Welcome! We provide a resource for multi-campus and hybrid format course instructors to assess student experience using the Community of Inquiry (CoI) framework. This tool provides an easy to use survey instrument to evaluate perceptions of teaching, cognitive, and social presence within each cohort.

Multi-campus instruction involves the teaching of a course where the instructor is located at one location and students attend synchronously from other locations (e.g. campuses) using information and communications technology (ICT). Challenges in accessibility and equity can lead to a disparate student experience at each location, which can cause an overall decrease in learning. Hybrid learning environments face similar challenges in maintaining equity between classroom and remote students. The CoI survey takes 5-8 minutes to complete, and can be used within a course to isolate particular challenges students are facing and inform corrective pedagogical actions to improve student experience within the classroom.

Hybrid instruction involves a course format where some students attend locally (in person or face to face) and others attend individually through streaming technologies such as Zoom or Microsoft Teams. There are similar challenges between multi-campus and hybrid instructional models, with hybrid remote students experiencing even greater isolation than remote students in multi-campus settings. Understanding how face to face and remote students experience the course differently is essential for achieving equitable learning outcomes.

Create a New Survey

Methodology

Launch a new survey (the questions are determined for you).
Share the link for your survey with your students.
Students complete the survey.
Use your results link to access the anonymized results.

Surveys submitted by students are automatically analyzed and plotted using MANOVA to locate statistically significant differences in perceived presence between student cohorts attending your course. No student identifying information is stored in our database. The survey may be closed at any time. This service is entirely free and is developed and maintained by the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada.

The methodology is further described in "Sielmann, C., Chiu, V., & Keulen, C. (2022, June 20). An Online Survey Tool for Multi-Cohort Courses. Proceedings of the Canadian Engineering Education Association (CEEA)." Please cite this source if publishing work using the tool.

The following provides a brief introduction to using the tool:
Recorded by Victoria Chiu for presentation at CEEA

Privacy and Data Retention

The University of British Columbia (UBC) uses a locally hosted application in EduCloud to collect your responses to this survey. UBC may optionally collect your e-mail address, information about courses you attended, and your opinions, perspective and comments on these courses as part of an open initiative to promote continuous improvement in teaching. UBC collects this information under the authority of section 26(c) and section 26(d) of BC's Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (BC FIPPA). Information related to completed surveys is stored anonymously. Individual, anonymous responses as well as aggregate results may be presented to survey creators (course instructors at UBC or elsewhere) and service administrators for the intended purpose of highlighting pedagogical improvements for post-secondary courses consisting of multiple cohorts of students. The Department of Mechanical Engineering at UBC does not share any identifying information, including email addresses, with other departments or parties external to UBC.

Should you have any questions or concerns regarding the privacy and security, or collection and use, of your personal information please contact Christoph Sielmann at sielmann@mech.ubc.ca.