Course examination and what happens after

Course examination

Students' needs related to examination

Assessment of examining tasks is part of our exercise of authority. We need to inform and explain this to the students. We need to make it clear to the students that examinations are partly a learning opportunity and that they should also make it possible to judge whether the student has achieved the course's learning objectives. We need to discuss what counts as cheating / plagiarism and what the consequences may be. We need to be very clear and factual in order to guarantee a legal process. There are general rules for examining a course at University West.

Examination and assessment

You need to describe the examination forms that appear in the course. Students need to know if they should register for examinations and re-examinations and if so how and when, and how the exam will take place.

Inform:

How the assessment will take place, especially how individual assessment is done in examinations carried out in groups
What marks a failed, approved or well-approved examination assignment
In what way feedback will be given after the examination
What happens if the student fails in the examination
What rules and procedures apply to re-examination. For example, is the possibility of continuing the studies affected / what does a failed result mean for the opportunities for promotion within the program?

In the examination itself, the instructions must clarify what is expected. How should the text be structured? What is meant by instructions that describe, analyze, discuss, refer, figure etc. Often, more instructions are needed than the purely formal ones such as line spacing etc.

After the course ends

Feedback on examination results

In our feedback on examinations, it is crucial that we clarify strengths and shortcomings. This can be done partly during a joint examination review, and partly in individual feedback, in writing or orally, to the student. We are happy to exemplify with unidentified excerpts from examinations and give examples of how the presentation could be developed. Also remember to inform about:

Opportunities for re-examination
What kind of student support that the university offers - for example, follow-up talks with study and career counselors, conversation with the Student Health, FUNKA - support for the disabled, support with academic writing at Language Resource Center and support with maths at Math help center.

Student monitoring

A college-wide dialogue - between teachers and students - creates the conditions for finding a functioning and effective (timely) working method for utilizing students 'and teachers' experiences from courses. The purpose of the course evaluations is to take advantage of these experiences.

What does the University Law say?
"Operations must be adapted so that a high quality is achieved in education and research. The available resources must be utilized effectively to maintain a high quality of the business. The quality work is a common concern for the staff of the colleges and the students".

"The students shall have the right to exert influence over the education at the universities.The universities shall work to ensure that the students take an active part in the work on further developing the education." (SFS 1992:1434 1 kap. § 4, lagändring 2000:260)

Higher Education Ordinance on course evaluations:
"The university shall give the students who participate in or have completed a course an opportunity to express their experiences of and views on the course through a course evaluation organized by the university. The university shall compile the course evaluations and provide information on the results and any decisions on measures that are the result of the course evaluations. The results should be made available to the students." (SFS 1993:100, 1 kap. § 14, lagändring 2000:651)

Make a course evaluation

According to "Högskolelagen", all institutions of higher education must give students the opportunity to express their experiences and opinions through course evaluations. The university compiles the course evaluations and informs the students about the results and any decisions about measures.

The university's quality council has agreed on a common course evaluation template. It contains a university-wide part and a part with department-specific questions where the students have the opportunity to submit their views. After the course evaluation, a course evaluation response must be written and communicated to the students. The course evaluation response is published by the course supervisor no later than 5 weeks after the end of the course.

Tips for course evaluations

Half-time tips - do a mid-term evaluation (create a good dialogue)

To create good conditions for getting a high response rate in the course evaluation at the end, it is recommended to do a mid-term evaluation after about half the course. By being responsive to the students' improvement tips, a good dialogue and work / study environment is created. This does not mean that the teacher should always do what the students want, but to have a constructive dialogue.

Mid-evaluations can be done in many different ways, below are various suggestions:

Allow 30 minutes for center evaluation. Appoint a student who writes "on the board" and one who writes on paper or on a computer / tablet / mobile. Divide the board into three fields. Enter "Positive / Strengths" in the first field, "Should change / develop" in the second field and "Improvement suggestions" in the third field. Explain that you want them to have a dialogue and write down what they agree on. The student at the board leads the discussion and notes on the board. For each “Should be changed / developed”, a concrete improvement proposal must be produced. Let the students discuss for 15 minutes alone. After 15 minutes, the teacher returns. Go through the strengths of the course so you understand what the students mean. Do the same with change and improvement suggestions. Ask so you understand. Do not value and do not go into defense. Listen and provide constructive feedback. When the discussion is complete, ask to have the documentation of the student who was selected to take notes. Evaluation, dialogue, feedback and documentation completed in 30 minutes.
Do the exact same arrangement as above (1), but ask the students to feedback via digital questionnaire. Digital feedback in the learning platform or at the next course opportunity.
Do the exact same arrangement as (1), but ask a colleague to discuss the group. Set aside time to discuss improvement suggestions with your colleague.

Tips for conducting course evaluation in order to create good basis for development and improvement:

Have evaluation at the very last time. Experience from other universities shows that any free text responses are more constructive and clear.
Add your own questions related to the course opportunity and the course structure.
Think about how you will handle the answers. Don't ask unnecessary things that can't be changed or that aren't relevant.
Remember not to have too many questions
Do not ask for things that you cannot / do not want to change. It creates unnecessary frustration.
Return the result to the student group (orally) at the last occasion.

Tips for increasing student response rate:

The results of the evaluation must play a role, it is important that the students see that their views are used.
Write a course report and respond to the students' values in a constructive and developing way. Give concrete suggestions for changes or give clear reasons why some changes will not be made.
Publish the course report on the program pages in the learning platform.
For students to feel motivated to respond, the course evaluation needs to be anonymous, perceived as meaningful, and voluntary.

Early alert

Early Alert is a student support measure aimed at, early in the course of study, capturing students who, for various reasons, have received few or no higher education credits in their program.

The study counsellors have produced a document that you as the programme manager can use in contact with students who have few or no results from the first semester. The letter aims to get students to contact study counselors if they need support or report study interruptions. The benefit for you as a teacher is to get an overview of active students, which also benefits remaining students in the program.

Below you will find the letter you can use. Contact your study counsellor if you have questions about content or how to best adapt it to your student group.

We miss you!

Updated 2024-03-15

Course examination and what happens after