Measuring factors contributing to student performance at university : new approaches and new insights to inform quality teaching and learning

This paper reports on the development, deployment, results and application of a set of instruments designed for formative enhancement of university teaching, course design and learning support services for international students studying management and information technology related courses in an Australian university. The instrument has a number of unique features including how it is administered and the way it permits linkages between students’ academic outcomes and the characteristics of their learning environment to be explored. It is electronic, conducted on campus and produces a very high response rate. The instrument teases out aspects of courses and teaching which have been used by the university to inform and actively improve the learning environment. It has been used now for each of six consecutive terms and provides data for longitudinal studies of factors differentially contributing to performance of students across a range of courses, at different levels and from different countries.