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UCL will introduce a new system for standardising module evaluations across all faculties, with flexibility for departments to tailor surveys as part of the Harmonising module evaluations project.
Due to the pressures posed by the Covid19 pandemic, and after careful deliberation, the Project Board, have chosen to suspend the project indefinitely. The decision was taken because whilst the project was deemed to be highly desirable, harmonising module evaluation is not an urgent requirement for UCL and would place an unnecessary additional strain on departments at an already difficult time. It is hoped that as circumstance change, the project can be reopened in the future.
To help us improve the student experience, we need high quality, meaningful data.
Student feedback data comes from a variety of sources, one of which is module evaluation. Currently, departments use a variety of systems to survey students about each taught module.
The aims of the project are to harmonise our approach to module evaluation to help us:
- improve the student experience;
- close the feedback loop;
- better align evaluation data with institutional surveys to contextualise results (such as the National Student Survey (NSS) and Postgraduate Taught Experience Survey (PTES)); and
- reduce the administrative burden.
Introducing a standard module evaluation system and process
We plan to introduce a new system for managing module evaluation across UCL. The system will offer the flexibility to tailor surveys against a standard UCL template. It will also accommodate variations in type of teaching and level of reporting.
Multiple approaches to module evaluation across UCL mean:
- We cannot analyse data collectively as we are not comparing like for like meaning we cannot offer targeted support to departments.
- Students find the questions, format and frequency disjointed and confusing
- Department staff are caught up in time consuming processes e.g. sending out survey reminders, or processing paper, analysing results
- Ongoing staff-student dialogue is not supported, as most local systems not built to facilitate closing the loop with our students.
The benefits of moving to a centralised approach
The move to centrally-supported module evaluation surveys aims to:
- help us target our support and improve the student experience
- help us tell students how we’re acting on their feedback, and encourage ongoing dialogue
- reduce workload for departmental staff
- identify areas of best practice
- align module evaluation data with NSS and PTES data to help contextualise results or provide an early warning system.
Contact
Email the team at module.evaluation@ucl.ac.uk if you have any further questions about the Harmonising Module Evaluations project.