End-of-term teaching surveys provide an opportunity for faculty to collect valuable student observations about the entire class experience. Preparing students to take surveys can lead to higher response rates and more meaningful results. Faculty and students receive several email notifications about surveys and can also find links in My Pitt and Canvas. Signs and digital announcements will be posted across campus, but research has shown students are more likely to respond when faculty are engaged in the process.

Many Pitt faculty have shared their strategies for achieving high student participation rates. Here are just a few examples:

• Talking with students about how important it is that they provide feedback and how their feedback is used to make improvements in the course.
• Giving them an example of something I have changed in response to prior evaluations.
• Carving out 20-30 minutes during a class around OMET surveys for students to fill out the survey.

Reserving class time and letting students know the value of their feedback and how it’s used are a few ways to be engaged and show students how important their feedback is.

It’s also important to ask students to provide details and describe their experiences. The University of Michigan provides a guide (PDF – 61KB) that you can share with your students. Consider adding custom questions to the standard OMET survey to gauge how something new went or to get feedback about changes that are being planned.

Survey results are available after the grades due date for the term and final grades are posted. The Teaching Center has several resources for interpreting and using student feedback and faculty can always schedule a meeting with Teaching Center consultants.