Staff FAQs about Unit Feedback

Download a flowchart version of the Unit Feedback Process Framework

Unit Feedback data are used widely across the SCU: for quality management on teaching in units; as an indicator for staff in academic probation and promotion; and as a measure of achievement against the university's key performance target of improved teaching quality.

Evaluation of teaching and learning is one of the regulatory obligations for Australian universities and used as evidence to show the University meets the Higher Education Standards.

In 2004 SCU established the online student evaluation of units as part of a systematic approach to student feedback on learning and teaching. From 2006 it was mandated that every student would have the opportunity to provide feedback on every coursework unit in every study period using the online feedback system. In 2009 the system was extended to collect feedback on teaching.

The scope of Unit Feedback Survey is every enabling and coursework unit in every study period, in all modes of delivery, including units taught offshore and by SCU's partner institutions such as The Hotel School.

The standard Unit Feedback survey contains questions relating to the unit, the teaching and the individual teacher(s).

Non-coursework units receive an abbreviated feedback survey consisting only of the single ‘overall satisfaction’ unit question, and comment spaces on the best aspects and possible improvements in the unit. Non-coursework unit surveys do not include questions about individual teachers.

Units are classified as non-coursework at the discretion of each Faculty's Associate Dean (Education). Examples of non-coursework delivery might include (but are not limited to) theses, laboratories, practicums, internships or independent projects.

A full list of unit feedback survey questions is here.

Unit and teacher information for each teaching period is extracted from the Unit and Course Management System (UCMS) and unit enrolment information is extracted from the Student Management system.

First check if UCMS has the correct staff listed for the unit in the appropriate teaching period & location. If not please arrange with the relevant person in your school/college to make the necessary changes (staff additions or removals) in the UCMS. If staff are listed correctly for the teaching period & location please contact BIQ unitfeedback@scu.edu.au.

For a standard teaching period, the survey period starts in the final week of the period and finishes in the week following the exams period. The survey period can vary for units taught outside of standard teaching dates.

If your teaching is delivered in a non-standard timetable you may request that the survey period for your unit be altered. To start this process, email the details of your unit, including teaching dates to unitfeedback@scu.edu.au

Direct encouragement from unit assessors and teachers can significantly improve response rates for a unit.

To ensure your unit receives the highest possible number of responses, please remind students during classes to complete their Unit Feedback.

If you're a Unit Assessor or teacher in the current survey period you can view your response rate/s at any time using the procedures outlined in Response Rate Monitoring.

At the conclusion of each teaching session, a range of reports are produced. Reports are usually made available following release of grades to students. The standard reports are:

You can access feedback reports for all of your units (from Session 3 2014 onwards) by logging into the unit feedback system via Blackboard.

Unit feedback report results can be compared with School and University averages from the University-wide Summary Report. Your School's Director of Teaching & Learning may provide assistance with interpretation of the results and materials to help put individual unit results in context.

You can contact the Unit Feedback survey management team at unitfeedback@scu.edu.au.

If you had access to older/archived reports from previous terms/years, you can find them here: www.scu.edu.au/unitfeedback.

You may see a window prompting you to “Select User Group”, if so, select “Unit Feedback”.

From the home page, on the right-hand side of the screen there is an ‘Archived’ option. Select this to load any past reports that you have access to.

If you need any further assistance, email unitfeedback@scu.edu.au.