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FAQs

General Information

Online-Questionnaire

Feedback-Round

General Information

Why does the course-feedback take place?

Due to legal requirements all courses of every institute have to be evaluated at least every two years. (cf. Universitätsfinanzierungsverordnung § 2 Abs. 1 Z 1 lit. c.). The course-feedback is one of the central instruments for the further development of teaching. It aims to enhance the exchange between lecturers and students, give visibility to qualities and good practice as well as to include suggestions from students.

What feedback-formats are offered?

There are two different possibilities for the course-feedback: Online-questionnaire and feedback-round (you can find more detailed information about the formats under the items “Online questionnaire“ and “Feedback-round“).

Who decides which feedback-format is used?

Before the start of the course-feedback all lecturers and students will receive an e-mail from the Quality Development Department. There, we will give you all the relevant information for the course-feedback and present the different feedback-formats as well as send you the questionnaires for the online-survey and the discussion guide for the feedback-round. The format can be individually chosen for each course. We recommend that lecturers and students decide together which format to use for their course. The lecturers of the course will be given approximately two weeks to respond via email which format the group has decided on. If we will receive no answer, we will automatically use the format “Online-questionnaire: link via e-mail”.

Is it possible to choose two feedback-formats for the course-feedback?

Yes, after consultation with the Quality Development Department it is possible to use both feedback-formats – online-questionnaire as well as feedback-round – for one course.

In which semester does the course feedback take place at my institute?

For each institute the course-feedback will be conducted at least every two years for one semester. Upon request it is possible to conduct the course-feedback for a whole study year. After consultation with the chair of the institute, date and period (semester or study-year) of the course-feedback has been set. You can find the course-feedback cycle here: https://www.akbild.ac.at/en/university/quality-development/course-feedback/general/feedback-cycle.pdf

When during the semester does the course-feedback takes place?

The course-feedback takes place at the end of the semester (approx. in the last third).

Is it possible to conduct the course-feedback outside of the scheduled period?

Voluntary feedback for single courses is always possible. Please let me know at the beginning of the semester until 31 st of October or 31 st march ( Ma.Stoeger@akbild.ac.at , T: +43 (0)1 58816-2511).

How do students find out, that the course-feedback takes place?

The Quality Development Department sends an e-mail with information about the course-feedback to all students of the specific study programs (not possible at the IKW and INTK). In addition, we will put up posters at the institutes. We experienced, that more students take part in the course-feedback if lecturers talk to the students about it in class. Therefore, we would be pleased, if you ask the students about the choice of the feedback-format as well as motivate them to take part in it.

Who receives the results of the course-feedback?

The feedback-report on individual courses will be forwarded only to the lecturers and co-lecturers of the course. We recommend to give the students access to the feedback-report and talk to them about it. To save the anonymity of the participants there will be no feedback report, if less than 3 students filled out the questionnaire.

What happens after the course-feedback is conducted?

The Quality Development Department provides a general report for each institute, where all feedback-results will be anonymously summarized. No courses or lecturers will be called by name. The general report of an institute will be forwarded to all lecturing personnel of the particular institute, student representatives, the chair of the institute, the Curricula Commission and the rector´s office. Based on the general report each institute will draw up a follow-up report.

What is the follow-up report?

Based on the feedback results, the chair of the institute will draw up a follow-up report describing the main results of the course-feedback that are relevant from their perspective as well as a concrete activity and it´s realization (approx. 2 pages). The activity should lead to a development of the teaching structures at the institute / the field of study and should be realized within two years. There will be a focus on this activity within the next feedback round (2 years later). The follow-up report will be forwarded to the lecturers of the particular institute, student representative, curricula commission, quality development department and the rector’s office.

Does the course-feedback change anything?

Various levels within the Academy are responsible for the reflection on the feedback-results and the implementation of change: Lecturers are responsible for the individual course (e.g. for the Organization of the course). The institute is responsible for structural activities (e.g. training of the lecturing personnel), the Curricula Commission for the further development of the curricula (e.g. modification of ECTS-points) and the academy for the university condition (e.g. equipment of the studios).

The different levels of the academy receive results of the course-feedback (Lecturer receive the feedback-report on individual courses. The chair of the institute, Curricula commission and the rector´s office receive the general report of each institute). In addition, the institute has to describe a concrete activity based on the feedback-results in the follow-up-report and implement it within two years. If the course-feedback changes something is therefore dependent from different participants of the academy.

Online-Questionnaire

Who decides what kind of questions will be asked in the Online-questionnaire?

There are different questionnaires for each institute and for each type of course. The Quality Development Department creates a draft based on the learning- and teaching-goals in the Curriculum. Before the course-feedback starts, the questionnaires are coordinated with the particular institute and the student representatives. The chair of the institute decides for itself to what extent this is done in a broader circle of lecturing personnel.

Within the questionnaires there are quantitative questions (Students can express their agreement with statements on a scale between 1 – 5) as well as open questions. Some of the questions (academy-specific question set) are the same for every questionnaire, because they are part of another project (monitoring of study conditions), where obstacles and benefits within the study programs are analyzed in a broader context.

Does the academy-specific question set need to be filled out every time?

Yes, because they are in relation to the specific course. Dependent from teaching- and learning goals within the various courses, there are different obstacles and benefits – e.g. there are different needs for theoretical lectures than artistic exercises.

What is the supplementary question?

Lecturers have the possibility to include an individual question to the Online questionnaire (or to the discussion guide for the feedback-round). The more specific the questions are for the course, the better. Therefore, the Quality Development Department recommends lecturers to use this offer.

How do the students receive the Online-questionnaire?

Lecturers and students can decide for two different possibilities:

  1. Via QR-Code: (survey in class, fixed appointment): The Quality Development Department provides a PDF with QR-Code / link and sends it to the lecturer approx. one week before the scheduled appointment. Lecturer can print out the PDF with QR-Code / Link and hang it on the wall or project it with a beamer. If the course takes place online, lecturer can share the PDF via Zoom and put the link in the chat. The students scan the QR-Code or use the link and fill out the questionnaire on their mobile devices (Smartphone, laptop, Tablet) during the course (approx. 10 min.). Experience has shown, that more students take part within this option. Therefore, the Quality Development Department recommends using this option.
  2. Link via E-Mail (survey period: 6 weeks): Students receive an e-mail from the Quality Development Department with all the relevant information of the course-feedback and the link to the survey on their academy e-mail addresses. Therefore, lecturers should ensure that all participants of the course are registered in AkademieOnline and those, who don´t participate, are deregistered. Filling out the questionnaire is possible in a period of 6 weeks. Students can decide when and where they fill out the questionnaire. In addition, we will send out reminders via e-mail.

Is it possible to use “Via QR-Code“ as well as “Link via E-Mail“ for the access to the Online-questionnaire?

No, because these two different options have to be set up different for each course within the software.

Is it possible for lecturers to send out the link for the Online-questionnaire themselves?

No, because the link is generated automatically, individually and anonymously by a software-program for each student. Therefore, it is not possible for the lecturers of the course to send out the link by themselves.

Who can fill out the Online-questionnaire?

Link via E-Mail: All enrolled students receive the link for the survey. The link is generated automatically, individually and anonymously for each e-mail address by a software-program. Therefore, the link can´t be forwarded. Lecturers should ensure that all participants of the course are registered in AkademieOnline and those, who don´t participate, are deregistered.

Via QR-Code: All students, who are present during the scheduled appointment within the course can fill out the questionnaire. It is not possible to fill out the questionnaire before or after the scheduled appointment.

Can students participate in the course-feedback with a private e-mail-address?

No, due to data protection we can send the link to the survey only to the e-mail account of the academy.

For lecturers: please make sure, that all participants of the course are registered in AkademieOnline and those, who don´t participate, are deregistered.

For students: please check your e-mail account of the academy regularly or redirect your Academy Mail to your private E-Mail account.

Is filling-out the questionnaire anonymous?

Yes, both the access via QR-Code and as link via e-mail do not store any personal data. It is not possible to trace back who filled out the questionnaire.

How long does it take to fill out the questionnaire?

Filling out takes approx. 10 minutes.

How are the results provided?

After the survey is completed, we will send the results via e-mail to all lecturers and co-lecturers of the specific course. All results are anonymous. For the quantitative questions the summation of the answers as well as the mean value are given. For the open questions the answers of the students are forwarded directly without any corrections.

Feedback-Round

What is the feedback-round?

The feedback-round is a discussion-round between students within the course. It takes approx. 30 – 45 minutes and is moderated by an external person. A discussion guide will be provided. The lecturer is not present during the feedback-round. The moderator takes notes of the feedback-round. After the discussion the moderator reads out the minutes and asks for approval. The student sends the minutes to the Quality Development Department. We will send the results afterwards to the lecturer.

What kind of questions are discussed?

The discussion-guide contains three open formulated questions. The benefit of these open formulated questions is that students can decide by themselves what topics they prefer for discussion. Lecturers can include a fourth individual, supplementary question.

Who moderates the feedback-round?

The feedback-round is moderated by an external person. The Quality Development Department will engage the moderator for the scheduled appointment within the course.

Who writes the minutes?

The moderator takes notes during the feedback-round. After the discussion the moderator reads out the minutes and asks for approval.

What has to be done before the feedback-round? (Checklist)

If lecturer and students decide for the feedback-round, the following questions have to be clarified:

  1. Date and time of the feedback-round (within the course, we recommend towards the end of the course)
  2. The Quality Development Department sends a reminder email to all students on the course.