At the University of South Carolina, we're committed to fostering a dynamic learning
environment that allows students to thrive. Student course experience surveys play
a critical role in achieving this goal.
The Office of the Provost, in partnership with DoIT and the Faculty Senate, InDev
Committee has selected a new survey platform: Explorance Blue. Implementation of this
system will occur in three phases.
Gaining Valuable Insights, Together
These surveys offer a unique opportunity to understand your students’ learning experiences.
Their feedback allows you to:
Sharpen your focus: Identify areas where your course can reach new heights, ensuring students are equipped
with the knowledge and skills they need.
Amplify student voices: Hear directly from your students about their challenges and successes, fostering
a sense of collaboration and shared purpose.
Measure the impact: Assess the effectiveness of your teaching methods and curriculum, ensuring they are
optimally aligned with student learning outcomes.
Transforming Feedback into Action
Student course experience surveys are more than just data points; they're a catalyst
for positive change. By analyzing the results, you can:
Refine your strategies: Implement data-driven adjustments to your teaching methods, making your courses even
more engaging and effective.
Celebrate together: Showcase the positive impact your course has on student satisfaction and development,
fostering a sense of shared accomplishment.
Building a Culture of Continuous Improvement
Your participation in student course experience surveys demonstrates your commitment
to student success. By working together, we can create a learning environment that
is not only meaningful, but also continuously evolving to meet the needs of our students.
Departmental Questions
The Course Evaluation Tool Governance Committee has voted to allow academic units
to add three additional questions to the survey. Academic units may have more than
one set of questions depending on class type, subject, or other factor, but only three
questions can be added to the Student Course Experience Survey.
For example, a college may want three sets of departmental questions, one set for
face-to-face classes, one set for online classes, and the final set for the capstone
course. Each set may have three questions but only one set may be applied to specific
survey. A capstone course that meets face-to-face could only have one of the sets
of questions.
Implementation Phase I will kick off with the tool rolled out to a select pilot group
in Fall 2024. Feedback from the pilots will be used to refine processes and future
deployment.
3 departments and 1 college participated
181 courses were part of the fall pilot
3,406 surveys sent to students with a 50.3% response rate
Departments recognized an average of 21.86% increase in response rate over Fall 2023
31 of the 181 courses utilized the instructor-optional questions
2 reports were published and distributed to faculty and staff; 1 additional report
is under review
Phase II
In Phase II, a broader deployment will take place in Spring 2025, incorporating lessons
learned from the Fall 2024.
In addition to the participants of the fall pilot, 2 comprehensive campuses, 1 college,
3 schools, 3 departments, and 1 program participated in the spring pilot
Townhalls were scheduled for faculty for an overall of Explorance Blue
Provost’s Office planned a Course Survey Week to promote Explorance Blue and course
surveys
Spring pilot reverted the Likert scale on most questions back to: (Strongly Disagree,
Disagree, Neutral, Agree, Strongly Agree)
Over 56,000 surveys were successfully deployed for the Spring 2025
Phase III
Summer 2025
The university aims for full implementation in Summer 2025, with Explorance Blue becoming
the standard for course evaluations.
Summer 2025 will be the final pilot for Explorance Blue implementation. Faculty will
be covered under the October 2024 memo from Provost Arnett. Academic units may continue
to use Class Climate but are highly encouraged to join the pilot as there is additional
support resources for the transition.
Fall 2025
The pilot will be completed by the end of Phase III. Explorance Blue will be the standard
for course evaluations. Class Climate will only be accessible for data extraction.