ONLINE COURSE EVALUATION - STRATEGIES FOR INCREASING STUDENT RESPONSE RATES

In the last ten years, in the majority of universities worldwide, we have witnessed a transition from paper-based to online administration of student ratings of instruction. The most common problem that has emerged is the decrease in response rates in online evaluation. According to recent studies, some institutions reported response rates as low as 20 per cent. Several strategies were developed and tested in order to combat this reduction, including a variety of incentives for students, rewards for faculty and departments. The present study presents the strategies employed in a Romanian university to increase response rates for course evaluation. The study examines student response rates from an entire semester and analyses the questionnaire characteristics and student involvement as contributing factors. The findings suggest that creating a participant-friendly questionnaire by limiting the number of questions, providing clear instructions and using clear language is an effective method that increases student response rates.