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Explorance Blue - How to Increase Student Response Rates
This guide outlines effective practices that can increase response rates for course evaluations.
With online-delivered course evaluation systems, such as Explorance Blue, the response rate may be lower than a hard-copy distribution system. Consider using these recommendations to encourage your students to complete their online evaluation during the available evaluation period.
How Do I Monitor My Course Evaluation Response Rates?
Login to Blue to view response rates for your course evaluation. For detailed directions for how to check response rates visit the "How to View Response Rates" guide.
Strategies to Increase Response Rates
The options listed below all can have a positive impact on course evaluation response rates. However, some may be more appropriate for your specific class. You can also combine these options as necessary.
Contextualize Course Evaluations
Talk to students about the value you place on course evaluations and how they are used by the program/department/school in performance reviews. Describe concrete changes you have made to your course in response to previous course evaluations.
Use Class Time
For on-campus classes, provide time in class for students to complete the course evaluation. They can access it via Canvas (in the left-hand navigation menu for all courses in Canvas) or you can share the direct link: uws.bluera.com/uws.
Monitor and Communicate Response Rates
Monitor response rates in Blue and share that information with your students.
Provide Reminders
Provide reminders to students to complete the evaluation.
- Create a zero-point assignment in Canvas with a due date and reminders. Include a direct link to Explorance Blue—uws.bluera.com/uws—to make it easy for students to access their available evaluations.
- Remind students that they can also access any of their open course evaluations using Canvas. Click the "Blue Course Evaluations" tab in the left-hand navigation menu of any Canvas course.
Utilize Incentives
Provide low-stakes incentives to your students to motivate them to complete their evaluations. It doesn't need to be a large incentive; this works even if the incentive will represent less than 2% of your students' final grade.
You can do this in various ways, but start by setting a goal completion rate for the entire class, and then use an incentive that allows your evaluation to remain anonymous. For example:
- Choose an assignment category. Drop every student's lowest grade in that category.
- Give all students in the class a small amount of extra credit.
- If the class meets your goal completion rate before the final exam, allow students to use one 3x5 index card of notes.
100% survey response rates aren't always ideal.
For example, courses that include an extra-credit incentive need a lower benchmark that does not require every student to participate. If you choose a 100% benchmark, and one or two students don't complete the evaluation, this would cause all the other students to miss out on the extra credit. Choose a response rate between 75% and 85% instead.
Need Help?
Learn more about how to monitor response rates.
If you have any questions, please email us at courseevals@uwsuper.edu.