At the end of the term students are given a survey to evaluate their instructors, the school and curriculum
David, what communication methods have been most effective in getting students to voice their concerns?
Great way to assure prospective students are getting good information about their field, Rebecca. Who coordinates the cross training and how often does it happen?
Regular communication is important, both face-to-face and through typical distribution channels such as the Web and e-mail. We try to provide students with ways to submit their concerns anonymously as well. We encourage students t speak up about their concerns or questions.
Our institution does cross training between the academics and admissions department. We see this as "the left hand knowing what the right hand is doing." We have had great success with this cross training. Also the admissions representatives take all prespective students on tours and and instead of saying "you will learn x, y, and z in this class" they approach the viewing window and said the prespective student "what do you see?" This approach lets the student form an idea of the class and then the representative can clarify about what is actually going on.
Sara, no question that a comfortable relationship with students is important in your job. How do you find time to make significant personal connections with them? What techniques do you use?
I am actually the Student Service Director at my institution so I work pretty closely with the students and there expectations. We do have a student catalog that they receive in orientation. I place phone calls as well as emails to students who have been absent for more then a few days. What I feel works best for me is to develop a comfortable relationship with the students from the start. I want them to feel comfortable talking to me about anything at any point. We also do surveys but I personally don't think that is the best way of getting student feedback. I feel like the students are not very honest on the surveys and just quickly go through it and check boxes. However, I read through other peoples post and I do think that if you do the surveys and then show the students the "results" or the "outcomes" from the surveys we may have a better response.
Doesn't sound like a very effective system, Tracy. Any thoughts about how to improve the results and the service to your students?
Loren Kroh
Not really surprises. Sometimes they give directions theat we are not really fond of but we follow none the less. And sometimes they have the desired outcome and some time not. Normally it is for our area getting into the class alittle more then we have and making ourselves more seen then normal. Other times it could be an Action Plan on how we can do things differently. Every Quarter it changes.
And where has the corporate team told you that you need to go? Any surprises?
Loren Kroh
Carrie, does your end of course survey specifically ask about meeting expectations? Does admissions get that detailed in their presentation about content (course by course)?
And then the student services team has to go track down those who were absent or didn't return the form. Isn't is sad how much effort goes into covering ourselves?
Christina, I guess your situation is better than the other way around - where they put on a happy face to you and then trash you on the survey. In my opinion, students view surveys as a nuisance and waste of time. By checking ok to everything they can get on with their lives without any further involvement. Changing things requires personal investment - even when the surveys are anonymous - and students don't believe the results will warrant the effort.
Loren Kroh
We have surveys handed out at the end of the quarters. These give us an overall view of the expectations of the student. The corporate team then reevaluates where we need to go.
We start by insuring that our admissions department is properly trained in giving realistic and accurate information to prospective students. We also do surverys at the end of each course to see if the expectations they had were met or exceeded. If not, we make the proper adjustements to ensure that the student still feels satisfied in their decision to enroll with our school.
As with many who have responded, we ask our students at the end of the module to submit to a questionaire regarding the class they just completed. The responses are read by the instructor and management.
Also, I ask students perisodically, in week 2, week 4 as to what they expect, and what can I improve upon to make their experience better.
We issue quarterly anonamous surveys for the students, but I find that what the students tell me and what they report on the surveys is not the same information. They always seem to give high ratings on the surveys , but then complain to me. I've explained that the surveys are anaonamous and if the expect something to change they have to be honest on the survey. If it is not known that they are not happy the school can not do anything to improve. How do we get the students to be honest on the surveys?
On a daily basis, we do our best to keep our eyes and our ears open. If a student looks unhappy, we immediately try to pinpoint the source of their dissatisfaction and try to determine what we can do to remedy the situation.
When there is a change in policy, we have them printed. Then the student services team goes from class to class to explain the new policies and have the students sign and return to us. It gets filed in the students file.
In the suggestion box, we receive everything from complaints about the dirty bathroom to comments on how wonderful our instructors and staff are. It makes the students feel they have a voice.
We conduct surveys and use check-ins throughout the program to make sure students are clear on expectations.
