SOLE results show high satisfaction

The College has recently released results of the 2010 Autumn Student Online Evaluation (SOLE) survey aimed at measuring undergraduate students' opinions about the teaching in the first college term. The results of the survey are mainly positive, with overall satisfaction across the College for different aspects of lecture courses ranging from 84% to 92%. The proportion of students answering either “good” or “very good” saw a marked increase from 2009 for all the questions which had also been asked that year.

The survey targets students in all years, apart from medicine, where only first years are questioned. Participants are asked to rate to their feelings towards a number of statements using a five point scale, as well as give written comments on what they believe should be improved. The results are reviewed by all the departments’ Directors of Undergraduate Studies, and in previous years have led to changes in courses and lecturers even being replaced.

The latest SOLE introduced a new section which questioned all students, apart from those in the Business School and Humanities Department, about their opinions relating to assessment and feedback. The results here were more mixed, suggesting that the problems identified in the National Student's Survey earlier last year have not yet all been resolved. 19% of students thought that "the level of detail received in comments on [their] work" and "the helpfulness of feedback in clarifying things [they] did not understand" was poor or very poor. Overall satisfaction in these areas, however, was still between 69% and 81%.

The humanities lecture courses were judged to be some of the best in the college, with approval ratings of between 88% and 95%. 86% of students rated “the interest and enthusiasm generated by the lecturer” as either “good” or “very good”, the best such result in the survey.

The department of Earth Science and Engineering, on the other hand, had some of the best results in the assessment and feedback section, with satisfaction levels between 88% and 94%. Dr Lorraine Craig, the department’s Academic Tutor, attributed this success to "excellent teaching in the department".

The student participation rate in the survey has been steadily increasing over the past three years, reaching 67% this Autumn, making the results reasonably representative of the student population. The Mathematics Department saw by far the largest improvement. Having had the worst turnout in the last two years it managed to increase its participation rate from 41% in 2009 to 67% in 2010. The head of the department, Dr Emma McCoy, attributed this success to the department’s new policy, borrowed from Electrical Engineering, of "giving extra printing credit to those who complete SOLE". She said the success of scheme meant that it was likely the department would use it in the future.

As in the previous few years participation was greatest in the department of Earth Science and Engineering, with all of its 229 undergraduates taking part. Professor Martin Blunt, the department head Dr Lorraine Craig, whose position “combines the roles of Director of Undergraduate Studies, Admissions Tutor and Senior Tutor". He said that the department's small size allowed her to have "a personal rapport" with all the students. Dr Craig sent out "reminders to all students to complete the SOLE survey", which were "reinforced by every lecturer during classes". The department also discusses how it uses the data obtained with groups of students from different years, thereby making sure they understand the survey's benefits. This has resulted in excellent participation rates without the need for additional incentives such as in Mathematics.

The SOLE survey will take place again at the end of this term in all departments and in summer for students taking Chemistry, Civil & Enviromental Engineering, Earth Science & Engineering or Life Sciences. Students can view the full results from the latest survey on the college website.