Objective

 

Surrey University organisers needed to find out how valuable a placement year was to students and whether the service they provided to students could be improved.

 

Challenge

 

Paper-based questionnaires were inflexible and time-consuming and could not provide an immediate response from students.

 

Solution

 

IML's keypads and Question Wizard software.

 

• Flexible - Impromptu questions could be asked in response to student comments. Using the text function, students could feedback their own ideas.
• Interactive forum - Students could immediately vote on questions and comments generated from the audience.
• Qualitative and Quantitative data could be gathered immediately and stored in an Excel® file.
• Rapid response - Feedback is collated instantly. Voting is fast and students can see results immediately, encouraging a competitive and engaging environment.
• Fully customisable - Questions can be asked in any format. Results displayed on-screen are also customisable, using a range of formats, such as pie charts and bar graphs.

 

Case study

 

Computing students from Surrey University, returning from their placement year have been using IML's keypad technology to text university administrators with feedback about their experience.

 

University administrators and organisers wanted to find out from the students whether the process and support they were offered on their placement year could be improved.

 

The flexibility of the IML keypads meant that students could answer a set of pre-planned questions and then use the text function of the keypads to respond in their own words with ideas and comments on how the service could be improved. Reassuringly, the majority of students were extremely happy with the service provided.

 

Some of the students responded with questions of their own, which were programmed directly into the software quickly so that students could vote on them immediately.

 

In the space of just 40 minutes, students answered a set of 25 questions (most in a multiple choice format) structured around 5 key areas. Firstly, their experience of gaining a placement - had it been easier or more difficult than expected? How many interviews did they attend? Could the placement office have provided more assistance?

 

The second section involved questions about their time on the placement, treatment by the company, the reality of the job versus their expectation and whether they would recommend the experience to others.

 

The remaining three sections covered information relating to lecturers’ visits during the placement and various administrative issues surrounding the placement year.

 

Client testimonial

 

"We’ve had a great response. It would have been impossible to get this sort of information back from students using the traditional paper based survey approach. Not only that, but by using the text function, we were able to get qualitative feedback too. And it was so simple to use, we didn’t have to explain to students how it worked, they seemed to know instinctively what to do!"

Mike Clark, Senior Placement Tutor.