Broadcast: News items

All Sussex students will be using a new system to evaluate the courses they have taken, starting this term. 

A new anonymous course evaluation questionnaire (CEQ) is being implemented across the University, following a successful pilot in 2008. 

The CEQ contains a common set of questions and provides the opportunity for departments to add their own. 

Students will complete the CEQ via Sussex Direct and will be able to view summary results and comments from course convenors online. 

Professor Joanne Wright, Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Education), said: "We have been targeting particular efforts in recent years to improving how we provide helpful feedback to students. I am pleased that students have recognised the progress we have made with improved scores on this measure in the last two National Student Surveys. 

"Of course there is always more that we can do and the CEQ is an important development, making it much easier and quicker for students to give and receive feedback on the courses they study at Sussex." 

Key benefits of the new CEQ include:

• Students are given the opportunity to comment on their overall experience of the course.
• Departments determine which courses should be included, when CEQs should open and close and when results should be released.
• Easy, at-a-glance analysis of responses is available to course convenors as soon as the questionnaire closes.
• CEQ results are viewable by teaching group.
• There is a straightforward mechanism for course convenors to provide comments on responses.
• Students receive CEQ results and feedback more quickly than in a paper-based process. 

The new CEQ was developed by a Teaching and Learning Committee working group, as part of a wider University strategy to review and revise the opportunities for students to reflect on their experiences of studying at Sussex. 

Dr Helen Prance, Reader in Engineering, was a member of the CEQ working group and was involved in the testing of the pilot CEQ. She said: "This common format CEQ has been developed and piloted over an extended period of time, with significant input from students, academics and professional services staff. 

"I am particularly pleased with both the questions themselves and also the fact that students can access the questionnaire and results via Sussex Direct, which we know students access regularly. 

"Completion of the CEQs is very straightforward for them and, equally importantly, the results and the feedback from convenors can be made public promptly after the end of the course." 

More information can be found at www.sussex.ac.uk/tldu/ceq

As schools and departments make their course evaluation questionnaires live, students will be able to access them via Sussex Direct.