ways to quickly build and maintain a faculty profile. Faculty can use AI-powered CV imports, connect to sources including ORCID, Scopus, PubMed and Crossref, import citation files, or review publications identified through proactive searches. Faculty can then verify and supplement the information rather than entering every activity manually. Faculty Success product page

Yes. Text messaging is available as an add-on for institutions in the US, giving administrators a third way to reach students alongside email and LMS notifications. It works the same way you already schedule email communications, with automatic opt-out and consent tracking built in to meet TCPA requirements. Ask your Watermark representative to add it to your agreement.