UCD Student Feedback Staff Information

Why has Student Feedback changed?

The existing Student Feedback on Modules survey has been running since 2011. Response rates have been falling and staff and students expressed a desire (during the 2019 consultation) for a number of changes that are reflected in the new system design. A key feature of the new system is that Lecturers will be able to share reflections and close the feedback loop with students in response to the feedback they receive 

What are the two new surveys?

Two new surveys have been designed in response to student and faculty feedback:

• Module Feedback Survey (4 quantitative and 2 open-text questions) asks students for their feedback on their module (module coordinators can include up to 6 optional questions if they wish)
• Lecturer Teaching Survey (9 quantitative and 2 open-text questions) asks students for feedback on their Lecturer teaching
• Module coordinators and Lecturers also have the option to add optional questions (from a list) or compose their own questions to add to the surveys

Why are there two separate surveys?

The Lecturer Teaching survey was introduced to enable Faculty to receive feedback on their individual teaching as opposed to the feedback on the module. Questions on the Module Feedback survey have been revised and still facilitate feedback on the module itself.

What are the benefits of the new system?

• The Module Feedback survey will allow teaching staff and schools to continue to record student feedback on their experience of their modules
• The Lecturer Teaching survey will allow individual teaching staff to collect feedback on their teaching, separate to feedback on the module
• The new system will deliver surveys through Brightspace. It is envisaged that this will increase response rates by making surveys more visible and easily accessible for students, allowing more opportunities for promoting the survey (using Brightspace pop-up boxes, announcements, etc.)
• The survey system will also be available to Module Coordinators and Lecturers in Brightspace allowing for the monitoring of response rates in real-time, easy access to reports and current and historical surveys and data
• The new system will allow Module Coordinators and Lecturers to share reflections and close the feedback loop with students in response to the feedback they receive

When will the surveys be running?

The Module Feedback survey and the Lecturer Teaching survey will be open for students to complete in weeks 10, 11, 12 and 13 

When will survey results be available?

The new system facilitates the release of feedback results immediately when the survey closes. 

Are the Module Feedback and Lecturer Teaching Survey linked to faculty promotions?

Faculty can opt to include both survey feedback as part of their promotion application, in the same manner as under the current system

Are student replies anonymous?

All student feedback is confidential. However, if comments are deemed to be offensive or inappropriate, the university reserves the right to remove the offending material. In rare cases, such as those in which comments are deemed highly offensive or a threat to the safety of a member of the UCD community, UCD as a duty of care will follow up in an appropriate manner in line with UCD guidelines.

How will offensive comments made by students through Student Feedback be dealt with?

The evasys software solution has functionality to automatically redact offensive words. Central administrators will also be able to remove inappropriate and offensive material in accordance with the UCD policy on Inappropriate Student Feedback

What questions are on the Module Feedback Survey?

The Module Feedback Survey has 4 quantitative and 2 open-text questions. Module Coordinators will also have the option to add additional questions from a bank of questions or compose their own questions(s).  (opens in a new window)You can find additional resources here.

Are all modules being surveyed in each survey period? 

Modules to be included are subject to the criteria which had previously been applied in the Infohub system, see selection rules (opens in a new window)here

Who has access to feedback submitted for the Module Feedback Survey?

• Access to module-level results: Module Coordinators will have access to response rates, core quantitative questions, open text (qualitative questions), optional questions, response provided to students and text box where faculty have provided context

• School-level results: Head of School and/or nominee will have access to the following elements of the survey; response rates, core quantitative questions (quantitative questions), response provided to students and text box where faculty have provided context. 

  • VPTL at College level access to core questions results excluding open-ended questions. 

  • If the Faculty Promotions Committee is granted access to feedback results by the Faculty member, the Committee at time of application for promotion will have access to core quantitative questions

  • UCD Institutional Research has access to / processes results for the survey data and can produce analysis at university-level

How do I close the feedback loop with students?

Module Coordinators will have the facility to reflect on the feedback provided to them through the survey and close the feedback loop with their students by responding to the aggregated feedback on the module. This can be done through the Student Feedback Instructor Portal

What is the timeframe for closing the feedback loop?
Module Coordinators are requested to close the feedback loop before exam results are released to students

Is the Module Feedback Survey feedback linked to faculty promotions?

Faculty can opt to include Module Feedback Survey feedback as part of their promotion application, in the same manner as under the current system

Who can participate in the Lecturer Teaching Survey?

All Lecturing staff who have the appropriate teaching role assigned to them (Module Coordinator, Lecturer, Co-Lecturer) in the Module Access Management system can choose to participate in the Lecturer Teaching Survey. 

I am a Module Coordinator/Lecturer/Co-Lecturer, do I have to participate in the survey?

Participation is optional and at the discretion of individual teaching staff

Will every module I teach be in the Lecturer Teaching Survey?

Lecturers can choose one module (or more) to be surveyed. Choosing a module allows for the selection of a survey population

The module that I want to include in the Lecturer Teaching Survey has multiple lecturers and other lecturers want to include it also. What can I do?
The system allows for the same module to be chosen by more than one Lecturer, therefore it is fine if more than one Lecturer wishes to include a particular module in the same survey period. The selection of a module is for the purpose of extracting a survey population and the focus of the survey is on the individual teacher.

I want to conduct a survey but I don’t seem to have the correct role assigned to me, what can I do? 

In order to choose a module and participate in the Lecturer Teaching Survey, you must have the correct role assigned to you in the Module Access Management (MAMS) system, accessible through InfoHub. Only teaching staff with a Module Coordinator or Lecturer/Co-Lecturer role can opt in to this survey. If you require a change to the role assigned to you for a specific module, please contact the Module Coordinator

Is the Lecturer Teaching Survey feedback linked to faculty promotions?

Faculty can opt to include Lecturer Teaching Survey feedback as part of their promotion application, in the same manner as under the current system

What questions are on the Lecturer Teaching Survey

The Lecturer Teaching Survey contains 9 quantitative and 2 open-text questions. There is no option to add additional questions to this survey. The survey questions can be viewed (opens in a new window)here.

Who has access to feedback submitted for the Lecturer Teaching Survey

• Access to module-level results: Lecturers will have access to response rates, core quantitative questions, open text (qualitative questions), optional questions, response provided to students and text box where faculty have provided context

• School-level results:

  • Head of School and/or nominee will have access to the following elements of the survey; response rates, core quantitative questions (quantitative questions), response provided to students and text box where faculty have provided context. 

  • VPTL at College level access to core questions results excluding open-ended questions. 

  • If the Faculty Promotions Committee is granted access to feedback results by the Faculty member, the Committee at time of application for promotion will have access to core quantitative questions

  • UCD Institutional Research has access to / processes results for the survey data and can produce analysis at university-level

How do I close the feedback loop with students?

Lecturers will have the facility to reflect on the feedback provided to them through the survey and close the feedback loop with their students by responding to the feedback. This can be done through the Student Feedback Instructor Portal

What is the timeframe for closing the feedback loop?
Module Coordinators are requested to close the feedback loop before exam results are released to students

Where do I go if I need assistance

Please check out our Frequently Asked Questions in the first instance to see if you can find the answer to your questions. 

If you cannot find the answer to your question, please contact us for further assistance.