Student Experience of Learning and Teaching (SELT) Policy

Intent

This policy supports the use of an institutional survey instrument (YourJCU Subject and Teaching Survey) and student Learning Analytics generated in the Learning Management System (LMS) to provide insights into the JCU Student Experience of Learning and Teaching (SELT) for the primary purpose of enhancing the quality of learning and teaching.

Institutional survey data also allows benchmarking against sector wide student experience survey data and provides one source of evidence of learning and teaching performance in performance development and promotions processes.

Scope

This policy applies to the collection and use of YourJCU Survey data and Learning Analytics generated in the LMS for all undergraduate and postgraduate coursework subjects taught across campuses, modes and study periods.

Principles

This policy builds upon core principles in the Learning, Teaching and Assessment Policy recognising that:

• Students are at the heart of the University; and
• Quality learning and teaching experiences are informed by the cyclical process of review, reflection, revision and improvement.

This policy is articulated according to six principles:

1. Feedback on the student learning experience will be collected for all campuses, modes and study periods offered by the University.
2. Students have rights and responsibilities in relation to engaging with learning activities in the LMS and providing and receiving YourJCU Survey data.
3. Academic staff have rights and responsibilities in relation to receiving and acting upon YourJCU Survey data and Learning Analytics data.
4. Divisions and Colleges have rights and responsibilities in relation to receiving and acting upon YourJCU Survey data.
5. Participation by a representative sample of the student cohort is fundamental to obtaining reliable YourJCU Survey data.
6. More than one source of evidence is required for evaluating and enhancing the quality of learning and teaching.

Policy

1. Feedback on the student learning experience will be collected for all campuses, modes and study periods offered by the University.
   • All undergraduate and postgraduate coursework subjects taught at the University will be surveyed via the YourJCU Subject Survey each study period.
   • Teaching staff will participate in a student evaluation of their teaching via the YourJCU Teaching Survey at least once per calendar year.
   • Teaching staff will monitor Learning Analytics data for each subject offering.
2. Students have rights and responsibilities in relation to engaging with learning activities in the LMS and providing and receiving YourJCU Survey data.
   • Students have the right to:
     • Access a personalised, secure and easy to use platform for providing confidential feedback on subjects and teaching practices.
     • Receive aggregate YourJCU Subject Survey reports in accordance with the YourJCU Survey Distribution List.
     • Be informed that YourJCU Survey data and Learning Analytics data will be collected and used for the purposes of enhancing the quality of learning and teaching.
     • Be informed about the changes made to learning, teaching and assessment design, in response to previous cohorts’ YourJCU Survey data, in the subject outline.
   • Students have a responsibility to:
     • Engage with their subject learning activities in the LMS in accordance with the Student Charter.
     • Provide considered and constructive feedback about their learning experiences in accordance with the Student Charter.
     • Refrain from providing personal feedback on topics that do not affect their learning experiences. Malicious comments, including threatening, intimidating, abusive or discriminatory content, about staff are deemed unacceptable by the University. Discriminatory content includes comments relating to sex/gender, marital status, sexual preference, gender identity, disability, ethnicity, nationality, age, religion and/or political persuasion.
3. Academic staff have rights and responsibilities in relation to receiving and acting upon YourJCU Survey data and Learning Analytics data.
   • Academic staff have the right to:
     • Receive Learning Analytics reports about their current subjects in accordance with their role.
     • Receive YourJCU Survey reports in accordance with the YourJCU Survey Distribution List.
     • Submit a request to the Dean, Learning Teaching and Student Engagement for the removal or redaction of open-ended YourJCU Survey responses if they include threatening, intimidating, abusive or discriminatory content. Student feedback that is negative but not malicious is not eligible for removal after publication.
   • Academic staff have a responsibility to:
     • Review YourJCU Subject and Teaching Survey data and Learning Analytics data, alongside other sources of evidence, in order to enhance the quality of learning and teaching.
     • Inform students of the changes made to learning, teaching and assessment design, in response to YourJCU Survey data (and other sources of evidence), in the subject outline.
4. Divisions and Colleges have rights and responsibilities in relation to receiving and acting upon YourJCU Survey data.
   • Divisions and Colleges have the right to receive Your JCU Survey reports in accordance with the YourJCU Survey Distribution List.
   • Divisions and Colleges have a responsibility to:
     • Participate in determining benchmarks for YourJCU Survey results at different year levels and cohort sizes (as endorsed by Education Committee).
     • Acknowledge staff who achieve high student satisfaction scores or have demonstrated significant improvement in satisfaction scores.
     • Identify subjects that have received low student satisfaction scores. These subjects will be reviewed and a process will be developed in order to enhance the quality of learning and teaching.
5. Participation by a representative sample of the student cohort is fundamental to obtaining reliable YourJCU Survey data.  
   • Student participation in the YourJCU Survey will be promoted by teaching staff, Subject Coordinators, Course Coordinators and College Deans, and through the use of incentives and communications.
   • The university target for student participation in the YourJCU Subject Survey is 33% of total student enrolments for the subjects surveyed in each study period.
   • To protect students’ identity and enhance the reliability of findings, YourJCU Survey reports are distributed only if they meet the minimum threshold of five responses or above.
6. More than one source of evidence is required for evaluating and enhancing the quality of learning and teaching.
   • Staff members are required to collect and document other forms of evidence of the quality of learning and teaching (e.g. evidence of student learning, evidence of curriculum enhancement or transformation, evidence from peer review and scholarship of learning and teaching and other relevant professional indicators).
   • YourJCU Subject and Teaching Survey Likert-scale results, as well as Your JCU Subject Survey open-ended responses, will be incorporated into annual Performance and Development Planning conversations for all teaching staff.
   • YourJCU Survey data and Learning Analytics data may be incorporated into the biennial peer review of a subject’s assessment plans and grading practices (see Learning, Teaching and Assessment Policy 5.17).
   • YourJCU Survey data or Learning Analytics data should not be used as the sole source of evidence for decisions regarding promotion, tenure or contract renewal.
   • Any use of YourJCU Survey data or Learning Analytics data for research purposes must be supported by an Ethics Approval Notice from the JCU Human Research Ethics Committee.
   • Any use of survey instruments other than the YourJCU Subject and Teaching Survey is solely the responsibility of the academic staff administering them and should be done in consideration of other institutional surveys that may be in progress, as per the Your JCU Survey Calendar.

Related policy instruments

• SELT Procedure
• YourJCU Survey Distribution List
• YourJCU Survey Calendar
• Student Charter
• Learning, Teaching and Assessment Policy
• Academic Promotion Policy and Procedure
• National Statement on Ethical Conduct in Human Research

Administration

NOTE: Printed copies of this policy are uncontrolled, and currency can only be assured at the time of printing.

Approval Details

Revision History