Beyond the Response Rate: Exploring the Quality of Student Feedback

Student feedback on teaching is important for institutional evaluation across various teaching paradigms, including student-centered learning. The methods used can affect both the quantity and quality of student participation. For instance, conducting surveys online often results in low response rates. To address this problem, institutions adopt strategies to incentivize students to increase response rates. This study examines a case in which a university encouraged instructors to allow students time in class to submit their surveys online. While this approach significantly increased response rates, it also allowed observing a phenomenon referred to in the literature as “survey satisficing.” An example of satisficing is when students complete survey submissions in a very short time, making it less likely for the student response to be well-thought. According to satisficing theory, survey respondents may prioritize ease over accuracy, often due to low motivation or a desire to avoid cognitive effort, resulting in less reliable responses. This work-in-progress paper aims to identify relevant and measurable indicators of satisficing in the case under consideration. It also presents a quantitative analysis of the extent of satisficing within this specific context. The findings of this study reveal a significant level of satisficing in student survey submissions. The long-term goal is to build on these results to conduct a follow-up qualitative study, which may provide deeper insights into how and why students respond to surveys in ways that may compromise the quality of feedback on teaching.