Themes from Veterinary Student Evaluations of Teaching Before and After Final Exams: Classroom Climate, Achievement Striving, Goal Attainment, and Operational Deliverables.

This article examines how the timing of student evaluations of teaching (SETs) completion—before versus after final exams—affects the content and sentiment of veterinary students' open-ended comments. Conducted at a North American veterinary medical school, the study found three main themes in student feedback: classroom climate (instructor characteristics and student appreciation), achievement striving and goal attainment (clarity and fairness of assessments), and operational deliverables (course organization, clinical relevance, and teaching aids). While students who completed SETs after finals focused more on assessments, overall comment sentiment was predominantly positive and did not significantly differ by timing. The findings challenge faculty perceptions that SETs primarily reflect student frustration or bias and suggest that administering SETs after finals may not adversely affect the quality or tone of student feedback.