Online Student Survey of Teaching Opens April 21

Dear Instructors, 

In this email you will find some recommendations for how to administer the University Student Survey of Teaching. These recommendations are aimed at promoting response rates and getting the most useful feedback from your students.   

The survey will open to students in all full semester courses on April 21. The last day for students to complete the survey is Stop Day, May 9. Your results will be available to you one business day after the grade submission deadline in your Qualtrics dashboard.

Recommendations for Instructors 

1. Use class time. Set aside 10-15 minutes at the beginning of a class period (for synchronous courses) for students to complete the survey. Be prepared with the information students will need to find the survey and complete it (see the script below). Leave the room while students complete the survey; ask a student to let you know when the class is finished.  
2. Schedule it for your students. Add completion of the SST as a no-credit assignment or an event on the Canvas course calendar/to-do list. 
3. Don’t wait until the very end of the semester. Consider using a class session that falls before the final week of the semester when student and instructor schedules are particularly full.   
4. Explain how you use student feedback. One major reason why students do not complete SSTs is that they do not believe their feedback makes a difference. Take time to explain to your students why their feedback is important and how you will use it. Identify particular dimensions of the course about which you are eager for their feedback. If possible, model use of student feedback by sharing examples of course features you have changed in response to prior student feedback.   
5. Consider an incentive. Offer extra credit or another incentive for completion. Two strategies that both keep student responses confidential and have been shown by research to be effective in improving completion rates:  
   1. All students receive extra credit if the class hits an 80% or higher completion rate. Update the class on completion levels until the criterion is hit (you can view completion rates in your Qualtrics dashboard here). 
   2. Provide individual incentives; students receive extra credit for sending you a screenshot showing that they have completed the survey.  

Recommended script for introducing SST during class time:  

Today you’ll be completing the Student Survey of Teaching for this course. This survey gives you the opportunity to provide feedback about your learning experience in this class. 

This is your chance to share what worked well for you and what could be better next time around. Your input is valuable because it helps me to improve course content and teaching methods for future students. Courses evolve and improve directly because of student feedback like yours. For this feedback to be most useful, we need everyone to participate and provide comments about your learning experience that are specific, constructive, and actionable. Please complete the survey individually. 

[Insert information about any incentive you are offering for completion.]  

I want to assure you that your responses are completely confidential and anonymous and survey results will only be available to me after the final grade submission deadline.  

Please take a few minutes now to log into Canvas and complete the survey. To access the survey, click on “account” in the left column; from the menu choose Course Evaluations and then click on the first link for this course. The survey will begin with questions about the course, followed by questions about the instructor(s). I'll step out of the room to ensure your privacy while you complete this process. 

Recommended script for Canvas announcement for asynchronous classes:  

Greetings students. It's time for the Student Survey of Teaching for our class, and I'd really value hearing about your experience. This survey gives you the opportunity to provide feedback about your learning experience in this class. 

This is your chance to share what worked well for you and what could be better next time around. Your feedback helps me to improve course content and teaching methods to make this course even better for future students. For this feedback to be most useful, we need everyone to participate and provide comments about your learning experience that are specific, constructive, and actionable. Please complete the survey individually. 

[Insert information about any incentive you are offering for completion.]  

I want to assure you that your responses are completely confidential and anonymous and survey results will only be available to me after the final grade submission deadline.  

Please take a few minutes to complete the survey by [insert deadline].  To access the survey, from your Canvas home page click “account” in the left column; from the menu choose Course Evaluations and then click on the first link for this course. The survey will begin with questions about the course, followed by questions about the instructor(s).  

Thanks so much for taking the time to complete the survey - I genuinely appreciate your thoughtful input. 

Interpreting the results

You will find additional resources about interpreting and using the survey results on the Center for Teaching Excellence and Analytics, Institutional Research, & Effectiveness (AIRE) websites.

You will receive access to your results after the semester ends and the final grade submission deadline has passed. For any questions about your Qualtrics account, dashboard access, or any other administrative support needs, please email aire-help@ku.edu.

Thank you for your continued feedback as we work to improve the information you receive from students.

Sincerely,

Amy Mendenhall
Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs

Corinne Bannon
Chief Strategy & Data Officer, Vice Chancellor