Rate My Course Wrap Up
Whether you rated your course to “pimp your wardrobe” or make a difference by having a say in your programme, we’ve got the results for you here! There is a grand total of 1074 students that participated in the Rate My Course survey so far in 2011. If you have not participated yet, the online course questionnaire will remain open until the end of the semester. USU and your programme leaders are always interested in receiving your feedback to try to improve your educational experience here at Unitec.
2011 Awards
Unitec’s Favourite Course 2011: Anatomy and Physiology
“Science is fun. Expose this to a group of enthusiastic motivated students, each of whom will bring their amazing and complex bodies to class and you have a recipe for inspired and interesting learning. The students are discovering what's really inside them both literally and physiologically.”
-Sue Gasquoine (Head of Department Nursing)
Unitec’s Most Improved Course 2011: Construction Systems 2/3 Sem A
"The Construction Systems 2 course delivery was extensively remodeled this year, in response to various feedback received in 2010 - which included comments offered via RMC. The lecturer concerned worked with closely with Te Puno Ako in responding to the challenge of delivering a technical subject more effectively to a large cohort in a tiered lecturing auditorium. The results achieved has so far has been most encouraging and holds great promise for the Department of Construction in terms of applying a similar strategy to our other large classes"
-Douw Van Zyl
Unitec’s Department with the Most Satisfied Students: Design and Visual Arts
Unitec’s Least Satisfied Course 2011: Construction Practice 3
Unitec’s Department with Least Satisfied Students: Construction
2011 Statistics
>10% of students rated their course in 2011
89% Highest Percentage Rating for a Paper
35% Lowest Percentage Rating for a Paper
1074 students participated in RMC in 2011
76.72% Average Overall Department Rating 2011
777 papers were rated in 2011
54,061 hits in 2011 on the RMC website
Some recognised changes
Graphic Design and animation: Practice in context 5
This paper received frequent complaints through rate my course that were consistent and concerning. The common issues included assessments and assignments scheduled too closely or at the same time as studio practice, making the workload nearly impossible to keep up with. 42% of the students from this course participated in rate my course feedback, so the negative feedback was highly concerning.
“There is a large problem with this course. The content and assessments do not fit with our studio practice and therefore it just feels like a huge waste of time, making it very difficult to go to class and do the assignments.”
“There was some confusion around this course not being applicable to our Studio as it should have been. Makes it hard to know how to approach the projects - limits our outputs/what we can get out of the course.”
Another common complaint was that the content of the course was not applicable to the overall programme. The initial briefing of the paper also left a lot of unanswered questions, and confusion.
“the explanation of it should be able to be understood without confusion and continued need for clarification. If so, then the brief has not been written well.”
The overall satisfaction for this course sits at 62%, and is undergoing a review next year in order to fix the kinks around timetable and content presentation.
Performing and Screen Arts: Professional Development 1:
The major concern regarding this paper was the relevance of the content. Many students felt that the material was “dragged out” and did not apply to the big picture of what their programme was trying to teach. The paper is intended to teach students how to behave and handle professional situations within the performance industry. Apparently, a lot of this course material was considered, “common sense”
“The things that we are taught in this class are very obvious if we come to think about it. We all know what being 'professional' is about, but I guess we need to be reminded that THIS IS A VERY IMPORTANT ASPECT to our industry.”
“I find each session could be compressed in to 30 minutes not an hour and a half. The work is easy, understandable and more common sense than anything. I don't find it overly beneficial. ”
There was also a bit of stir about certain lecturers involved in teaching this paper. There were student complaints that surrounded the teaching
“The first term of this course was incredibly disappointing and one particular lecture I found very offensive and demeaning as it all seemed just obvious pre-primary school level learning, not the higher level learning I expected from a tertiary level course.”
In response to the strong feedback regarding this course, the staff is reviewing the course material for reconsideration for the 2012 year. They are also considering the teachers for reassignment to this paper.
If you have a strong opinion about any of the feedback reported in this article, log onto Rate My Course on the USU website and contribute your own voice. Rate My Course will be open until the end of the semester, so log on to help future students have the best experience possible within that course!
**Please note: This article is only based on results from Rate My Course as of the 30th September. Results may vary. USU does not assert that this is the opinion of the general student cohort but rather those that have used Rate My Course.