Grading the Professors - Study Links Student Satisfaction to Classroom Feedback

BOSTON, July 21 /PRNewswire/ -- Almost all university students say feedback from their professors helps them learn more effectively. Of students who are satisfied with the feedback they receive, more than 85 percent have professors who use rubrics to explain assignment requirements and give feedback, according to a study released today.

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Waypoint Outcomes commissioned the independent survey of undergraduate university students from across the United States to explore their perceptions of professors. The survey sample included 85 percent on-campus, 2 percent online and 13 percent online and on-campus students. Results were announced at the Campus Technology 2010: Advancing Higher Education Through Technology conference. Key findings:

• More than 98 percent of students said timely, personalized feedback from their professors helps them learn. "It makes you feel like the professor actually cares about your work and that you are doing homework. It makes me try harder," one student said.
• Less than 2 in 10 (15.4 percent) students strongly agreed that they are satisfied with the feedback they receive from their professors.
• Use of rubrics, scoring criteria that outline a professor's expectations, is welcomed in the classroom. One student said, "Professors expect students to read their minds sometimes. Expectations are not necessarily too high, they're just frequently inconsistent with what students think. This is why rubrics and further clarification is helpful for assignments."
• More than 98 percent of students who are satisfied with the feedback they receive said their professors give feedback on their work within one week. "Feedback is important to know how you are doing in a class, but it is not helpful when it comes in too late, like in most classes," one said.

Another student said, "Most professors I had did not give personalized feedback. Many would not return papers or assignments for weeks if not months after collecting them, and once returned, only had a grade or minimal remarks."

Andrew McCann, CEO of Waypoint Outcomes, who presented the results, was particularly taken with one student's comment that "If professors don't have to accept illegible work, why should we have to accept illegible feedback?"

"While there have been many studies and reports confirming that high-quality feedback is a key element of quality teaching, from the students' point of view feedback was lacking," McCann said. "Clearly, this study confirms that students value feedback. Many students expressed a need for more. We also learned that they feel providing late feedback is disrespectful."

McCann, recognized as a pioneering expert in technology for higher education, presented new software tools and applications for faster grading and better quality student feedback at the conference.

The Waypoint Outcomes Fellows Edition was introduced to make it possible for individual faculty, small groups of faculty, single colleges or departments within an institution to license technology at no charge. The program is designed to help institutions build grass roots knowledge of rubrics to create new student feedback and generate meaningful assessment data required by accrediting bodies.

Waypoint Outcomes last month recorded a milestone when the one-millionth evaluation was performed using its software.

"The Campus Technology conference motivates academia to learn about cutting-edge technologies now being used at higher learning institutions across the country," McCann concluded. "However, with budget constraints, many institutions don't have the resources to move forward. Our Fellows Edition provides that opportunity."

For more information, visit http://www.waypointoutcomes.com/fellows.

About Waypoint Outcomes

Waypoint Outcomes offers customizable software evaluation processes to manage academic achievements in the classroom. By providing a platform that improves student/teacher interaction, specifically in online classrooms, the program allows schools and universities to strengthen its commitment to students' academic success.  For more information about Waypoint Outcomes, visit http://www.waypointoutcomes.com.

SOURCE Waypoint Outcomes