In defence of Student Surveys (but only if we do them differently)
Sam Cunningham, Abby Cathcart and Tina Graham, Queensland University of Technology
Why everyone wants to get rid of SETs
The time of semester when educators receive their Student Evaluation of Teaching survey (SETs) responses can be one of anxiety. SETs are regularly criticised for many reasons, one of the key ones being the exposure of staff to abusive and negative feedback. Examples of harmful comments, and the impact they can have on educators, have been a feature of recent research. However, student voice is important, and SETs remain one of the main ways in which it is regularly gathered in universities. Is it possible for us to support students’ rights to voice while protecting educators’ rights to a safe working environment?
Towards better SETs
A very small number of students provide feedback to educators that is abusive or discriminatory. This is unacceptable. Universities have a responsibility to keep staff safe, and this includes protecting their psychosocial wellbeing. There are ways however to screen SETs before educators read them and take action when comments are unacceptable. Our university partnered with staff and students to develop definitions and processes, combining a dictionary and machine learning to detect comments. These identified comments include ones categorised as discriminatory, personal attacks, sexual and profanities. Once comments are identified, action can be taken, such as removing or redacting comments and educating students on better feedback.
SETs are a channel for students to raise concerns about their own wellbeing
SETs can also be an important avenue for preventing harm. Through the process of identifying unacceptable comments that could harm educators, we identified an additional type of comment, which we call ‘risk of harm’. These comments refer to a risk of harm relating to physical, psychosocial and emotional wellbeing of students and staff. Identifying these comments allows the university to proactively reach out or provide support to students or educators. This aligns with the identified need in the Australian Universities Accord Final Report for strengthened student support services.
Student and educator wellbeing are connected
Creating a safe space at universities is essential for both student and educator wellbeing. Although some students do write unacceptable comments in SETs, it is a minority – a minority that is important to identify and take action on to reduce harm. Universities have a moral and legal obligation to act on the psychosocial hazards that SETs present. Since undertaking this screening process at our university the number of requests for comments to be removed has declined. Significantly, students have also been encouraged to understand the impact their words have on educators – and approximately half choose to revise their feedback before the survey closes.
It is essential that more conversations take place in universities to explore these problems, and to make sure educators and students have confidence in institutional mechanisms for student voice.
Dr Sam Cunningham, Senior Lecturer, School of Electrical Engineering and Robotics, Queensland University of Technology
Professor Abby Cathcart, Director of Student Success and Teaching Advancement, Queensland University of Technology
Tina Graham, Service Manager, Student Success and Teaching Advancement, Queensland University of Technology