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The purpose of this paper is to explain how an academic library’s Student Experience Survey was revised and improved based on available research on survey design methodology and piloting efforts. Thus, it aims to contribute existing literature on library assessment and survey methodology by addressing issues of planning and coordinating assessment. The paper also provides a guideline on the survey revision process for existing instruments.

The library assessment coordinator collaborated with Assessment Coordinator Advisory Committee (AC2) to revise and improve the survey. The revision process started with adding suggested items and constructing new items based on library assessment planning survey administered to library faculty previously. Regular monthly meetings were held with the committee to facilitate the revision process. Multiple facets of the survey implementation were revised including wording, content, order and format of the items, response scales and survey distribution. Each facet was addressed based on available research on survey methodology and cross-checked with the committee members.

The revised 2018 University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) Libraries Student Experience Survey consists of a total of nine items with response matrices, single choice response format and open-ended response format to measure students’ satisfaction, need and their use of the various library resources and services. The changes made to the survey are grouped into three categories: wording and content, response categories and scaling and design, font and layout. The revision process of the UIC Libraries Student Experience Survey can serve as an example for academic or other types of libraries that wish to track and report their impact regularly.

The UIC Libraries Student Experience Survey provides evidence that careful revision and piloting as well as obtaining relevant stakeholder buy-in to the process lead to build effective survey tools.

Teaching and unit evaluations surveys are used to assess the quality of teaching and the quality of the unit of study. An analysis of teaching and unit evaluation survey practices in Australian universities suggests significant changes. One key change discussed in the paper is the shift from voluntary to mandatory use of surveys with the results used to assess and reward academic staff performance. The change in the direction is largely driven by the introduction of performance‐based funding as part of quality assurance arrangements. The paper aims to outline the current trends and changes and the implications in the future such as increased scrutiny of teaching and intrusion to academic autonomy.

The paper is based on the analysis of current teaching and unit evaluation practices across the Australian university sector. The paper presents the case of an Australian university that has introduced performance‐based reward using various measures to assess and reward academic staff such as the outcome of student satisfaction surveys. The analysis of external quality audit findings related to teacher and unit evaluations is also presented.

The findings suggest a shift in trend from the use of voluntary to mandatory tools to assess and reward quality teaching. The case of an Australian university outlined in the paper and the approach taken by seven other universities is largely driven by performance‐based funding. One of the key concerns for many in higher education is the intrusion of academic autonomy with increased focus on outcomes and less emphasis on resources needed to produce excellence in learning and teaching and research. The increased reliance on student happiness as a measure of educational quality raises the questions on whether high student satisfaction would strengthen academic rigour and student attainment of learning outcomes and generic skills which are seen as key factors in graduate exit standards.

The renewal of quality assurance and performance‐based funding using student satisfaction as a measure of educational quality will result in increased use of student voice to assess learning and teaching outcomes. Such direction will increase the accountability on academics to improve student experience and the measures will be used to assess academic staff performance.

The paper outlines the trends and changes in the teacher and unit evaluations in Australian universities and its implications in the future. The paper also provides a case of an Australian university that has recently made teacher and unit evaluations compulsory with the results used in academic staff annual performance review and linking reward with performance outcomes.

A major focus of the recent research into the quality of post‐secondary education is the centrality of the student experience. The purpose of this paper is to review the literature on studies addressing such a focus to shed light on how quality assurance (QA) practices can be improved.

The paper reviews some of the approaches to addressing the quality issues from the viewpoints of students' evaluations of teaching effectiveness, students' programme experiences, students' total experiences, student satisfaction and service quality, and some of the quantitative instruments that have been developed for measuring the respective constructs.

The employment of student surveys using self‐report inventories/questionnaires with established reliability, validity and diagnostic power has the potential to transform both the external and internal quality‐monitoring mechanisms now being practiced in post‐secondary education, and help shift the focus of QA activities more to the enhancement‐led views.

To cope with the complexity of the education system and to get quality into it, this paper promotes the practice of conducting student surveys by taking reference from the relevant research literature and adopting a rigorous approach to developing and improving data‐collection instruments to tap into the students' experiences, so that the QA activities of educational institutions are research informed, evidence based and enhancement led.

This paper aims to describe the development, promotion and evaluation of sustainability learning experience database (SLED), a university-curated database of sustainability experiences to augment formal student learning. Its purpose was to encourage students to participate in experiential learning, to facilitate students’ critical appraisal of programs ostensibly designed to create sustainability and to, thus, develop students’ sustainability self-efficacy and employability.

In total, 55 sustainability experiences were curated and placed into the SLED database, which was promoted to students in nine subjects. Supporting materials designed to assist critical evaluation, reflection on experiences and to build student employability were also developed. A comprehensive mixed-methods evaluation of the program was conducted.

The quantitative evaluation revealed some changes in environmental behaviors, depth of critical sustainability thinking and graduate attributes. The qualitative evaluation revealed that students see the value of a university-curated database of experiences and provided ideas for improvements to the database. It also revealed examples of higher-order learning facilitated by SLED.

Recruitment and attrition of research subjects, common challenges in pedagogical research, were experienced. “Opt-out” is one response to this but it comes with ethical challenges.

This exploratory study demonstrates the potential of SLED to build students’ sustainability efficacy and suggests ways in which it and similar programs can be developed for improved student and sustainability outcomes. Namely, the use of an online platform closely associated with existing learning management systems, higher-level institutional stewardship, closer curriculum integration and close partnering with credentialing programs.

In line with business goals of customer satisfaction, higher education institutions of learning consider excellent student experience a priority. Teaching and learning are important aspects of satisfaction that are monitored annually by universities using tools such as the National Student Survey (NSS). The NSS results are useful for educational planning and informing consumer choices. This research measured undergraduate student experiences on an interdisciplinary project using the NSS framework. Hinged on diversity, the purpose was to investigate whether full-time (FT), part-time (PT) and degree apprenticeship students with varied work experience enhance their learning studying together on an interdisciplinary project.

This research has measured, using the NSS criteria, student experiences on an interdisciplinary project on a civil engineering programme. It benchmarks the quality of learning and student understanding and perceptions of learning. The method is based upon a literature review and questionnaire survey of students.

Results indicate good amounts of peer influence on learning in a simulated interdisciplinary team setting supported by a mix of diverse work experience in students’ background.

Sections of the NSS are extended with additional questions to capture the impact that FT, PT and degree apprenticeship study modes, closely associated with students’ background of job experience, have on teaching and learning.

The purpose of this paper is to present approaches effectively used by a large multi-campus Australian university to improve the research student experience as a direct result of their feedback. These approaches include: identifying trends in the research student experience and areas needing improvement through the Research Student Satisfaction Survey conducted by the University in 2009, 2011 and 2013; prioritising and implementing improvement solutions; and monitoring the improvement actions to measure their efficiency based on student feedback, and to identify areas warranting further improvement attention.

Quantitative study was undertaken with research students.

The study outlines the need for universities to have a systematic approach in measuring and enhancing the experience of research students. Systematic approach enables the university to take timely action to enhance student experience.

Undertaking analysis of the survey at faculty or school level. Increased accountability on Associate Deans (Research) to implement improvements at faculty level.

The paper is based on ten years of study in a large multi-campus university.

The purpose of this paper is to look at the role of the student experience questionnaire in collecting students' perceptions of their experiences in studying at an offshore campus of an Australian University, compared with the experiences of the University's students in Australia. In particular, it seeks to highlight the difference in perceptions of students resulting, for example, from the size of the campus versus the size of other campuses and the whole institution.

The case study is based on a student learning experience questionnaire utilised by a large research‐intensive Australian tertiary institution (with two overseas campuses). The results of the questionnaire are compared between one overseas campus and the whole institution. The case study looks at the experiences of the overseas campus compared with the Australian experience. Although the case study is situated within one institution, there are aspects and lessons that are applicable to other institutions internationally, in particular when considering collecting student feedback in relation to multi‐campus or multi‐venue programmes.

Higher satisfaction rates for different aspects of student learning experience were identified at the overseas campus in comparison with the whole institution. This was attributed to the smaller size of the overseas campus and thus better engagement of and personal attention to students at this campus. This finding may be particularly relevant to other international institutions in relation to the role of an institution's size and collection of student feedback.

The case study outlines a number of strategies adopted to enhance student engagement and subsequently to improve the aspects which they have indicated as being less satisfactory. The institution was chosen as an example of how particular strategies may be adopted in other institutions.

Enhancement of student experience is pre‐conditioned by good survey response rates among students for an institution to base its actions on opinions of a sufficiently high number of students. This paper describes a successful strategy of engaging students adopted by a large research‐intensive Australian university, and thus increasing survey response rates.

The purpose of this paper is to provide a general review of “student engagement” with a focus on the measurement of student engagement in UK higher education. A wide variation in how the construct is measured has made it difficult for institutional researchers to compare findings across studies. This study seeks to understand more about the measurement of student engagement by examining the reliability and validity of three national student surveys: National Survey of Student Engagement, National Student Survey and UK Engagement Survey.

Using a narrative review of literature, each survey method is examined to identify the strands of student engagement they can be applied, to determine to what extent survey results can be benchmarked across institutions, and to explore their potential use in institutional led research. Kahu’s (2013) four perspectives of engagement are adopted as a framework for analysis as they represent student engagement as a fluid, multifaceted and, at times, abstract construct.

Findings support the notion that a single instrument cannot examine all facets of this complex construct and that student surveys currently collect information on limited and discrete perspectives of engagement. The use of these three surveys provides a depth and breadth of information about student engagement; however, institutions need to maintain an open dialogue about the construct to ensure its validity, and how to measure and understand it.

Student engagement as a construct continues to evolve and change. This paper adds to the call for institutional researchers to continue to engage in debate about the validity of the construct. The need to maintain essential knowledge of the construct and its many facets is necessary, as is the need to incorporate such knowledge into ongoing work to provide accurate, actionable data to guide improvement and enhancement research.

In light of the concerns of declining value education in higher education and the debates on the role of general education in current university setting, the purpose of this paper is to discuss the relation between general education and moral and civic education by examining the effectiveness of a compulsory classics reading general education program in cultivating civic literacy in Asia-Pacific context.

Mixed-method approach in the form of survey assessment and focus group studies was employed to examine the degree of students’ development in abilities and virtues relevant to civic literacy in the course.

Data analyses reveal a promising development on students’ civic literacy in the classics reading general education course. Statistical analysis on surveys indicated students experienced a significant development on democratic skills and critical thinking, acquisition of civic knowledge and cultivation of democratic virtues after taking the course. Focus group analysis illustrated a relation between classics reading and students’ acquisition of knowledge of socio-political institutions, cultivation of open-mindedness and sense of tolerance for diversity and willingness of seeking reasonableness and engaging in social debates.

This paper discusses the successful experience of a newly formulated General Education program in Hong Kong. The program is the first attempt in East Asia to launch values education through the teaching and learning of classics in Asia-Pacific context. This could be an example of launching values education at the level of undergraduate education for other local universities.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the role and contribution of tutors to property education. Using the theory of tutor performance which outlines six behaviours which may positively influence student outcomes, this paper considers how tutors can maximise student learning and engagement in tutorials.

This research used a mixed methods approach including student evaluations of teaching (SETs), a survey of students and reflexive journals of a tutor in property education.

This research found that conscious adoption of the behaviours recommended under the theory of tutor performance and informed by further education in the form of a Graduate Certificate in Higher Education resulted in significant improvement of SET results. Student survey responses showed the influence of “real life” experience, amongst other things, in underpinning their learning.

While this research has limitations, in terms of number of responses and restriction to a single tutor, the findings indicate that tutors may have a significant influence on the engagement of students in property education. The use of the tutor's own professional experience and the use of real life scenarios within the delivery of course content may serve to ensure graduates have a greater capacity to meet employers’ expectations.

This research brings originality to the subject of property education by exploring issues in property education from the most fundamental level, that of the tutor. This level of analysis is enhanced by the newness of the tutor in question to academia which highlights property education with new eyes, unencumbered with years of routine teaching experience. The incorporation of reflexive methods with a survey and SETs provides rich experience‐filled data that considers the process of property education and the ways in which purposeful skills enrichment of the tutor and the student may achieve greater outcomes for the property profession and industry.