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Frequently Asked Questions

Our school has had an end-of-course evaluation instrument in place for some time, why should we consider using PostCourse?

1. Cost – Even though your school may not be paying a third party to manage the surveys now, there are very real costs associated with a “do it yourself” model.  These costs include expensive personnel time and costs associated with what ever technology you are using.  By using PostCourse schools no longer have to go to the trouble of printing, distributing, collecting, analyzing and reporting from paper surveys.
2. Speed – Many schools which use systems which they have created report a delay of days, weeks, or even months after the survey is completed to have access to the data.  With PostCourse appropriate persons can generate reports in real time as the data is coming in.  After the survey period has ended all reports are archived for immediate access. 
3. Efficiency – Some schools report that instructional or assessment time is taken during a class session if surveys are administered locally.  PostCourse allows students to complete the survey at a time and place convenient for them.
4. Convenience – The Internet is an integral part of the American culture.  Even if students do not have Internet access at home, they do have access at the school’s library or other public locations.  PostCourse requires no special software to be downloaded and any computer with an Internet browser can be used to submit the surveys.
5. Depth and clarity of feedback – Many students have reported that they can type faster than they can write.  Schools have reported that they frequently can not read the hand writing of comments submitted by students using pencil and paper models.  With the easy to complete web-based forms students can easily submit richer feedback about their course experiences. 
6. Scalability - PostCourse is a strong solution for schools that operate many campuses or are a member of a consortium.  If the larger unit has some questions which need to be asked across all campuses or institutions that can be achieved using PostCourse.

What can schools do to increase response rates on end-of-course evaluations?

One of the reasons why schools select PostCourse is because it can increase the response rate on end-of-course evaluations.  We realize that a higher response rate helps schools spot meaningful trends in their data.  Lower response rates often are overly influenced by the outliers of very pleased or very disappointed students.   PostCourse recommends the following actions to increase the response rate:  

1. Promote the end-of-course surveys prior to the end of the term.  Schools can place posters around campus, post announcements on bulletin boards, stuff reminders in student mail boxes.  Faculty can make announcements to students and add instructions to take the survey to their course instructions.
2. Give students a long window of opportunity to submit the surveys.  Students are very busy, especially around the end of the term as they are composing papers and studying for exams.  A common model is that schools open the survey with one week left in the course and then leave it open for two weeks after the course has ended.
3. Regularly remind the students about the survey.  One of the features of PostCourse is that we can send a daily email reminder to students who have not yet submitted their end-of-course surveys.  The email provides clear instructions on how to access the surveys and reminds them of the courses for which they have not submitted the surveys.
4. Provide an incentive for participation.  Schools can provide rewards ranging from free tuition for one course to a $25.00 book store gift certificate.  PostCourse can randomly select a student(s) as the winner of the random drawing.  Each term the schools should promote the fact that these students were the winners.
5. Assure students that their input is anonymous.   One of the benefits of partnering with PostCourse to collect the data is that when students know that the school is collecting the data they fear that their input is not anonymous.  But since PostCourse is a reliable third party, we assure students that their contact information is never reported with their evaluation input. 
6. Inform students of improvements that have been made based on their input.   When a change in policy or practice is made based on a trend indicated in the PostCourse data, this is encouraging to students because they know that their thoughts are making a difference.
7. Require participation.   Schools can require students to participate before their grades can be released for the term.  Caution should be used in considering this method because students who submit the survey just to meet the requirement may not accurately reflect their true perceptions.

Thomas M. Archer of Ohio State University has provided an article titled "Characteristics Associated with Increasing the Response Rates of Web-Based Surveys." Archer made the following recommendations for increasing the response rate on web-based surveys: [1] Increasing the total days a questionnaire is left open, with two reminders, may significantly increase response rates. It may be wise to launch in one week, remind in the next week, and then send the final reminder in the third week; [2] Potential respondents must be convinced of the potential benefit of accessing the questionnaire; and [3] Do not be overly concerned about the length or detail of the questionnaire - getting people to the web site of the questionnaire is more important to increasing response rates.

Arher, Thomas M. (2007) Characteristics Associated with Increasing the Response Rates of Web-Based Surveys. Practical Assessment & Evaluation, 12(12). Available online: http://pareonline.net/getvn.asp?v=12&n=12

Why not build it ourselves?

Schools who have attempted to build their own end-of-course survey system have learned that it is a high-risk approach for the following reasons:

1. Most software developers within an information technology department at a college do not understand the nuances and dynamics of gathering student perception data. This often results in low response rates and marginally useful reports.
2. Most school officials and information technology staff do not have the time nor the resources to dedicate to designing and building the system. We have hundreds of hours of time and thousands of dollars of resources already invested in building our system. We leverage that investment cost across many clients which reduces the cost for each client.
3. The budgetary implications of a home-grown system carry on each year. This includes software updates, report customization, and security management. Simply running the locally developed system requires a substantial, continual investment on the part of the institution. Thousands of dollars and hours spent on a home-grown system may still fall short of the functionality we can make available to you now.
4. Schools should consider how responsive the information technology staff will be to requests for technical support from students and customization requests from faculty and staff. We have full time staff to support all of your users.

How soon can our school get started using PostCourse?

Schools are advised to begin the initial process of using PostCourse at least one month prior to the first survey administration.  The process for setting up surveys after that is largely automated and takes much less time.  One person at each institution should be designated as the primary PostCourse point of contact.  The psychometricians and data engineers at PostCourse will collaborate with this person to identify their survey needs.  Schools preparing to use PostCourse should consider the following elements:

1. What are the questions that need to be asked?  For assistance with this schools have access to our databank of over 300 vetted end-of-course assessment items.
2. What are the levels of access that are needed?  For example consortium, college, department, faculty.
3. What questions should be asked across all levels?
4. What questions should be asked at the course or department levels?
5. What types of reporting and data access are needed at these various levels?
6. What are the opening and closing dates for the survey?
7. Create the data files which the school submits to PostCourse which includes variables such as student, faculty and course elements. 

How soon are survey results available?

Persons with appropriate levels of administrative access can log into PostCourse and view incoming data and reports in real time.  Schools are able to monitor results as they are being submitted.  If schools are doing more detailed analysis of returns they typically wait until after the survey has closed to complete more advanced computations such as comparisons to previous terms.

Who can view the survey results?

Each school identifies one person as the PostCourse primary administrator.  This person then assigns other persons at the school with the appropriate level of access to data and reports.  Generally faculty are only able to see the results from their own courses and administrators such as department chairs can only view reports from within the scope of their authority.

What results do students see?

Immediately after submission of data students receive a confirmation message.  If schools desire for students to see some form of generalized summary report of other student’s entries this could be done.  However, this practice is not typical. 

What types of questions can be asked on the survey?

Schools determine the types of questions that are asked.  Any objective question type can be asked.  Subjective questions such as open ended answers can also be asked, but no calculation is done from the input, just reporting of the input from the students.  Common objective question types include multiple choice, true/false, Likert-type scales, checkboxes, radio buttons, and drop down boxes.

How are student’s responses anonymous if reminder emails can be sent to non-participating students?

PostCourse uses an advanced process through which the student first authenticates into the system.  Once our system determines that the student is one of the students included in the data file we received from the school, then we provide the appropriate survey to the student.  The process for authentication and data submission are totally separated in our database.  We are technically not able to match up student entries with student contact information. 

How does PostCourse prevent students from submitting more than one response per course?

Using the data file provided from the school to PostCourse, we create a single  “digital ticket” to each survey per course and per student.  Once that “ticket” has been used by a student for that course the student can not access the survey for that course again.  They can access surveys for other courses for which they have not yet completed the survey.

Can students submit surveys for more than one course at a time?

PostCourse is designed for students to submit their perceptions about a single course.  However, immediately after the student submits their input for one course, they are asked if they would like to submit feedback for another course.  The student is shown a list of the courses for which they have not yet submitted a survey.

How often can schools use PostCourse?

Schools can use PostCourse as often as they would like.  While the name of this solution is PostCourse, it could also be used for mid-course evaluations or for any other type of survey that the school would like to administer. 

How do students access PostCourse?

PostCourse works with each school to provide a process which is best for their students.  PostCourse provides multiple options for access including:

1. PostCourse sends emails to the students providing instructions and a unique link to the evaluation.
2. A link to the PostCourse site for the school is embedded into each online course.  Students click the link to access the surveys.
3. In either of the above models the students can be automatically logged into the appropriate surveys or they can use a user name/password to authenticate into the system.

Can PostCourse be integrated with existing user authentication systems?

Yes, PostCourse can be integrated with existing user authentication systems such as LDAP, NTLM, MS AD, and others.

How long can the PostCourse survey be active?

Schools determine the dates of availability for all surveys.  Typical times range from one week to three weeks.  A common model is that the survey opens with one week left in the course and is left open for two weeks afterward.  It is conceivable that a school might have some sort of survey, such as a student services survey, which remains open at all times. 

Can students ask questions back to the school?

Yes, we have learned that not only do schools have questions they would like to ask the student, but students often have questions they would like to ask and have not had the opportunity or have not known to whom to ask the questions.  After the student has submitted their feedback for the course, they can be asked if they would like to ask a question to the school.  If so, they are provided with a text book for their question.  At this point the student does provide an email address to which the answer to the question should be sent.  This question is kept totally separate from their course feedback.  The primary PostCourse administrator for the school is the recipient of these questions submitted by the school.

Do students have to complete the survey or do they have to complete the entire survey?

Schools set the policy on whether or not students are required to complete the survey.  Most schools strongly encourage students to participate but do not require it.  Schools can determine which, if any, of the questions on the survey are required. 

How long is the data available?

All data is automatically archived for up to ten years if the school takes no action to delete it.  The primary PostCourse administrator at the school can choose to delete data from the system,   At this point the data is truly deleted and can not be recalled.  Deletion of data should carefully be performed. 

Can results be printed or linked from other websites?

Yes, all score reports are available in PDF format so that users can print them and/or link to them from another website. 

How long has the company which provides PostCourse been in business?

The parent company which owns PostCourse.com is DECADE Consulting, LLC. DECADE is an acronym for Distance Education Consulting And Development Experts. DECADE is a group of academic leaders from colleges and universities across the country who recognize the need for administrative solutions such as PostCourse. The solutions provided by DECADE are created by educators for educators. The marketing portal for DECADE Consulting is eLearningToolBox.com.

DECADE was incorporated in 2001. Since then it has served over 500 educational institutions including K-12, technical colleges, career colleges, community colleges, private colleges, universities, and corporations. Hundreds of thousands of students use web-based resources provided by DECADE each year. Some of the other solutions provided by DECADE include FacultyFinder.com, READI - Readiness for Education At a Distance Indicator, AudioAssessment.com,and QualityCourseRecognition.com. Emerging solutions includeTestProctors.com, FacultyFolders.com, and ExamEye.com.