REPLY FROM LEE HARVEY
UCE

-----Original Message-----
From: Mary Wagstaffe [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: 19 January 2000 10:19
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Student Satisfaction Questionnaires



Dear All

Thank you for reading this.

At Staffordshire we are reviewing our procedures for 
measuring student satisfaction by way of a questionnaire. 
Currently questionnaires are used at School/Department 
level and we are considering moving towards a 
University-wide form. I should be very grateful if you, or 
a colleague, could possibly find the time to answer the 
following questions.

Does your institution use a questionnaire to measure 
student satisfaction?

YES


What form does the questionnaire take (i.e. OMR with a 
space for free text)?
Pre-coded answers read by flexible electronic sscanner system which is far
more versatile than OMR and the questionnaires are produced at a fraction of
the cost of OMR-readable questionnaires. Space for qualitative comments is
also provided. 

Are questionnaires used at School/Department, Faculty or 
University level?

Student Satisfaction is University-wide
There are also some Faculty questionnaires.
Some courses/programmes use questionnaires, but fewer now that the
institution-wide survey is so comprehensive.

Each module collects feedback in a variety of ways, some qualitative
discussion groups, some questionnaires although the latter is discouraged as
far as possible for reasons I'll explore with you in detail if you are
interested.


Do you have a standard questionnaire across your institution 
or are there a variety tailored to subject areas?

The institution-wide questionnaire is standard and works across all 9
faculties.


How often would the questionnaire be revised?

It is reviewed annually as it is based on issues raised by students (through
focus groups). Many itens remain the same but over the last 12 years some
issues have disappeared and new ones have come on line.


What problems have you had with administering 
questionnaires?

Relying on staff to distribute them is the main problem We send them to
term-time addresses. There are lots of other problems in doing large surveys
which again I could pursue in more detail.

Do you use some form of incentive to encourage students to 
complete questionnaires?

Sometimes but it seems to make little or no difference to the overall
response rate.


How is the information obtained used in University 
planning?

There is a formal process involving the VC. The information is linked into a
management information strategy and action cycle. Again more details can be
provided. This has been remarkably effective over the last decade.

If you were going to introduce a new questionniare what 
would you differently now?

Ensure total transparency from the start and get rid of all the other
half-baked questionnaires in the institution. 


Anything else it would be helpful for me to know.

There's lots that you should know, not least time and cost factors but I
don't have time to go into all that here.

Lee Harvey
CRQ
UCE
Birmingham
B42 2SU

If I receive a reasonable number of responses I will post a 
summary to the list.

Many thanks in advance.


Mary 



Mary Wagstaffe
Director of Quality Improvement
Student Office
Staffordshire University
College Road
Stoke on Trent
ST4 2DE

Telephone: 01782 294964
E-mail: [log in to unmask]


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