Feedback on teaching, courses and tutoring

How the University gathers student feedback on our courses and teaching, what we ask them and how we use their responses.

Voluntary feedback from students is one of the ways we measure the quality of courses and teaching at the University. It’s how we make sure our courses are meeting student expectations.

Feedback on courses

We seek feedback from students whenever we make significant changes to a course, or add a new course. This formal process will happen in the first year of the course being run.

After that, we run a formal feedback process once in every three offerings of a course.

Standard feedback questions

In each course feedback questionnaire, we ask students how these areas affected their learning:

  • organisation of the course
  • communication of course information
  • assessments
  • comments and feedback from teachers and tutors
  • the amount of work.

Students rate how much the course:

  • encouraged creative and critical thinking
  • helped them develop communication skills
  • stimulated their interest in learning more about the subject.

We ask students to rate the quality of the course overall, list a few things that helped them learn and suggest improvements. There is also space for general written comments, which are passed on to teaching staff after grades have been finalised.

Feedback about teachers

The University’s teachers regularly collect anonymous feedback from students about their teaching.

Students are sent a survey asking them to rate how well the teacher:

  • organised their teaching
  • communicated ideas and information
  • stimulated their interest in learning more about the subject
  • treated students and their ideas with respect.

They can also rate the teachers’ overall effectiveness, list things the teacher did particularly well and suggest areas for improvement.

Informal feedback

Lecturers can seek informal feedback from students at any time. It’s a good way to identify problems before the end of the course, so there’s a chance to fix them. It also shows students that their lecturer cares about their opinions.

There are no standard questions for informal feedback, lecturers develop these themselves. Responses are confidential between the lecturer and the students.

How we use student feedback

Feedback about courses and teaching goes to the course coordinator, school management and the University’s senior managers. They make sure student expectations are being met. If not, they act to address any systemic problems.

Lecturers and teachers see student feedback about their teaching. Feedback about tutors goes to the course coordinator. Student feedback is also taken into account when academic staff are being considered for promotion.

Email studentfeedback@wgtn.ac.nz for more information.