Opt-In Comments: Giving Learners a Direct Line During Course Evaluations
Most course-evaluation forms leave students only two choices: bubble in a number or type into a single, end-of-term text box. The result? Check-mark fatigue, vague comments—and students who doubt anything changes afterward. A recent study found many students “had little faith” that their feedback was taken seriously and “saw little change in the course” (tandfonline.com).
Duke University’s own committee on assessments reported response rates stuck near 50%, far below the 80 % seen at peer institutions, despite multiple redesign attempts (dukechronicle.com).
That trust gap is why we built Student Feedback, a lightweight, opt-in channel that sits inside the EvalSystem survey but lives outside the numeric rubric—giving learners a direct line for nuance, context, and conversation.
How It Works
|
Feature |
What Students Experience |
What Admins See |
|
Standalone Feedback Pane |
A dedicated text field labelled “Anything else you’d like us to know?”—separate from the scored questions |
Entries appear in a private Feedback Report, isolated from quantitative data |
|
Contact-Me Toggle |
A simple switch: “Yes, I’d like someone to follow up.” |
Flags the comment and reveals (optional) email/phone supplied by the student |
|
Per-Survey Control |
Students see the pane only when you enable it for that survey |
On/off toggle in setup; no code changes needed |
|
Infinite Reset |
N/A |
Clear or archive feedback at term’s end without touching eval data |
Why It Matters
- Closes the Loop
Giving students the choice to be contacted signals that their voice can spark real action. Research shows satisfaction rises when learners see evidence their input drives change (universityaffairs.ca). - Surfaces Actionable Context
A “3/5” rating tells you something is off; an optional note—“The group project rubric was unclear”— tells faculty exactly what to fix this semester, not next year. - Protects Privacy & Bandwidth
Feedback lives in an admin-only report, keeping sensitive comments away from public dashboards until they’re vetted—and sparing faculty inboxes the deluge. - Lays Groundwork for Ticket-Style Workflows (Coming Soon)
Next release: assign, comment, and mark feedback as resolved—turning EvalSystem into a lightweight help desk for teaching tweaks.
Getting Started
- Toggle “Student Feedback” in Survey Settings.
- Decide Student Information to Collect (e.g., Name, Email, Contact Info, Anonymous).
- Publish. Students can now choose to share deeper context and opt into follow-ups.
No extra log-ins, no new forms—just richer dialogue built right into the evaluation flow.
Our Philosophy
EvalSystem’s mission is to fundamentally improve how institutions collect and act on student feedback. The new Student Feedback pane is a small but powerful step: lowering the barrier for authentic voices while giving educators the clarity they need to act—quickly, confidently, and at scale.