Learning surveys

Find out about our student feedback in the MBBS programme.

 

 

How we collect feedback

For the MBBS programme at UCL we have 2 main ways of collecting feedback

  • Via the Student Reps (who attend many of our faculty meetings)
  • Via the Learning Surveys (and occasional other surveys that aim to capture areas not covered in these)

You can also ask questions or clarify queries with any of our team at any time either by reaching out directly to the undergraduate teams at your clinical site or your year teams and module leads at UCL. Either email them directly or use the relevant Moodle forum.

 

 

Learning Surveys 

 

 

Following declining student response rates, engagement and at times confusion over how the feedback is circulated and used, the Student Evaluation Questionnaires were replaced with Learning Surveys for the academic year 2022/23. 

This followed several working group meetings which looked at the purpose of gathering this type of feedback, the ways in which the data collected is used, and the best ways to encourage student engagement. The underlying principles of the new Learning Survey process are:

  • short surveys
  • immediate feedback for staff 
  • transparency for students

 

 

How do they work

Learning Surveys are hosted on the Academic Student Record (ASR) and usually consist of only two questions: one numerical “satisfaction score” and one free text. Whilst as much demographic data as possible will be pre-populated the software means there will be some to enter - in total the surveys may have 5-6 questions each. 

Students will be asked to complete their Learning Surveys for each Module/Placement while they are still on it (rather than having to remember back to teaching several weeks prior). The completion of feedback is usually requested at the end of the placement but for Modules/Placements of 4 weeks or more they may also be requested at a mid-point. 

Time to complete Learning Surveys should, where possible, be embedded within an existing teaching session or other face to face opportunity such as sign offs and it is the responsibly of the Module/Placement Leads to identify suitable times for students to be asked to complete feedback. Otherwise students will be appropriately signposted either directly or by email. A single link is used for all surveys, to make it easier to access them.

 

 

Live reports and transparency

Instead of long reports which need to be signed off by multiple parties, ASR provides a live dashboard with up-to-date numerical results, where students can see their feedback alongside their peers’ in real time. This can be accessed by students and staff whenever convenient.

Comments are moderated by the QAEU and released to the dashboard regularly. This should help speed up data circulation and improve transparency for students. Module Leads can react to feedback more quickly, as they do not need to wait until the end of each Block for feedback to be collected and then several weeks further for reports to be circulated. 

Feedback should be constructive – what can we do to make the course better? Negative comments felt to be derogatory and aimed at individuals will be redacted and forwarded to the relevant year or module leads for review and consideration as to whether these should be taken further.

Student feedback on Learning Surveys is presented and treated as anonymous. The QAEU can, in exceptional circumstances where student or patient safety is threatened, request access to the source of individual comments for intervention purposes. 

As we continue to improve the feedback processes at UCLMS we aim to analyse the feedback we receive and this may include research projects approved by the UCL ethics committee.

 

 

Accessing feedback 

Feedback can be accessed by all staff members and students who have an ASR account. Below is a short clip on how to access the live dashboard. 

 

 

For IT Issues or concerns 

For IT issues contact the ASR helpdesk, for general concerns or queries either mention it in the learning survey free text or speak to your student rep. 

 

 

Learning Survey FAQs

What are the Learning Surveys?
  • Learning Surveys are our tool for continuous module dialogue as required by central UCL, and they are our primary method of getting feedback on modules and placements across Years 1/2/4/5/6 of the MBBS, as well as assessments.
When and how do students feedback?
  • Students should be encouraged to give feedback during the module/placement, for example by placing the attached QR code on screen at the end of a teaching session. For short placements (i.e. one week) a single response is normal. However for longer modules and placements we recommend having two or three prompt points. Students can submit at any time by going to their ASR app and can submit multiple forms for the same placement/module.
What feedback do we receive?
  • Students are asked to submit a Numerical Rating (1 = Very Poor; 2 = Poor; 3 = Good; 4 = Very Good) and a free-text comment box. We may occasionally add one extra question to get feedback on a particular issue. Students can also “add tags” currently the options for these are Student Safety, Facilities, and EDI. These tags allow site administration teams and the EDI committee to better review comments relevant to them across all student specialities and sites.
Can we reply directly to a comment on the Learning Surveys?
  • Unfortunately there is no functionality to respond to individual comments on ASR. The Student Experience Sub Committees are the appropriate venue to discuss any feedback received and actions taken with the student representatives, who can feed this back to their peers. We strongly encourage teams to mention relevant learning survey comments in their student communications so please do let students know if you are working on issues or have implemented changes based on feedback from the learning surveys. Feedback can also be discussed directly with the students on placement, for example, at the end of a teaching session or included in update emails or Moodle messages. Finally the QA team will be launching a blog on ASR where we can promote particular examples of what has been done in response to student feedback.
How quickly is feedback available?
  • Scores from ratings are processed instantly and can be viewed on the analysis dashboard by both staff and students. Comments are moderated and may take a few days to show. Again these are available to all on the analysis dashboard. If we feel anything needs redacting, we will note this on the entry and send a full copy to the relevant academic Lead(s).
How should placement teams use the feedback?
  • Module/Site/Specialty Leads should regularly monitor their feedback and look to make changes if needed. Module leads should analyse the feedback received and use to populate the agendas for each term’s Students Experience Sub-Committee meetings.
What happens if a module has a low satisfaction score?
  • If modules or placements do not have any responses or are showing Red/with a score or 50% or less on the Learning Survey dashboard, our clinical lecturer will be contacting them to discuss how this might be addressed.
Are Learning Surveys just for placements?
  • This year we have introduced an option to feedback on Assessments too.
Will we receive reports on our Learning Survey feedback?
  • As the learning surveys are live and continuously updated, they should be viewed regularly throughout the term to ensure we can respond swiftly to any issues as they arise. Therefore  termly or annual summaries will not be produced by the QA team.
Who do we contact if we have a question about the Learning Surveys?
Are we able to propose any changes to the Learning Surveys portal?
  • Sites: If you have any changes you would like to propose to the data (for example, adding or removing a placement site) please let us know around May or June for the following academic year, as such changes can only be actioned over the summer. We will send a reminder to Year Leads around that time to confirm the lists.
  • Specialties: Unfortunately the specialties/modules are pulled from the curriculum map, so it is not possible to alter these (for example adding extra options or changing names).
  • Other: We are happy to hear any suggestions for improving the Learning Survey portal, although it may not be possible to enact all suggestions for technical reasons, because these may inadvertently impact other placements, or because it would not be compatible with the overall aims of the policy. All proposals should be discussed with the QAEU team in the first instance.
Are we able to find out more about who made the comment?
  • Learning Surveys were designed to be anonymous and this is very important to the students. Therefore we cannot request or supply any further information about individual submissions.