Program Chats

Program Chats are consensus-building processes that enable departments and schools to gain insights into students' perceptions about their learning in a program. Unlike a Midterm Chat where we investigate students’ perceptions of teaching and learning in a particular course, a Program Chat allows departments or schools to learn about students’ experiences in an entire program.

All program chats must be requested by a department chair or school director. They can designate other people in the department (e.g., program director, section coordinator, etc.) to work with our Center staff, but the initial request must come from the department chair or school director.

We ask the chair, director, or their designees to identify a time where the majority of the target students are present (students who are in your major, certificate program, etc.). We strongly recommend scheduling the chat during regular class meeting time for one of your required courses in order to have a higher participation rate.

Limitations

Timeframe

The Center can accommodate a limited number of chats each semester. Applications are due by the 4^th Friday of each semester.

Size limit

We can accommodate a group of up to 50 students.

Space needs

If you cannot get the majority of the target students in one place, we may not be able to conduct the chat.

General feedback

A program chat’s goal is not to elicit feedback about particular instructors. Therefore, we ask the students to share general perceptions instead of any particular instructor’s behaviors when the students share their opinions about specific instructional settings and events.

Reporting

Outcomes from program chats are shared only with the chair, director, or their designees. If the unit would like to discuss results with others in the department or school, we ask them to share the results with them after the feedback phase of the program chat.

Submit Request

Process
Policies

Application

Please fill out the program chat application. Center staff will be in contact to let everyone know if we can or cannot accommodate the department/school as soon as possible.

Initial meeting

Center staff meet with the chair, director, or their designees to learn about the program and the goal(s) for the program chat.

Program chat visit

The chat may take anywhere from 40-50 minutes, depending on how long it takes to reach a consensus among the students. During the visit, Center staff will ask students to respond to standard questions:

What aspects of the program help you to learn?
What aspects of the program inhibit your learning?
What suggestions can you offer that would enhance your learning in the program?
What can you, as students, do to improve your learning in the program?

Students will consider these questions individually, in groups, and finally, as the whole class, in order to reach a consensus. We aim to achieve consensus so that the feedback represents more than just the view of small groups of students or individual outliers.

Feedback phase

No later than one week after we conduct the program chat, we will meet again with the chair, director, or their designees to review the results of the chat, discuss strategies for change, and answer questions. We will provide the school/department with a written summary of our conversation with the students for their future reference.

Voluntary

Only chairs, directors, or their designees can request that Program Chats be conducted for their programs.

Formative

Center facilitators are not in the business of evaluating teaching. Facilitators seek to collect candid feedback on a program from students. We will not engage in the conversation about individual instructors, and during the chat process, we ask your students not to name any particular instructors.

Confidential

Information we gather as a result of the Program Chat process will be shared with the department chair, school director, or their designees and will not be shared with anyone else outside of the Center without express consent.

Content here...

Edit here