You graduated from the Second Faculty of Medicine. Were you an exemplary student, and dutifully filled out the survey?
Back then, nobody really asked for our opinions. But even in our time, there was something resembling a student survey. We would receive piece of paper for certain subjects and write down our thoughts on the teaching. Maybe the response rate back then was even higher than today's electronic survey in SIS.
Do you remember what you wrote in those evaluations?
Since I was quite outspoken, I usually wrote exactly what I thought. A good trick was getting one of those pieces of paper before an exam—I would, of course, write that I was very satisfied (laughs).
If I were a student at the Second Faculty of Medicine, why should I take the time to go into SIS, find the relevant tab, and complete the survey?
It would be great if students understood that providing feedback is part of their studies. As the faculty leadership, we can make improvements, but we need to know what’s happening. Not just where there are problems, but also where a subject is being taught well. The faculty leadership needs to make decisions based on data. If students don’t provide it, I, as the Vice-Dean for Study Affairs, can ask around among friends in the hallways, but that’s not the same as having a large-scale analysis. With solid data, we can intervene as we have already done on several occasions. Oral feedback alone doesn’t give us the quality insights we need. We don’t expect long essays, just a simple opinion—even an emoji-like response ‘good’ or ‘not so great’ is enough.
Like rating a delivery service?
Exactly. If we see a lot of ‘frowning face’ responses somewhere, we start asking what the problem is, and often we find out. It might not be anything serious—the course leader might be doing a great job, but there could be a minor communication issue or misunderstanding that’s easily fixable. For the faculty leadership, numerical ratings of different aspects of studies are crutial. These ratings take just seconds for the responders to complete. For course guarantors, written comments on subjects and teachers are also important.
I assume there are no emojis in the actual survey?
No, but we are discussing with the university administration—the ones managing the information systems—that the survey could be modernised, possibly into an app format. I’d also like a system that allows us to address teaching issues in real-time.
Currently, students can find standard questions about organisation, study materials, and teacher approaches, rated on a scale of one to five, just like in a Czech school. If we notice that study materials for a subject are consistently rated poorly, we can discuss with the course guarantors whether they should write or recommend something new. The same goes for course organisation—many issues are technical, like an e-mail not being sent correctly. Sometimes a professor doesn’t show up for class because students were sent to the wrong room due to miscommunication. These are minor problems that can often be solved in five minutes. Faculty leadership and department heads genuinely want everything to run smoothly.
The minor problems can often be solved in five minutes. Faculty leadership and department heads genuinely want everything to run smoothly.
Where can students find the survey in SIS?
It’s not hard to find—it’s available for each subject. Besides the standard questions, there’s also an option to rate teachers, and if students feel like it, they can leave a longer comment. Most comments are really constructive, and it’s a pleasure to read them. I also appreciate when students sign their names under reasonable criticism.
Is the Teacher of the Year award based on survey results?
Essentially, yes. The numerical ratings are crucial for the ranking. When I look at the results, I’m happy to see a large group of teachers who clearly enjoy their work and do it well. Our new Management and System Processes department now helps to analyse the data, even adjusting for the weight of different votes in the survey.
What happens to the collected data?
You wouldn’t think so, but the survey results for the entire faculty amount to about 60,000 lines of data from SIS. These need to be processed into a digestible format, which our analytics team handles. I then check for any inconsistencies. The results are discussed with the Dean and sent to course guarantors, who review comments and discuss them with their teaching teams. There are extensive discussions at various levels. That’s why it frustrates me when students say they don’t fill out the survey because ‘no one reads it’. We spend hours analysing it at all levels. Course guarantors prepare reflections on the feedback, which are available on the faculty’s website. Additionally, based on survey results, the Dean and I now invite selected department heads for discussions on specific feedback points. These discussions, involving the Dean, Vice-Dean, and department heads, have proven highly effective.
That’s a strong appeal for students to take a little time to share their opinions.
Often, the issues raised aren’t major. Sometimes, a huge faculty-wide problem turns out to be a simple clerical mistake: someone pressing the wrong key in a department office.
Or maybe not everyone is born to be a great teacher like John Amos Comenius, the father of the modern education?
The way we convey information (how we actually teach) is something worth discussing too. We recently established the Centre for Development of Communication and Pedagogical Competences, led by Dr Šárka Tomová. Teaching is a process with its own set of rules. Many of us have been teaching for decades without any formal training. We’ve learnt what works through trial and error. For example, it's not a good idea to use yellow text on a blue background, or to read slides verbatim, which we call ‘PowerPoint karaoke’. Anyone who claims they teach perfectly should sign up for our teaching competency course immediately. All new educators are now required to take it, but I’d love for everyone to attend. It’s unrealistic to expect that, but the course is an incredibly useful resource. Activating students, understanding the learning process—these are crucial for improving teaching quality.
Have you taken the course yourself?
Yes, and I really enjoyed it. We need to learn how to teach. Not everyone is naturally gifted in pedagogy. Being a great doctor doesn’t automatically make you a great teacher.
Can you give examples of faculty changes based on survey feedback?
Sometimes, an entire department’s leadership can change — that’s an extreme case, but it has happened. More commonly, we address minor technical issues in course organisation. We also adjust course content if, for example, certain lectures are more suitable for postgraduate studies than for undergraduates.
Sometimes, an entire department’s leadership can change — that’s an extreme case, but it has happened.
What’s the response rate for the survey?
Considering how much can change based on feedback, the response rate across all study programs at the faculty is only about 7 %. For medicine specifically, it’s slightly higher, around 10 %. In the first years, 40–50 % of students respond, but issues with teaching are less common then. By the third year, responses drop to a third, and for final-year students, we get almost no feedback. That’s a real shame. I understand, final-year students are focused on finishing and entering practice. But if we want to improve final exams and courses, we need solid feedback that gives us a mandate to make changes. We’re a family faculty, but we’ve grown significantly. We need to shine a light on areas that aren’t as visible. Otherwise, a course guarantor can just dismiss feedback by saying, ‘Only 2 % of students complained, so 98 % must be satisfied.’ That’s not helpful.
On the other hand, with thousands of students, each with different preferences, it would be naive to expect that submitting feedback will immediately lead to changes.
Can we mention some written evaluations? What do they typically include?
Most comments are positive or constructively critical. I just wish students would use the survey more often to simply thank their teachers: ‘Thank you, that was great!’ We filter out inappropriate, offensive comments. One time, someone wrote that I would be a great guard in a concentration camp. After reading the survey results, I usually need a day or two to process them. But the good news is that the vast majority of our students are wonderful people who genuinely want to improve the faculty.
