All students must have the opportunity to express their opinion about their education in course evaluations. How this is done can differ both within and between colleges and universities. The process often takes time and energy and can be difficult to understand. Now Quicksearch, in collaboration with Blekinge University of Technology (BTH), has developed a new university-wide tool to automate course evaluation.
- The idea is to provide one hundred percent course follow-up and at the same time minimize the manual handling of questionnaires and reports. Many colleges and universities do solid work in administering quality, for example course evaluations. When we automate the manual work, we can free up more time to work further with analysis and quality, says Jörgen Gotthardsson, Quicksearch.
The new web-based system has been in use at BTH since autumn 2011 and is integrated with Ladok and the student and teacher portals as well as course information. The basic idea of the solution is to make survey handling easy to manage and automated, so that the flow cannot get stuck somewhere along the way. The automated course evaluation ensures one hundred percent evaluation and feedback to students and staff, just as the Higher Education Act and the Higher Education Ordinance require.
The questionnaire has a basic sheet of questions, which includes parts about the fulfillment of the course objectives. The person in charge of the course can also choose or create some additional questions themselves. Regardless of whether this happens or not, the survey is passed on to the students in connection with the end of the course. The course manager can then comment on the result and then the result is automatically forwarded to students and the student and teacher portals.
Positive reactions to BTH
The results are comparable between different courses and facilitate an overall analysis. An automated system provides continuous feedback during the year and for the college it is a useful instrument for identifying and fixing problems.
- The work effort of the student administrators has been greatly reduced because the system is automated. They are very positive. Then we also save work when it comes to the overview. The system is worth its weight in gold when it comes to education managers getting an overview of the situation while section managers can analyze their levels, says Lasse Bourelius, director of the Learning Lab at BTH.
Transparency and quality
BTH chooses to be completely transparent with the results and publishes them on the university's website, which makes the university unique in Sweden.
- It has not been completely uncontroversial. The idea is that it should be quality driven. Prospective students and other interested parties can see the results and form an idea about the courses in advance, says Lasse Bourelius.
For more information contact:
Jörgen Gotthardsson, Quicksearch
Telephone: 0705-33 27 37
Email: jorgen.gotthardsson@quicksearch.se
Footnote:
According to the Higher Education Act ch. 1 §4, the universities must work "so that the students take an active part in the work of further developing the education". According to the Higher Education Ordinance ch. 1 §14, the universities must give students who participate in or have completed a course the opportunity to present their experiences of and views on the course through a course evaluation.
Quicksearch is a software company within Enterprise Feedback Management (EFM) that offers survey solutions to some of Sweden's most successful companies and organizations. EFM are surveys that provide organizations with ongoing feedback throughout the year, providing reminders, insights and in-depth analysis so managers and employees can act faster and more proactively. Recently, Quicksearch was designated by the Gartner Group as a "cool vendor" and one of the world's leading 35 companies, of which the only one based in Sweden, within EFM.
Blekinge University of Technology (BTH) is one of Sweden's most clearly profiled universities with the vision of being a globally attractive knowledge community within applied IT and innovation for sustainable growth. Here, technology meets economics, social studies, health and care as well as culture and communication. BTH conducts education and research at a high international level, where learning is at the center for both the student, the teacher and the researcher.
All students should have the opportunity to speak up on their education in course evaluations. How this is done can vary both within and between colleges and universities. The process often takes time and energy and can be difficult to grasp. Now Quicksearch in collaboration with Blekinge Institute of Technology (BTH) has developed a new tool to automate the evaluation.
- The idea is to give a hundred percent follow-up rate and minimize the manual handling of surveys and reports. Many colleges and universities do extensive work with the administration of quality, such as course evaluations. When we automate the manual work, we can use time for analysis and improvements, says Jörgen Gotthardsson, Quicksearch.
The new web-based system is in use at BTH since fall 2011 and is integrated with Ladok and student and staff portals and course info. The basic idea of the solution is to make the survey process easy and automated, so that the flow cannot get stuck somewhere along the way. The automated course evaluation ensures a hundred percent evaluation and feedback to students and staff, just as the Higher Education Act and the Higher Education requires.
The survey has a base of questions which include parts of the course objectives achievement. The course administrator can also choose or create any additional questions. Whether this happens or not the poll advances to students when the course is finalized. The coordinator can then comment on the results. Then the results are distributed to the students automatically.
Positive reactions on BTH
The results are comparable between different courses and facilitates a comprehensive analysis. An automated system provides continuous feedback during the year and for the college, it is a useful tool to identify and fix problems.
– College administrators' workload has decreased significantly since the system is automated. They are very positive. Then we save even work on the overview analysis. The system is worth gold when it comes to education officials to get an overview of what's up at the same time as section managers can analyze their levels, says Lasse Bourelius, director of the Learning Lab at BTH.
Transparency and Quality
BTH chooses to be completely transparent with the results and publishes them on the university's website, which makes the university unique in Sweden.
- It has not been without controversy. The idea is that there should be quality driven. Prospective students and other interested parties can view the results and pre-form an opinion about the courses, says Lasse Bourelius.
For more information, contact:
Jorgen Gotthardsson, Quicksearch
