Increasing student survey participation through single-subject interventions affecting concurrent subjects

Abstract

Student evaluations of teaching (SET) surveys are a widely debated tool used by universities worldwide for quality assurance and improvement. Low response rates often result in non-response bias, significantly undermining their validity. While numerous evidence-based strategies exist to improve response rates, the importance of achieving higher rates to enhance the usefulness of these surveys is frequently underestimated, and applying these strategies across all subjects can be time-consuming and costly. Previous research has not specifically explored whether interventions in one subject could encourage greater student participation in SETs for other concurrently studied subjects. In this study at an Australian metropolitan university, we demonstrate that by targeting key health subjects with a combination of three evidence-based strategies, response rates almost doubled in both targeted and untargeted subjects the same students were studying. This also enhanced response quality, as measured by the length and lexical diversity of open-ended responses. The improved response rates for all subjects were observed regardless of learning modes (blended or online-only), enrolment type (undergraduate or postgraduate), or whether students were on placement. These findings suggest that targeted interventions could encourage students to complete all their SET surveys. The benefits are clear: increased survey participation across multiple subjects can reduce non-respondent bias while minimising the burden of survey promotion. Our study contributes to the body of knowledge guiding university decision-makers in increasing student feedback to improve teaching quality.