Univ.-Prof. Dr.-Ing. habil. Kai-Uwe Sattler
President
Tel. +49 3677 69-5001
Ernst-Abbe-Zentrum, Ehrenbergstraße 29
Zi. 3322
Evaluation processes based on statistical surveys can be supported technically and organizationally at the TU Ilmenau since the winter semester 2004/05 with the electronic collection and evaluation system EvaSys of the company Electric Paper (Lüneburg).
EvaSys is a system with a role model based on highly developed data collection techniques (including the use of a high-quality scanner) and Internet technologies. Extensive surveys can be processed without lengthy data entry and evaluation efforts and with a high degree of automation. In addition to mass processing of paper questionnaires, EvaSys can also be used for online surveys. It is possible to integrate new questionnaires at any time.
Surveys are created personalized for - the individual lecturer, - the respective subject/course and - the respective survey period (winter/summer semester) and stored after data collection. Accordingly, a new questionnaire with a special identifier for identification and assignment must be generated for each survey. For online surveys this is done by access codes (TAN numbers, lottery ticket), for paper questionnaires by a box code on the bottom of the page.
While in the case of online surveys the data is immediately stored in the database during the processing procedure and is thus available for evaluations, in the case of paper-pencil surveys the data is only generated after the processed questionnaires have been scanned.
As a rule, paper questionnaires are used for subject and course evaluations. They are handed out to the students at one of the last course dates and collected after completion. To ensure that the questionnaires are scanned correctly, teachers should make sure that the printed or copied questionnaires contain the marks in the corners (intact) and advise students that they should
Since the winter semester 2013/14 it is also possible to create the different questionnaires for the course evaluation as an online survey in EvaSys. Please read the information and instructions under Online Surveys.
The questionnaires are personalized for each survey and have to be generated in EvaSys as PDF (paper questionnaires) and/or as link (online survey). The PDF files will be provided to the responsible teachers via email. If you would like to conduct your course evaluation as an online survey, please read the information and instructions under Online Surveys.
The generation of questionnaires must be requested by e-mail from the above contact person at least six weeks before the end of the lecture period of the semester or, in the case of courses that do not run for the entire lecture period, two weeks before the scheduled survey date. The following information is required:
In order to facilitate the import of this data into EvaSys, the following Excel spreadsheet must be completed.
The questionnaires are provided to the teachers as PDF templates. They are to be printed out in sufficient numbers (expected number of participants of the course), if possible on both sides (duplex).
Make sure that all markings in the corners are completely present on the sheets. They are used to determine the position when scanning the sheets and are a prerequisite for correct data recognition. The probability of errors when scanning the questionnaires later depends on the quality of the printing (good contrast, no "dirty spots", skewing and distortions).
The questionnaires are to be handed out to the students at one of the last event dates, collected after completion and sent to Dr. Hennecke at the Central Institute for Education (ZIB), Kontorhaus (Langewiesener Str. 32).
Teachers will receive immediate feedback by e-mail with the (standardized) evaluation as a PDF file as soon as the completed questionnaires have been scanned at ZIB or the online survey has been closed.
The evaluated paper questionnaires can then be returned to the respective teachers if desired. A short note or e-mail is sufficient for this purpose. Otherwise, the paper questionnaires will be destroyed centrally at ZIB at the beginning of the following semester.
It is recommended to evaluate the results together with the students in the course (see QM manual, chapter 6.6, available here.
Especially for small groups of students (up to approx. 30 participants), alternative forms of evaluation to the quantitative, statistically evaluable surveys as online or paper-based surveys are suitable.
Within the framework of the Network Quality Assurance at Thuringian Universities, a collection of methods of qualitative evaluation procedures was developed, which are suitable for different numbers of participants.
The method documentation "Five fingers, three corners, one target: Student feedback in a different way" is a collection of method sheets sorted by the number of participants, the optimal time and the name of the method. Take a look and get inspired!
You can view this documentation here. To do so, please log in with your university login!
Under special case: courses with a low number of participants you will also find instructions and documentation for a simple qualitative feedback method that has been adapted for regular cases at the TU Ilmenau.
As soon as the completed questionnaires have been scanned into ZIB or online surveys have been closed, a standardized evaluation report is immediately available and sent as a PDF report to the relevant teachers by e-mail. The processed paper questionnaires can be returned via in-house mail if desired. A short note is sufficient for this purpose. Otherwise, the questionnaires will be destroyed centrally at ZIB at the beginning of the following semester.
The survey data collected as part of the voluntary course evaluation belong to the instructors and will not be passed on to third parties without their consent.
The report usually has the following components:
In addition, cross-tabulations for scale and single-choice questions can be displayed if required. Also, filtered reports and report summaries and profile line comparisons are available by arrangement.
Data are retained for 2 years (4 semesters) and then deleted from the database. Evaluations and reports over this period can be ordered by teachers from Dr. Hennecke.
The questionnaires for the various course formats can be used in EvaSys both in paper form and as an online survey.
Even with an online survey, the surveys are generated specifically for the instructor, the course, and the semester. If you are interested in an online survey, please see the following explanations of the possible procedures.
After you have decided on a procedure, please contact the EvaSys administrator. He or she will create your online survey in EvaSys and
EvaSys offers two online survey methods:
When the survey is created, EvaSys generates a fixed number of TAN codes. Each participant receives their own TAN with which they can log into the online survey. Based on the TAN codes, one-time participation in a survey is guaranteed.
The TANs can be a. printed out and distributed in the form of cards or b. sent to survey participants by e-mail.
The TAN slips are generated as a PDF document, which can then be distributed to the survey participants. They contain the access code, the internet address and the name of the survey. A QR code for mobile devices can also be included, which contains both the information about the URL of the online survey and the TAN.
All TAN documents to be distributed for the survey will be emailed to the instructor(s).
TANs are sent to survey participants using an email address list. Later, a reminder function can be used to send an email to all TAN recipients who have not yet taken the survey.
The email addresses must be sent to the EvaSys administrator as a list/text file before the survey is created. Sending the invitation e-mails with the TAN information to the students and, if necessary, the reminder e-mails as well as closing the survey is done centrally via the EvaSys administration directly via the EvaSys server. These processes can also be initiated automatically via a time control in EvaSys.
The lottery ticket-based online survey is an online survey for which a uniform password is defined in advance for all participants, which is either generated by a random generator or agreed upon with the instructor. The instructor receives the link and the password by e-mail and can pass this information on to the students as a link and/or QR code. Since, unlike the TAN-based online survey, not every participant receives their own password (as a TAN), this procedure is comparatively insecure. It cannot be prevented that a participant uses the password to vote for a survey more than once. On the other hand, the lottery ticket-based procedure makes it possible to conduct an online survey even without precise knowledge of the participant group, i.e., without the possibility of personally inviting participants.
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