At our school student serveys are given for each course. The classes are set up in 6 week incriments and about half way through the course the students take the survey. The surveys ask about the instructor, the support staff and the school itself. They provide the school with a great insight to what the students are experiencing and what areas need imporvement. I also like to do my own survey on the classroom and the material that is being tought. These mini surveys give me a chance to hear directly from my students about what is working and what could be done better.
Shalonda, do faculty members ever share the changes they make as a result of the surveys? That could be useful information for everyone.
Kristina, what have you discovered from your surveys? Have you shared that information with your colleagues?
The students do survey’s at the end of every class and once a year for the school. In both they are asked how satisfied they are in different areas (teacher, cleanliness, how helpful different depts. are) Afterwards we review the surveys and figure out ways to improve the score.
Annie, could you share an example of success in improving the score? Were multiple departments involved?
In our program at our institution, we are implementing surveys at the end of each term or course. This survey will give us feedback on the course itself and the instructor. It will be short but will also include a comment area, so they can let us know if their expectations were met, what we did that was a success and what we can do to improve.
We provide the students in each class with an assessment survey in Week 3 of the course. They are encouraged to provide open ended responses as well as close ended responses to key questions on syllabi distribution, email follow-up and technology in the class.
The surveys are collected and reviewed by the instructor and department chair. It's suprising how making a few small adjustments at the outset (from the instructor and student standpoint)can
address concerns the class may/do have.
Evaluations are conducted after the first 10 days, and at the end of every session. Evaluations cover the instructor, course of study and school equipment. On their last evaluation, administration will also be evaluated. Evaluations are reviewed by the Campus Director and then the instructors. Items of great concern will be addressed first.
We have course evaluations and spontaneous checks for all instructors as well as committees of professionals to help update and evaluate our teaching rubrics and pace
My course is 6 mos long (exactly 96 days) that I have with my students. They take their surveys every month. I have made it part of orientation to let them know how much I respect their decision to make this leap. I actively speak to many students on the weekends to find out what is going on in their lives. Often we are able to find avenues that help them with some of their problems. If students are absent I call them to see if their ok. We have a log that I put these calls in so our DOE can help out with counseling as well. It works well.
Renee, I hope you have meticulously thought through this process. Surveys can be very powerful, but can also be a great source of frustration for all involved if you aren't completely dedicated to using the information you gather.
Kevin, what is the response rate to the open ended questions? Do your students take them seriously? Please share an example of changes that the institution has made as a result of this practice?
Joseph, who sits on the "committee of professionals"? Are they peers or from the outside? Please share an example of their findings.
Kristina , you seem to be quite proactive regarding the surveys. Do you have a greater response rate than your peers as a result?
We listen to them, listen to their needs and find out a way that we can accommodate them, or if we can find a middle ground that works for everyone. Sometimes it's all about compromises.
Our Institution surveys students each term on both the institutions itself and the faculty, regardless of tenure. In addition, our program surveys the students periodically throughout their time here, ask for specific suggestions and analyze the date for trends. From the data anaylsis, we collectively come up with solutions to address student expectations, better experiences and overall satisfaction.
Our institution is run on 5 week modules. At the end of each module the students are asked to complete a survey as to the instructor as well as the university in its entirety. On or around the end of the first week I also take some time in my classes to ask if there is anything that I can do to help them with understanding as well as the way the class is being given. I find that this allows the students to be more comfortable expressing their concerns. I think that the surveys are often just "something else" for the students to complete so the honesty can be dwarfed by the need for completion.
Good communication between all departments in order to ensure that what is being promised is being delivered.
At my institution we have several measures we use to gauge student satisfaction. Orientation is conducted by the School Director. The Director reviews the student handbook and weaves retention related issues during that presentation. He also provides all contact data and the role of each department to students. During that presentation he introduces students to Career Services and Student Services personnel. He also provides and reviews the complaint process and the confidential student critique process which is conducted each term.
The confidential student critiques are one measure to gauge student satisfaction. Each student must write a narrative about their experience within each class. While labor extensive to assimilate and report, the process exposes the true feelings of students by their tone and word choice. Summaries of the critiques are circulated to the deans and school director.
We also use "student alert forms" which are bright pink in color. This is a written form generated by the classroom instructor to alert Student Service personnel to any issues that could impact student persistence. Issues ranging from attendance, behavior, grades, etc. are immediately forwarded to Student Services so action can be taken. These alerts allow Student Service personnel to respond early in a crisis to help respond and retain students.
Student Service personnel are required to visit classes and interact with students on breaks. This helps build relationships and detect problems.
Monitoring these tracks of detecting problems help assure expectations are met. Ultimately, our caring culture combined with delivering quality, relevant material and high graduate employment rates help in meeting student expectations.
Michelle, who is the "collectively" that comes up with solutions? How often do you meet?
