To: All NIC instructors (except those in Continuing Education)
Re: NIC Course Feedback Survey Service Resumes in Fall 2024 with Updated Platform
The NIC Course Feedback Survey Service was launched for most academic programs in Fall 2023 and was expanded in Winter 2024 to include all the Trades and Technical programs.
The service allows instructors to opt their course(s) into the NIC end-of-course survey. Students are emailed invitations to participate, and are able to share their feedback on the course and their instructor(s) by answering a series of ranked and open-ended questions. At the end of the survey period, instructors whose courses have at least 3 respondents are issued personalized feedback reports confidentially.
So far the service has processed almost 1800 student surveys over two terms! Wow
The survey software platform, Blue (by the Canadian company Explorance), is undergoing a major upgrade this summer that requires no survey activity. As such, we will NOT be running the survey service for the Spring term, including Spring and Summer Intersession terms.
The service will return in Fall 2024 (except for Continuing Education & Training, and selected other non-credit program areas).
While you’re waiting for updates to the Blue software platform, we understand the importance of gathering feedback from students.
To bridge the gap between May and August when Blue will be unavailable, CTLI is offering a temporary solution within Brightspace. The survey tool within Brightspace allows you to import the same set of survey questions that are available in Blue.
Note, this is only a temporary measure as the ‘Blue’ Course Feedback Survey service will resume in the Fall. If you would like a set of survey questions imported into your Spring term, Spring or Summer intersession term Brightspace course, please submit a ticket to the NIC helpdesk (under Teaching, Learning, and Classroom Support > Brightspace and Kaltura) and specify in the subject line that you would like the ‘Mid-semester’ or End-of-Course’ survey added to your course. We can provision both mid and end of term questions for you!
If you are working on a Fall 2024 course in Brightspace, please stay tuned in early September for email invitations to join the regular automated Course Survey Feedback Service.
We’re aiming to expand the survey service over the next year or so, including:
- A mid-term survey for formative feedback, so you can implement changes while your courses are still in progress.
- Optional question personalization, allowing you to choose from a menu of additional questions.
- An instructor dashboard, where you can compare your response data from term to term with the same courses.
We appreciate the feedback some have already shared about the system, and we’ll be taking it under consideration as we make revisions over the summer.
We’re excited to watch this service continue to grow, and we’re thankful for your participation and support. For those who haven’t had a chance to try it yet, we hope you’ll come aboard this Fall!
