Presentation given by Sarah Delli-Colli, Education officer at the University of Central Lancashire Students' Union, to the senior management team at the University of Central Lancashire about assignment feedback

1. The Good, The Bad and The Feedback
Sarah Delli-Colli
Education Officer

2. The Good, The Bad and The Feedback campaign
Positive campaign – based on real feedback. It is about helping the
University
Union responding to what our students want and doing something
about it!
NSS - We are not the worst, but neither the best
We could be the Gold standard and help erase the prejudice new
Universities face
This campaign came directly from the students, we can see good
practice, what needs improving and get a real insight into what
students right now think about feedback
We want to work closely with you to improve feedback and celebrate
areas of good practice

3. The Feedback questionnaire
demographics and example answers
320 students answered the questionnaire both online and in person.
This is the biggest response to a recent campaign demonstrating level of
student interest - So who answered?
Age of Those Surveyed
37% of students who
answered
8.90%
were classed as mature
8.60%
18-22
students allowing us to get
22-28
a good insight into how
19.40% 28-40
63.20%
feedback effects different
40+
age groups

4. Demographics continued
The Mode of Those Surveyed The Level of Those Surveyed
2.50%
10.10% 14.20%
undergraduate
full time
postgraduate
part time
foundation year
89.90% 83.20%
Home or Overseas
Confident that all academic
13.40%
demographics are covered
at a respectable level
home
overseas
86.60%

5. What do you think feedback is? And what types of
feedback do you think you can receive?
“Feedback should be constructive and aid
learning. Feedback can be received orally or
written.”
“I think Feedback is where a student should be
told where they went wrong, how they could do
better and what was actually expected from them
and so on.”
“Feedback is both verbal and written
communication that outlines the good and bad
points of each assessed piece of work.”

6. What do you think makes good feedback?
“Notifying students of what they've done
right/correctly. And more importantly, pointing
out their mistakes, and suggesting how they
could improve on this particular error.”
“Understanding the work, evaluating it critically,
picking up the mistakes, giving solution to
improve.”
“Constructive, highlighting strengths and
weaknesses and how to improve work.”
“1-2-1 sessions”

7. The University Card says you should receive feedback in
15 working days- what do you expect in this time?
“I'm not sure that 15 working days is always realistic for tutors to give full feedback,
though I would expect to receive some indication of how I fared by then.”
“At least confirmation of a grade”
“After waiting fifteen working days though, I expect detailed feedback, of which
really pinpoint my errors. And advice on how to IMPROVE on particular sections of
work.”
“We should receive at least initial impressions from assignments. Sadly this is very
rarely the case.”
“Never seen the card”
“Not bothered about the time as long as its detailed”
“Generic feedback on if I passed, with some comments. The detailed one comes
later.”
“Not once in almost 2 years have i received feedback within 15 days...NEVER”
“Nothing as we don’t normally get it in this time”

8. Do you receive feedback in 15 working day?
If we consider the
Do you Recive Feedback in 15 Working Days
answers ‘sometimes,
5.80%
rarely or never’ to all
18.80%
11.50%
be dissatisfactory
always
responses, that
usualy
means that 36% of our
sometimes
18.50%
students are not
rarely
having the University
never
part of the card
47.30%
adhered to.

9. Do you receive any verbal feedback on your work?
Do You Recieve Verbal Feedback on Your Work
11.20%
17.60%
always
usualy
26.00%
sometimes
21.80%
rarely
never
26.00%
Extremely varied response! Only 11% of students always
receiving verbal feedback.
Students may even be referring to a verbal address to the class
here so the actual figure of 1-2-1 tutor student contact time may
be considerably lower.

10. Do you use the feedback you receive to improve your
next piece of work?
Do You Use The Feedback To Improve Your Next
Piece Of Work
4.50%
23.10%
yes
sometimes
no
73.70%

11. If YES, can you see a progression in your marks/work?
“Sometimes but if feedback is misunderstood
then the same mistakes are made again.”
“Yes, I have found feedback received so far very
useful and this does seem to be reflected in my
grades generally.”
“I am trying my very best to improve upon my
grades but when your tutor calls you 'simple' and
tells you that you can't 'construct a essay with
proper use of English Language' - it kind of
knocks your confidence a bit. I was far, far too
harshly criticised and this was on my first piece
of work in my University Career.”

12. If NO, why is this and do you think you will now do it in
the future?
“Because I have not had feedback for much of
my work and if I do the comments are not
detailed enough.”
“When we get the feedback it isn’t until three or
more assignments have been turned in therefore
we are unable to improve until it’s to late.”

13. Any other comments? (positive)
“All of the tutors in my faculty are very supportive.”
“I'm very happy with the communication between myself
and my module leaders. If I have a question, they always
respond in a timely fashion. Assignment briefs are perhaps
too brief, this is a shame, yet does prompt active dialogue
between myself and my tutors.”
“On the whole, my experience of feedback from the course
tutors on PCI has been fantastic. It is timely and
constructive and although verbal feedback is often not
offered as standard, many of the tutors give the option to
see them if you want it.”
“I can't fault the feedback I get from my lecturers and
always use it to improve my next submission.”

14. Any other comments? (negative)
“Thinking about transferring to another course...lost all faith in
undergraduate education...WHERE IS MY MONEY GOING Please feel free
to contact me. I would appreciate any help/support that anyone can give.”
“Lecturer slated my work was not constructive made me cry he just said
you need to do more work what does that mean.”
“It is impossible to improve when one does not know where one has
succeeded or failed. I do not understand how a tutor can get away with
repeatedly ignoring requests for feedback. I do not think it is
unreasonable, since I am paying £10000 and taking a three year career
break to do this degree, to ask for my marks. I am proud to be a part of
UCLan, and I hope to continue in to post-graduate study and possibly
even a career here, but this has been a bad experience. I hope it is the
exception rather than the rule.”
“If we are expected to stick to a dead line then so should our tutors!”
“Do something about this!”

15. The Feedback Ballot
Not as high uptake as the questionnaire
109 ballots received in total
Simple question- “Is your feedback Good or Bad?”
39% said Bad
61% said good
Snapshot

16. Also on the ballot- What could be improved about the
feedback you receive?
More verbal feedback is needed
Quicker turn around
Receive it before my next piece of work
Continuity between lecturers
Legibility of writing!
Better description of why mark has been given
Actually give me some!
Needs to be more in depth

17. Examples of feedback- the extremes

18. Finally
Initial findings, comprehensive Feedback Report
to be produced by Easter
Hope to work with the University to help improve
student satisfaction on feedback and push us up
the league tables
Wider interest from NUS and THES
QUESTIONS - Thank-you