Help CentreAs reps, it is an important part of the role to collect feedback from the students you represent. You should be collecting feedback from as many students as possible to ensure the student voice is heard and acted upon within your programmes.
By using this guide, you will be able to better understand what feedback is, how it should be approached and how it should be used to ensure the student voice is heard an acted upon.
What is feedback?
Feedback is the thoughts, opinions and suggestions from the students you represent. It is important to remember that feedback isn’t just about finding out the negatives, you should also collect positive feedback too!
Feedback should always reflect the views and voices of those students you represent as a whole and shouldn’t just be from the people you know or sit next to on your course, you should try and collect as much feedback from students as possible.
Remember the process as a traffic light system:
- Red: Nothing is perfect! What elements of your Programme need looking at and what change needs to be made?
- Amber: Is there anything that could be done to improve your Programme?
- Green: What elements of your Programme are liked and enjoyed?
It is important to ask in-depth questions to ensure the feedback isn’t vague. This will enable you to raise points effectively and be able to put them into the traffic light system. It is also important that you don’t assume everyone has the same viewpoints so the questions you are asking need to be varied and asked by a variety of methods to ensure varied engagement.
What should feedback be about?
Feedback should cover all areas of the academic experience and how students feel about their time at university, it should focus on:
- Teaching and learning environment
- Access to resources and support
- Student assessments (this includes assessment briefs and assessment feedback)
- Student’s extra-curricular activities (such as events and activities on campus)
Some of the questions you might want to ask are:
| Are you challenged to achieve your best work? | Are staff explaining things properly and in a way you can understand? | Are you developing personal and professional skills for your future career? |
| Are there clear marking criteria for assessments and are they accessible to everyone? | Are assessments marked fairly, to the best of your knowledge? | Are marks and feedback released in a timely manner? |
| Can you contact staff easily? Do they respond to queries in good time? | Are you able to access resources (i.e. books, journals, software) easily? | Are teaching spaces (i.e. lecture theatres, seminar rooms, studios, labs) comfortable and suitable for learning? |
Of course, these questions aren’t an exhaustive list but will enable you to ask the right questions across the areas that you should be feeding back on.
You could also tailor your feedback to specific areas. For example, if you are coming to a particular assignment or to the end of a module, you can always tailor questions to ask for feedback about these areas of student experience.
How do I collect feedback?
The way in which you collect feedback is important as you want to reach as many students as possible to ensure your feedback is varied and representative of the students across your Programme.
Using a variety of methods is a great way to ensure varied and valid feedback. Try using a variety of different methods! Some methods will work better than others as each cohort of students will engage differently, so if one method doesn’t work, don’t be disappointed, try another!
Some examples of methods you can try:
- Surveys
- Focus groups
- Group chats
- Email (ask us for your SDL code to be able to email all of the students on your course)
- Social media
- Lecture shout outs
- 1-1 Meetings
- Feedback boxes (pop an anonymous feedback box at the front of your lecture and ask students to put their feedback in)
- Blackboard Announcements (ask your Programme Leader to help with this)
Each school has its own group chat which has been set up by your School Rep. These group chats will enable you to work alongside other Programme Reps related to your field but also work collaboratively and raise feedback with your School Rep directly.
Contact su.reps@northumbria.ac.uk to find out how to join the group chat relevant to your school or if you need some extra support or advice on what methods to use to collect your feedback.
How should I present my feedback?
It is important that you present the feedback you collect in the correct way to ensure it can be heard and acted upon suitably. There are many ways in which you can present feedback.
Programme Reps are encouraged to shrare feedback at SSPCs. More information on these meetings can be found here.
Some feedback can be taken directly to the relevant person, such as your Programme Leader or Module Tutor, and you may need to signpost others (don’t forget to use our handy signposting guide for this!). If your feedback is seen as a wider issue, affecting a range of students on your programme or within your department, faculty, or marginalised group, then remember to submit it via Coursemate, the feedback platform on the SU website.
How you present your feedback will depend on how you collected it! For example, if you have used a data collection platform such as Microsoft Forms, it may analyse the data for you which will make things easier. However, if you have verbally spoken to students (e.g. through a focus group), you will need to keep accurate notes of what has been discussed so you can refer to them later.
What do I do after I've raised feedback?
It is key that you communicate the outcomes and discussions as a direct result of raising feedback. This is called closing the feedback loop. It is important that you keep the students who raised the feedback updated, this is so they feel like they have been listened too and understand that you are working on the raised feedback, or you have passed it over to the relevant staff member/department. Closing the feedback loops is an important part of your rep role.
Got any more questions? Need support? Want to get involved with something?
Get in touch with us: su.reps@northumbria.ac.uk.