Student surveys are assuming increasing importance in league tables comparing institutions, and as students are asked to pay more toward their education they are  more questioning about what we deliver.  So this question is being commonly asked in academic circles.  This isn’t a detailed scientific discussion, but here are some things that our students hate:

• Marks perceived as unfair because they are impressionistic or unreliable, as in
  • impressionistic marks for performance on attachments
  • essays vs. MCQs
• Being given group marks as individuals.  Here’s why (another penetrating comment from the BerateMyProfessor blog)
• Teachers not showing up
• Late return of marks
• Perception that nobody knows them
• or worse, that nobody cares about them

And here are some proposed approaches

• Personal tutors who know you in the workplace through the years
• More feedback after assessments
• More contact with a consistent teacher-leader to whom you, and your experience, are evidently important
• Lengthening attachments and getting students more involved with the team
• Better bus service (hardly dare mention this one)
• Tell them repeatedly how good the place is, they are.  Probably this has to be believable.  And it could make them believe they are better without actually making them better – mixed blessing.

Clearly some of these are harder to fix than others.  Some may need just a little reorganisation, others may take a lot of resource.

From the Edinburgh Medic Memes Facebook page