Metropolia collects feedback in many ways. Feedback provides data on what works and what doesn’t. Remember also that even if the course is already over for you, your future working colleagues may take the same studies later. So let’s make sure by actively giving feedback that good practices are preserved and bad ones are weeded out!
Good principles for giving feedback
- Also give positive feedback to maintain good practices
- Remember to be factual in your feedback → The most important thing can be overlooked if the feedback is written in an angry tone and with a lot of swear words.
- Giving and receiving feedback is also an essential work-life skill, so it is worth practising during your studies
- People learn in different ways. Courses have to be organised in some way and this may not always suit everyone. This is not an advocacy issue, unless there is a lot and repeated feedback of the same kind. Then it may be appropriate to change the way it is done.
- The more responses, the more effective it will be. A few individual responses are not very important in the overall picture.
Course feedback
The most visible form of feedback for the student is certainly the course feedback. At the end of each course, a roughly similar form is opened. Although there are easily dozens of courses and feedback forms during the studies, it is still important and desirable to provide feedback after every course.
The course feedback form usually opens about two weeks before the end of the course and remains open for three weeks. The feedback is read by the teachers of the course in question and possibly also by the heads of degree programs. The open feedback forms can be found on the homepage of the OMA Student Desktop and will also be notified by email.
Course feedback focuses specifically on what has been learnt during the course and what the course content has been like. Feedback on an individual teacher’s performance can be forwarded to e.g. METKA or the teacher’s supervisor. The course feedback form is not intended to evaluate the performance of an individual teacher, but you can write if a particular area was especially good or could be improved.
The teacher is obliged to give feedback to the students on the feedback received and to inform them about how the feedback has been used and any improvement measures that have been taken.
Dialogue
Ongoing dialogue between students and staff is the most effective way to give and receive feedback. This is why it is particularly important that teaching staff create a safe environment for each course where feedback can be given.
Feedback, especially criticism, can be difficult to give and receive face-to-face, but this is usually the most convenient way to get e.g. a justification for why a course is organised in a particular way. In the best case, a perceived bad practice can be improved during the course.
AVOP and AVOP2
AVOP (Feedback questionnaire for University of Applied Sciences graduands) is a survey for all graduates of universities of applied sciences. Responses are collected at graduation. The survey takes a broad view of graduates’ experience of their education and the results are used to evaluate and develop the education. The AVOP results also have an impact on the funding Metropolia receives.
In addition to AVOP, Metropolia has developed AVOP2 for second year students, so that issues that need attention can be addressed during their studies, rather than after the studies are already finished.
General feedback on learning services
For general feedback on learning services, you can use this e-form. Your feedback will be processed by Lifelong Learning Services. This team will forward your feedback to the right school (“faculty”).
Career monitoring survey
The Career Tracking Survey is a national survey to which all graduates from higher education five years ago are invited to respond each year. It examines graduates’ employment after graduation, their experience of how well their education meets the needs of the world of work, and their career paths.
The Career Tracking Survey is a national survey conducted among graduates from universities of applied sciences across Finland. The results of the survey are submitted to the higher education institutions and at Metropolia the results are processed by the Strategy and Development Services.
Feedback to METKA
Couldn’t find a suitable form in Metropolia where you could give feedback? You can always contact METKA using the Metku mail form. The form is primarily intended as a feedback channel on METKA’s activities. However, if you wish, we will forward your feedback concerning Metropolia to the right person.
In matters related to advocacy, you can also always fill the Advocacy Contact Form. You can contact METKA’s advocacy team if you feel you have been treated unfairly in your studies. You can ask METKA’s advocacy team how to proceed in case of problems and who to contact to resolve the matter.
This post is also available in Suomi.