Improve student satisfaction with 100 per cent e-submissions

1. Set the bar high

“We began to encourage the use of e-submission last year. In general, those who adopted it found it much easier, so this year we’ve made 100 per cent e-submissions compulsory for all modules. And it’s only by using 100 per cent e-submission that we have been able to set a target of delivering all feedback to students within one week. It would never have been possible with paper submissions because it was just too time-consuming.”

Michelle Tinsley (above left), Departmental Administrator, Teaching and Student Affairs

2. Offer support

“We use Moodle and Turnitin to collect work, but not everyone in the department has the same amount of experience using these systems, so we set up two training workshops; one for the administrative team and another for teaching assistants and academic staff.

Administrative staff also manage the coursework submission boxes and set up Moodle dropboxes for assessments that include diagrams and spreadsheets and so don’t need to pass through Turnitin.”

Jemma Leahy (above right), Post-graduate Administrator for the MSc Management Programme

3. Be consistent

“It helps to make the system as consistent as possible with all modules sharing the same guidelines. We offer students the same instructions on how to submit work and how to label files across the board.” MT

4. Know the potential problems

“There was one occasion when Moodle had an outage for a couple of days – that had a big effect. If unexpected outages occur over submission time, then we grant extensions.” JL

5. Reap the rewards

“Before we used e-submission, approximately five per cent of our modules would return feedback to students within a week.

Now, it’s about 85 per cent.

We also used to see half of one of our offices swallowed up by metres of printed coursework. Not anymore. Plus, the students and academic staff both find it easier and students have been much happier about the shorter turnaround for feedback.

It used to be a major sticking point, but at the last Staff Student Consultation Committee it wasn’t mentioned once.” MT