Guided Student Discussions

To supplement traditional quantitative survey tools—including those used to evaluate program quality (program surveys) and to align course content with labor market demands (graduate surveys), the Office of Teaching Development and Quality Assurance conducts needs-based or demand-driven, guideline-supported student interviews.

This qualitative tool aims to analyze in detail, on a case-by-case basis, specific issues identified —for example, in the context of a degree program survey —such as an excessive exam workload. Compared to the standardized program survey, the guided student interviews offer the opportunity to more precisely identify the causes of problematic academic trajectories within the framework of an “expert discussion.”

By using a guide, only the general direction of the conversation with individual selected students is specified, thereby establishing the exploratory nature of the “guided student interviews” instrument: Underlying causes and causal relationships—which quantitative research methods, such as the program surveys conducted with EvaSys, do not capture or capture only to a limited extent— can be uncovered through the open-ended design of this qualitative instrument and, as a result, provide important indicators for structural and content-related improvements in academic programs and teaching.