Students’ Survey Evaluation: A New Paradigm

Abstract

The lynchpin of any educational setup is the duo of student and teacher; the third vital component which regulates the activities of the duo is educational management of the setup. The present study focuses on eliciting the opinions of students from three diplomas organized by Deanship of Community Services and Continuing Education, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah to study the effectiveness of diplomas. The instrument diploma evaluation questionnaire (DEQ) used to collect data was a modified version of the course evaluation questionnaire (CEQ) developed by the Saudi National commission of Assessment and Academic Accreditation (NCAAA). A sample of 240 diploma students both male and female participated in the study. Statistical evaluation was carried out using SPSS ver 21 and some relevant figures were drawn using AMOS software. Findings of this study coupled with other inputs can simultaneously be used by pedagogical staff and administrators to frame future policies for improving the quality of educational diplomas in an institution or program. Results of the study pinpointed some areas which need to be focused on in future diplomas: for instance, orientation about the diplomas needs more elaboration, provision of training material and linkage between the theory and practice be established. The relationship between the three subscales and Overall Evaluation (OE) is significant with ‘Diploma evaluation’ subscale as the most effective predictor for OE followed by ‘During the diploma’ subscale.  The study also demonstrated the robust evidence of objectivity and data authenticity. The easy-to-follow approach has been adopted so that pedagogical and administrative staff can effectively use the techniques proposed in the current study. The evidence thus extracted can be used to structure efficient prospective policies than can surely enhance student experiences during their educational discourses.