The value and usability of digital student engagement surveys in higher education (an institutional case study)

The assessment of the quality of teaching and learning is complex; therefore, sophisticated online student surveys which use student responses as a means to capture student experience data are employed at a national and international level as proxy evaluation methods and have emerged as a core part of the quality assurance processes. Although these online survey instruments have been scrutinised and criticised because they represent a subjective student-based assessment of quality, they have become increasingly influential. Survey results are often used for internal quality assurance and enhancement processes, external quality reviews, benchmarking, national policy developments, accreditations, competitive marketing, and student recruitment. Higher Education Institutions, therefore, have an interest in enhancing student engagement in institutional activities in order to enhance their ‘quality’ status and can do this by committing resources, introducing interventions and changing practices (Kuh, 2009b; Kuh and Jankowski, 2018). However, despite many studies on student engagement and what institutions can do to improve it, there is no clarity on what resources, practices, or interventions should be targeted. As such, this research aims to explore the relationship between the Irish Survey of Student Engagement (ISSE, now renamed StudentSurvey.ie) and its use, influence, and priority for key stakeholders within a higher education institution in Ireland. By conducting a case study analysis of this quality measure, this research presents an enhanced understanding of the challenges, opportunities, pressures, and sensitivities concerning the use of national student engagement surveys to inform strategic and policy developments and the value placed on the measure as expressed by those who have agency concerning quality assurance and enhancement.