Guide to AEFIS Survey Types

Updated:  October 2021

Description:  AEFIS offers multiple different types of surveys, that may be scheduled either on a term/course section based schedule or on a more general schedule outside of a Course or Course Section. 

When scheduling a Survey in AEFIS, selecting one of the two types of surveys is required as you begin the process:

When building a Survey Template in AEFIS, you are required to select the type of survey the template will be used for:

This guide describes the different survey types in AEFIS so you may choose the right type for your needs when building your templates, and then scheduling your survey.

Course Evaluation: Course/Course Section Based Surveys

1. Student Course Evaluations

Student Course Evaluations are surveys administered at the beginning, mid-point and/or end of a term to collect student feedback on a specific course section.  These can be owned/managed by the Institution, College, Department or even at a specific Course level depending on your policies.  They automatically populate with information from your AEFIS Course and Data Feed, such as Instructor names and Course Learning Outcomes, if those types of questions are used in the surveys, allowing for seamless integration with other solutions.  These can be set as anonymous for traditional end of term course evaluations, or the participants can be visible.  The institution can set a minimum number of RESPONSES to allow faculty to review the results of the anonymous type of student course evaluation, though Institution Admins and Survey Admins may see results even if the minimum is not met, and can choose to release those results to faculty on a case by case basis.

Scheduling:  Can be scheduled one time, or to run every term when a section of a Course is offered.

Participants:  Students enrolled in a course section

Timing: Beginning of Term, Mid-Term, End of Term - based on your Term milestone dates

AEFIS Account Required:  Yes - users must have an AEFIS account and credentials to access your single sign on (SSO) to access their survey forms

2. General Course Evaluations

General Course Evaluations are surveys administered that are not meant to be an evaluation of the course section, but a way to target students in particular courses with survey topics.  A popular use of this function is for facility surveys, for example.  Course Sections in a particular campus building could be targeted to ask questions about the quality of the space in their classroom or lab. 

Scheduling:  Can be scheduled one time, or to run every term when a section of a Course is offered

Participants:  Students enrolled in a course section

Timing: Beginning of Term, Mid-Term, End of Term - based on your Term milestone dates

AEFIS Account Required:  Yes - users must have an AEFIS account and credentials to access your single sign on (SSO) to access their survey forms

3. Instructor Course Evaluations

Faculty Course Evaluations allow an institution to gather feedback from faculty about their experience teaching a course section in a particular term.  It is an opportunity for self-assessment, institution assessment, or both.  These are not anonymous surveys. 

Scheduling:  Can be scheduled one time, or to run every term when a section of a Course is offered

Participants:  Faculty listed as instructors of a Course Section in AEFIS

Timing: Beginning of Term, Mid-Term, End of Term - based on your Term milestone dates

AEFIS Account Required:  Yes - users must have an AEFIS account

General Surveys: Surveys not associated with Courses/Course Sections

1. External Group Surveys

External Group Surveys are not Course/Course Section based, and are created based on User Groups in AEFIS.  User Groups can contain users with AEFIS accounts, users external to AEFIS/your institution or both.  They do not interface with other solutions and AEFIS, and are a general survey tool.

Scheduling:  Can be scheduled any time

Participants:  Any user or external participant whose email is in the assigned User Group

Timing: Any time

AEFIS Account Required:  No - AEFIS account is not required

2. Alumni Surveys

Alumni Surveys are intended to collect post-graduate information from former students, typically about their employment and continued education plan.  For Alumni Surveys, a special question type exists called Auto Complete Drop Down where very specific drop down items can be added - like types of jobs or salary ranges - and can be imported via CSV into the questions. 

Scheduling:  Can be scheduled any time

Participants: User Group based

Timing: Any time

AEFIS Account Required:  No - AEFIS account is not required