Gathering and processing CS student feedback starting in autumn term 2011
FOR TEACHERS: Here you can access your course feedback
The CS Department guideline is based on the instruction from the Dean of the Faculty of Science (19.01.2011) and the decision by the Rector of UH (113/2009).The department council has discussed the instruction at its meeting on 5 April 2011, and the department’s unit meeting on 15 April 2011, and it was approved with amendments at the department council meeting on 10 May 2011.
Objective:
Student feedback is gathered for the self-assessment and improvement of teaching that aims for in-depth learning. The feedback will be used to streamline teaching so that it will be expedient to reach the learning objectives: pleasant for the students and efficient when it comes to teaching arrangements.
Key courses:
Feedback will always be invited during the so-called key courses. It is very much recommended that feedback be gathered during other courses. The key courses may vary from year to year. Which courses will be key courses in each sub-programme will be determined when planning the teaching in the spring, and confirmed at the same time as the teaching for each academic year is confirmed.The key courses in 2011-12 are:
- all the compulsory basic and intermediate courses in the computer science BSc stage
- including the sub-programmes’ compulsory courses Programming in C, User interfaces, Database design.
- excluding the maturity test
- all the compulsory advanced courses in the computer science MSc stage
- excluding seminars, Master’s thesis, maturity test.
The goal is that all regularly given (established) courses, in addition to the compulsory BSc and MSc courses, will be treated as key courses within the next two academic years. After that, the yearly number of key courses can be cut back. Any significant change in the way a course is given, its contents or teachers, will bring it the status of key course.
Feedback process:
The teacher of each course is in charge of the feedback process. The teacher gathers feedback with the department feedback form and in other ways:
- during informal meetings and confrontations
- during their office hours and in exams or oral exams
- in the HOPS tutoring and while supervising thesis work
- as free-form oral and written feedback in workshops and exercise sessions at different stages of the course
For the students, giving feedback is optional, unless it has been defined as a compulsory part of a course.
Each teacher will compile a written summary of the feedback on their course, and give their own comments on the summary (“counter-feedback”).In the comments, teachers should also note things that are not on the feedback form, such as the grading of the course or number of failed students.Teachers will publish the summary with its comments on the open web page of the course or on the intranet within 2 weeks of the course exam or the end of the course.
Teachers of a key course who do not write a public summary must organise an internal feedback session, to which they invite the head of studies or a representative of the teaching development team in addition to the course attendees.
The feedback session can be free-form and no minutes have to be taken. The feedback session must be held within 2 weeks of the course exam or the end of the course.Teachers may hold a feedback session even if they publish a written feedback summary.
The person in charge of feedback at the CS Department (=the head of studies) compiles all the summaries for key courses, including the comments, and it will be discussed in the teaching development team.They are discussed after each period, i.e. 4 times per academic year.
The teaching development team will discuss the feedback on the basis of the summaries, and collaborate with the teachers to prepare changes for the improvement of teaching arrangements.The preparation is carried out in cooperation with the teacher in charge of the course and, if necessary, the person in charge of the sub-programme, and the head of the department.
In addition the course feedback, the head of studies will invite feedback from the student association at least once in the autumn term and once in the spring term.For this feedback session, the student liaisons are asked to compile student feedback using their own channels.
The feedback summaries will be publicised to the department staff so that you cannot distinguish between individual teachers.The part that analyses teaching in English will be published in English.The summaries will be presented at the department unit meetings once a year.
Responsibilities:
The head of studies at the CS Department is in charge of the feedback.The head of the department may also see the feedback for each teacher.The teachers cannot access each other’s feedback without the permission of that teacher, except if the same course has several teachers.
People in charge of the sub-programmes can access the feedback of teachers in their sub-programme by request.The teacher in charge of a course may access the feedback to teaching assistants at that course.