LTKY conducts an annual OLS, Quality of Teaching, survey. This year, we aimed to make the survey more compact and think about the formatting as well as the necessity of the questions. Sections directly related to well-being were removed from the survey, as the well-being survey conducted in the spring mapped these factors extensively. This year, the survey also included new sections about the experiences of corona time and how students perceive the study culture at LUT. The response rate was unforeseen with 1092 responses. A BIG THANK YOU to all the respondents!

Did the corona situation affect the results?

While making the survey, we considered how drastically the corona situation is reflected in the survey results. In general, it was easier to say that studies have not slowed down too much due to the corona situation. There has been a slight decline in study motivation and the survey revealed that the lack of motivation and mental well-being have the greatest effect on slowing down the studies. Their role was also the largest last year, but this year they became more prominent from last year. It seemed a little strange to ask about the good sides of such a crisis situation, even in terms of studying. 3% of the respondents did not see any good side in this corona situation. On the good side, the increase of the lecture recordings was constantly emphasized. In the open responses, everyone hoped for the development of lecture recordings even after the corona. In addition, electronic exams were praised. According to the open answers, in the Moodle exams, which require more application, learning has taken place in the exam situation, unnecessary memorizing has been left out and electronic exams have been felt to support working life more. However, there were varied experiences with the implementation of the remote training groups. The replacement of paper exams and the implementation of exercise groups depend very much on the nature of the course, but we at LTKY encourage all teachers to look at the diverse possibilities of implementing courses!

Study culture at LUT

LUT has a strong Student Culture, but does it also encourage students to study? According to the OLS results, about 70% of the respondents almost completely agree that LUT’s student culture encourages students to study and that there is no internal competition among students at LUT. In addition, in general, fellow students are not seen as competitors in job search, which on the other hand would be natural. In the comparison of degree programs, some of the business students saw their fellow students as competitors in their job search.

From feedback to action!

We are not producing questionnaires in vain, but the purpose of the questionnaire is to generate lobbying material that would look like all of our students. These results will be used in individual advocacy cases. Concretely, in all meetings, we bring out the wishes of the students in particular, for example, lecture recordings. LTKY’s open feedback highlighted adult students, so we put it on the work list to find out what we could do better for them. In addition, we promise to continue open cooperation with both LUT and the guilds, so that the voice of the students can be heard!

Student feedback

In addition to the OLS survey, the event included results of the course feedback survey and the graduates surveys led by Annikka Nurkka. With regard to course feedback, an earlier trend can be observed, such as the response activity decreases as the academic year progresses. The response rate of summer courses was very low, less than 10% in the whole of LUT. The positive effect of extra points can also be seen in the response activity. The course feedback follows in particular question number 5; “The course promoted my learning” and it can be said that the transition to a distance or hybrid model has not reduced the quality of teaching according to the course feedback. The data obtained from course feedback is really monitored, so the course feedback is the most relevant channel of influence and feedback must also be given about neutral courses! It is gratifying to note that, according to the OLS survey, course feedback is generally considered to be a relevant channel of influence.

Career survey

Elina Hannikainen-Himanen from LUT’s career services, also presented the most important results of the career survey. On top of that, we noted that our alumni who have graduated from LUT are doing well in terms of getting a job! It was interesting to look at the skills that alumni have found important for working life. The skills were very generic, of which the top 3 were: ability to adopt and learn new things, problem-solving and self-direction. One of the key factors for a career is monthly salary which was reviewed as median salaries. LUT graduates are in 3rd place in the salary comparison in the university comparison. On average, 5 years after graduation, a Master of Science in Engineering earns around 4400€ and a Master of Business Administration 4570€. Based on the results presented by Elina, it could be said that graduating from LUT is a very good thing!

Let’s develop LUT’s feedback culture together!

Surveys are constantly being emailed and many are sure to think that their own answer is irrelevant. The purpose of the surveys for students at LUT is to develop things so that us students can study even better! The surveys are based on the best possible idea, so remember to answer the survey next time too so that your point of view can be heard as well. Also, we need to remember that a great chart doesn’t make a difference but a change needs to be done from feedback! This is how we work together to develop LUT’s feedback culture.