Student Satisfaction

“Managing course grading and student feedback is typically ‘included in the hourly teaching rate.’ However students are increasingly asking for precise feedback on their grades.

This is understandable, but giving unique and specific feedback for each student on each assignment is very time consuming and there is not enough time in class.

If students want personalized teacher feedback, and universities want teachers to improve student satisfaction, then universities need to add a payroll component that reflects this extra work.”

– Teacher

“There is not enough content convergence with other teachers.”

-Teachers

“There is too much content convergence and course overlap. The same course shouldn’t be repeated again year after year. Multiple courses could easily be combined into one.”

-Students

“Teachers should include graded and non-graded exercises to challenge us students without putting pressure on us. Let us learn and make mistakes without fear of failing.

Structure classes to promote interaction rather than trying to force it; especially during remote classes.”

– Student

“The French government now requirements universities make public student satisfaction rates. Obviously, this rating determines future student enrolment.

We now actively monitor student satisfaction for every single one of our teachers, from semester to semester, and take it very seriously.

Students have stated that their teachers have, in class, openly insulted university administration.

How do we justify working with teachers with low student satisfaction, knowing the damage it does to future enrolment?”

– Teacher Recruiter

“Universities must consider the personal and professional lives of us students and not only the teacher’s when scheduling classes.

Don’t change class times at the last moment, and keep us students informed of absent teachers more quickly so we can organize our time.

Schedule classes at normal working hours, not late into the night. Respect our employment schedules, travel times and personal lives.

Either book full days on campus or full days remote. Stop booking a distance course and a face-to-face course 10 minutes later. Especially when there’s nowhere quiet on campus for us students to go for the remote class.”

– Student

“Universities must enforce stricter student entrance selection. English-only programs should not allow students who cannot speak English; they slow the class down for the rest of us.

Universities must not accept so many students if they do not have the facilities or know how to manage them.”

– Student

“Teachers must design a more detailed syllabus which clearly sets expectations, explains course prerequisites, project expectations, submission deadlines and grading. Each syllabus must also include a more in-depth teacher profile so we students can research them.

Universities must take greater control over the course content; content should not be solely at the teacher’s discretion.

Universities need to make the course program and syllabuses more readily available to us students at the beginning of the year.”

– Student

“Teachers must know how courses they teach fit into student program in order to situate theirs and explain it to the students.

Teachers should also know the courses of previous years on similar subjects, and the other courses in the same semester.

Teachers should work in collaboration with other teachers who have similar modules: coordinate transversal cases and assessments with other courses and teachers.”

– Program Director

“Universities must schedule classes to optimize student learning; the material does not spread over several months. It is very difficult for us students to remember course material when the last class took place months earlier.

But also don’t condense the lessons too much either. We students need time to think, digest and work on the class projects. Organize course deadlines so projects are evenly distributed throughout the semester and aren’t all due at the same time.”

– Student

“Teachers, keep the whole class on an equal footing of understanding, don’t to cover the content too quickly and which discriminates against students.

Encourage us students to take notes on paper because it improves concentration.

Invite real guest speakers into classes rather than just making us watch videos.

Don’t embed YouTube videos into your slides, just give us the link to the video.

Give us a bibliography of books, podcasts, videos and articles.

Modern-day digital is important, but go back to the basic fundamentals.”

– Student

“It is often the ‘zapping’ mentality of today’s generation of students that causes learning difficulty and prevents teachers from pushing their course subjects to the end.

You explain a concept, ask the class if there are any questions and get no response or a simple “No”. So you select a student or a team to ask a follow-up question and none of them are capable of explaining, or are willing to explain, what was just covered.

It’s extremely frustrating.”

– Teacher

“Have empathy. Teachers must keep in mind we students are beginners, not experts like you may be. The course subject may not be our individual strength or our passion.

And understand many of us students have part-time jobs and apprenticeships so our time is short and we have challenges at work outside of class. Even during class days companies sometimes expect us to work.”

– Student

“Teachers must teach through example and through concrete situations. Base course content on projects and case studies with real, modern-day companies and real contact with companies.

We students learn more during our internships and apprenticeships than we do in class because we are put into real situations.”

– Student

“Classes and course projects should add value to our professional career, not just help us students fulfill basic requirements for our diploma.”

– Student

“A teacher’s created content is rarely audited by the university. This flexibility and trust is appreciated, but this often results in teachers exceeding their course content and encroaching on the content of other courses.

As a result, students complain they have already heard the same – or ‘contradictory’ – information.”

– Teacher

“Teachers should teach less theory, less rote memorization and a lot more practice.

Don’t just assign exercises. Show us students the real objectives of the exercise and link them to what we could do later.

Design interactive, operational courses with role play to prepare us students for our entry into the professional world.”

– Student

“Universities must hire teachers who are actually interested in teaching us students and are not just here for the money.”

– Student

“Universities should hire teachers not only because of their professional experience. Ensure they are also good teachers.

Some classes are better taught by teachers than by actual working professionals.”

– Student

“Universities train your teachers to use Teams because it is not normal that after 2 years of COVID some still cannot connect on time.

Some classes systematically start 20 minutes late because the teacher does not know how to initiate a meeting.”

– Student

“Teachers rarely receive student feedback on what is working and what needs improvement for future courses.

Combine this with short-term contracts and (usually) late teacher booking, and this makes it difficult for teachers to plan ahead, manage finances and trust if the university will have them back to teach the following year.”

– Teacher

“University and teachers, simplify and externalize communication to reduce our need to contact you. And when we students must contact you, respond more quickly to our emails, even if the answer is negative.

When responding to us students don’t simply say ‘I don’t know’, and don’t speak poorly to us when responding. We are equals, not inferior. We don’t pay to be spoken poorly to.”

– Student

“Universities should ask for student feedback on courses and teachers more frequently, and show us students proof of how our responses are being implemented.

Listen to the difficulties we students encounter with our teachers, and show you are actually doing something about it.

Be open to negotiating with us students in certain situations.”

– Student

“Universities need to hire experienced professionals from diverse industries who are also competent, passionate teachers that like to share their experience.

Diversify our courses and the teacher profiles because it feels like we students are always hearing the same things and learning the same way.”

– Student

“Universities must make sure there is minimum course content overlap each semester, and the same course shouldn’t be repeated again the following year. Multiple courses could easily be combined into one.”

– Student

“Teachers, learn our names. We don’t expect you to memorize our entire biography, but at least remember our names.”

– Student

“On the first day of each new class teachers should give us students a survey to understand our questions and expectations on the subject, and build them into the course.

Stop requiring us students to do so much work that is not useful for our future.

Raise the bar. It is incredibly dumb what we students are studying.”

– Student

“Universities need better class planning and project submission organization so we students don’t end up with nothing to do for 2 months and then not being able to sleep for 2 weeks.

Busy, intensive schedules and heavy content forces us to ‘rush’ our work, not for lack of interest but for lack of time due to all the other projects due. Teachers should cover less material in each class, but go far deeper into the material covered.”

– Student

“It can be demotivating for teachers knowing that at the end of the semester students can insult their teachers and complain anonymously and without impunity.

I am shocked by the level of hatred and insults some students have felt comfortable leaving anonymously, but won’t participate or speak in class.”

– Teacher

“Teachers need to watch their language towards students.

Non-constructive criticism, inappropriate humor, and even establishing one’s authority or presence can also make significant disconnect for certain students. This impacts the student’s perception of the teacher, the legitimacy of the course, and the university if not addressed.

Students complain about teachers often.”

– Program Director

“Most teachers are good, but…

Universities should observe teachers doing a trial lesson before offering them a job, check their skills regularly and be willing to replace teachers.

Some teachers are so bad, and their behavior towards us students so unprofessional they should consider changing careers. It damages the school’s reputation.

University should ensure good student/teacher relations & teachers should be held responsible for this.”

– Student

“The university needs teachers to speak as an informed representative of the school. Teachers who don’t stay on top of emails and events miss out on important information.

If teachers come to the events the university organizes for them, they would meet staff members and other teachers, discover resources available to them, and they would have the necessary information on school news and our operating methods.”

– Teacher Recruiter

“University should offer students better internship options than from small, struggling companies nobody has ever heard of.

Offer merit-based internships to motivate students in class and reduce inequality of opportunity.”

– Student

“No superficial courses. In the final years of study, offer more advanced courses on risks that can penalize us in real life: negotiating salary and employment contracts, paying taxes, financial planning…”

– Student

“Workshops on critical thinking, storytelling and ‘soft skills’ are useless; Our personality won’t change because of one class.

Add courses in eloquence and rhetoric every year because it is essential to know how to express ourselves in our professional life and in public.“

– Student

“University must offer more attractive specializations. An English-only program is not a ‘specialization’. Have specializations more relevant than just ‘speaking English’.

And if it is an English-only program, then courses should be taught only in English by teachers who actually speak English fluently.”

– Student

“Teachers should ask for their students’ permission before posting class photos to their social media or publishing our work.

Doing this without our permission is ‘sneaky promotion’ of the teacher’s own brand, is poor taste and makes the teacher look financially poor.”

– Student

“The same university has needed my teaching services every semester for 21 years, but will not offer me an annual fixed-term contract. Further, over those 21 years the hourly teaching rate has increased by less than 1€, while the cost of living has almost doubled.

Universities should not be surprised when the quality of teaching becomes impoverished to the detriment of the experience of students.”

– Teacher

“Universities must improve the quality of their on-campus cafeteria with better coffee and food – that’s where we students get our energy from.

Also improve the service of their on-campus cafeteria. Hundreds of students, 1 cash register, 1 coffee machine, 1 microwave, 2 cafeteria employees, and only a 10 minute break in-between classes. The logistics are impossible!”

– Student

Student entrance exams and milestones should be required to take certain courses.

It isn’t fair to the qualified students that have to follow a slowed-down or dumbed-down version of a course so all students can participate.

In group projects qualified students have complained they must also do the work of the unqualified students in order for their grades not to suffer.

– Teacher

Students are paying customers. University should think of students first because we are the ones who pay.

University should refresh their website and provide more accurate explanation in the brochure because the school is not like what is advertised.

University should align their program sold and the program carried out. And stop changing program names every year.

– Student

Spy on other universities and steal what works. University should see what is happening at other schools and develop specialty programs to improve and stand out from the competition.

Universities should invest more in students and their pedagogical team, not in school advertisements.

– Student

“Get rid of dead weight students. We all pay to have our diploma and in the end we will all have the same diploma.

So let the hard-working students work together and flourish among themselves, and leave those who do not want to work on the side.

We are no longer in high school.”

– Student

“Universities shouldn’t hire teachers at the end of their career or who are wanting peace and quiet or easy money.

Universities cannot expect motivated students if their teachers aren’t motivating.”

– Student

“I hate hypocritical teachers who plagiarise other people’s content for their lecture and then penalize students for it. It’s obvious the teacher’s images and content is based on the first Google result that pops up, and their PowerPoint slides appear to have been copy/pasted from the internet.“

– Student

“I hate teachers who are unwilling to question themselves and even less their training method.

They believe there is only one truth, that they have it, and are unwilling to consider alternative perspectives.”

– Student