University of Twente Student Theses

Login

Quality assurance in European Higher Education: The role of student feedback for internal quality assurance in the Netherlands

Rose, Anna-Lena (2013) Quality assurance in European Higher Education: The role of student feedback for internal quality assurance in the Netherlands.

[img] PDF
948kB
Abstract:This paper is investigating the role of student feedback for quality assurance at the course level at a Dutch university. Much of the already existing literature on student feedback is about its purpose only, and fails to recognize the importance of students and especially academic staff, who are at the core of the process and whose motivations and perceptions can heavily influence the effectiveness of student feedback. To explore the views and strategies of academics, a qualitative study has been chosen, including semi-structured interviews with members of academic staff teaching within the degree programme of Public Administration at the University of Twente. Their views have been compared to the satisfaction of students with several aspects of student feedback as stated in the Nationale Studenten Enquête from 2010 to 2013. From the findings of this paper, it can be concluded that student feedback is used for at least two purposes. On the one hand, it provides information to the lecturer and facilitates quality improvement. On the other hand, it is used for managerial purposes and serves external demands for quality assurance. Academics at the within Public Administration at the University of Twente have generally positive perceptions towards student feedback, although they see some small limitations. The results of student feedback are important indications for the strengths and weaknesses of courses and are used by academics to tackle problems concerning the quality of their courses. The student-satisfaction scores about the way in which their feedback is being used within Public Administration and with the way in which students are being informed about the results and outcomes of their feedback are sufficient, but suggest that there is still need for improvement. All in all, our findings underline the need for better communication of the purpose, results and outcomes of student feedback.
Item Type:Essay (Bachelor)
Faculty:BMS: Behavioural, Management and Social Sciences
Subject:88 social and public administration
Programme:Public Administration BSc (56627)
Link to this item:https://purl.utwente.nl/essays/63565
Export this item as:BibTeX
EndNote
HTML Citation
Reference Manager

 

Repository Staff Only: item control page