Automated course evaluation allows time for quality analysis

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 can not 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. Coordinator can then comment on the results. Thereafter the results is 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 choose 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