Post-graduate student grades and unit evaluation: is there a relationship between student unit feedback and their final unit grade?

I n September 2012, the University of Tasmania transitioned to a fully online internal student evaluation system. Following this change, teaching staff have repeatedly expressed concern regarding the calibre of students choosing to participate in Unit Surveys. A common assumption was that only students who have achieved either very high, or very low, final grades choose to provide feedback, while students who receive a pass/credit provide little to no feedback, leading to survey bias. This presentation will discuss the methodology and preliminary findings of a pilot project to map student unit evaluation survey responses against their GPA. Data gathered will inform a larger university-wide analysis of survey responses and further data mining capabilities.