At UChicago where I attend, most of my big lecture style classes give the prof a round of applause at the end of each quarter (except for one very bad physics lecturer I had once).

Thank you. Yes, this was at UCSD and most of my stem classes were pretty large. So many people on replying to my post seem to think I’ve made this up. Sad for them they never experienced how great it felt to complete a semester or quarter with a round of applause and a “good luck with finals!”

There's a world of difference between a round of applause and a standing ovation. It would appear you misused the term "standing ovation."

It was common at my university (US).

Which American university is it normal for students, as a group, to stand up and applaud the professor in a standing ovation at the end of each quarter unless the professor was absolutely terrible?