Encouraging Student Response to SRTI : Assessment, Survey, and Effectiveness Research (ASER) : UMass Amherst

To help encourage student response to SRTI, ASER sends frequent email reminders to students who have not completed all of their surveys. In addition, students will receive a general notification on Canvas are if they have surveys left to complete.

Instructors also play a critical role in increasing student response to the online administration of course rating surveys. The following strategies for encouraging student response to SRTI are based on research identifying the most successful instructor approaches to increasing course survey response rates.

Announce the SRTI survey to students in class, by email, or on your syllabus.

Use class time to announce the SRTI. Let students know that it’s coming up a week or two before the survey begins and emphasize its importance (See below for ideas on how to talk about the importance of SRTI).
Send personal emails and/or post reminders on your course LMS to encourage students to fill out their surveys.
Provide students with the direct link to access their surveys: http://owl.umass.edu/partners/courseEvalSurvey/uma/.
State the importance of the SRTI on the course syllabus.
List the SRTI in the same category as the other course assignments. This has been shown to increase response rates whether or not points are given for the assignment.

Ask students to complete the survey during class and simulate the paper SRTI process.

Ask students to bring a laptop, tablet, phone, or other electronic device to class on a specific day during the last week of class.
Explain that the information they provide helps you improve the course and your teaching of it.
Let students know that their responses are confidential, the results will never be attached to a student name, and they will only be released to you after final grades are turned in.
Step out of the room for 10–15 minutes while the students fill out the survey for your course.

Talk about the importance and purpose of the SRTI survey.

Students are more likely to complete course surveys if they understand how they are being used and believe their opinions matter.
Let students know that their feedback matters and that you use SRTI to improve your teaching.
Give students an example of some feedback that you received in the past and let them know what changes you made as a result.

Other strategies for increasing SRTI Response

Provide a number of verbal and written reminders throughout the survey period.
Use an incentive, such as providing the opportunity for an extra-credit assignment or quiz or adding bonus points if the class as a whole achieves a certain response rate.
Schedule time in a computer lab and take students there to complete the SRTI.

Research Reference list

Adams, M. J. D., & Umbach, P. D. (2012). Nonresponse and online student evaluations of teaching: Understanding the influence of salience, fatigue, and academic environments. Research in Higher Education, 53(5), 576–591.

Anderson, J., Brown, G., & Spaeth, S. (2006). Online student evaluations and response rates reconsidered. Innovate, 2(6).

Benton, S. L., Webster, R., Gross, A., & Pallett, W. (2010). An analysis of IDEA Student Ratings of Instruction using paper versus online survey methods (IDEA Technical Report No. 16). Manhattan, KS: The IDEA Center.

Chapman, Diane D. & Joines, Jeffrey A. (2017). Strategies for increasing response rates for online end-of-course evaluations. International Journal of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education, 29(1), 47-60.

Chen, Y., & Hoshower, L. B. (2003). Student evaluation of teaching effectiveness: An assessment of student perception and motivation. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 28(1), 71–88.

Dommeyer, C. J., Baum, P., Hanna, R. W., & Chapman K. S. (2004). Gathering faculty teaching evaluations by in-class and online surveys: Their effects on response rates and evaluations. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 29(5), 611–623.

Goodman, James; Anson, Robert; & Belcheir, Marcia. (2015). The effect of incentives and other instructor-driven strategies to increase online student evaluation response rates". Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 40(7), 958-970.

Guder, F., Malliaris, M. (2013). Online and course evaluations response rates. American Journal of Business Education, 6, 333-338.

Johnson, T. D. (2003). Online student ratings: Will students respond? In D. L. Sorenson & T. D. Johnson (Eds.), Online student ratings of instruction (New Directions for Teaching and Learning, No. 96) (pp. 49–60). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Norris, J., & Conn, C. (2005). Investigating strategies for increasing student response rates to online delivered course evaluations. Quarterly Review of Distance Education, 6(1), 13–29.

Nulty, D. (2008). The adequacy of response rates to online and paper surveys: What can be done? Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 33(3), 301–314.

Ravenscroft, M. & Enyeart, C. (2009). Online student course evaluations. Strategies for increasing student participation rates. Washington, DC: The Advisory Board Company.

Standish, T., Joines, J.A., Young, K.R., & Gallagher, V.J. (2018). Improving SET response rates: Synchronous online administration as a tool to improve evaluation quality, 59, 812-823.

Young, K.R., Joines, J.A., Standish, T., & Gallagher, V.J. (2019). Student evaluations of teaching: the impact of faculty procedures on response rates, Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 44(1), 37-49.