UBC runs the Teaching Practices Survey approximately every four years to better understand how faculty and others with teaching responsibilities structure learning for students. The survey also offers an opportunity for those who participate to provide confidential feedback on their perceptions of the teaching climate at UBC.
Your participation in the 2023 survey is especially important as teaching at UBC has changed substantively since the last survey in 2018. Your responses will help UBC leadership better understand the potential long-term implications of this change and how best to support teaching in these new circumstances. In addition, results from the survey are used to inform strategic priorities, continual improvement processes, and service offerings, as well as to assess change that could be attributed to institutional initiatives.
Teaching Practices Survey FAQ
How was the Teaching Practices Survey developed?
The Teaching Practices Survey was developed by the Centre for Teaching, Learning and Technology (UBCV), the Science Centre for Teaching and Learning (UBCV), and the Centre for Teaching and Learning (UBCO) in collaboration with, the Equity and Inclusion Office, Health Promotion & Education, CTLT Indigenous Initiatives, Office of Indigenous Strategic Initiatives, Open UBC, and other units. The survey has been reviewed by survey methodologists and validated by faculty across UBC. The survey has also been vetted by UBCV Associate Deans Academic and Students and the UBCO Teaching and Learning Advisory Committee.
How can I participate in the Teaching Practices Survey?
The Teaching Practices Survey will be open May 2 to May 30. Faculty and others with teaching responsibilities who have taught a course in the past academic year will receive an email titled “UBC Teaching Practices Survey” with an invitation to the web-based survey. If you have not received an invitation by May 5 and feel that you should have, please email us at teaching.practices@ubc.ca
How many people participated in past surveys? Where can I find out more about past surveys?
Close to 900 faculty participated in the 2018 survey. However, analysis was done on the 656 responses deemed complete. This represented a 19% response rate. In 2014, over 1,000 faculty participated in the survey resulting in a 24% response rate. The distribution of responses in both 2014 and 2018 mirrored actual UBC appointments. This allowed us to have a strong degree of confidence in the survey findings.
When will the university-wide results be shared?
University-wide results will be available in August 2023. Please check this page for more information as that date approaches.
Has this been reviewed by UBC’s Behavioural Research Ethics Board?
Yes. View printable PDFs below:
How is my privacy being protected? Is it possible to identify and link my responses back to me?
Your privacy will be respected at all points of this study. Only the Principal Investigator will have access to the raw data and will ensure that any instances of self-disclosure and identifying references are anonymized before the data is shared with the larger research team. The questionnaire asks very limited personal data (rank/tenure and years teaching in higher education), none of which you will be required to answer.
No analysis or reporting of data will occur for any grouping with fewer than five responses. The faculty-specific reports provided to Associate Deans Academic and the campus/institutional reports provided to UBC leadership will include only aggregate data, along with anonymous, representative quotes from open-ended questions. At no point will individual responses, except anonymous or anonymized quotes, be made available outside the research team.
How is this survey different from the Workplace Experiences Survey?
The Workplace Experiences Survey seeks to understand both faculty and staff experiences of UBC as a workplace. The Teaching Practices Survey focuses specifically on teaching and, as such, only surveys faculty and others with teaching responsibilities. The Teaching Practices Survey asks questions about how learning is structured at UBC, perceptions of specific teaching practices, and perceptions related to how teaching is valued at various levels. While there are connections to the Workplace Experiences Survey, as well as the Undergraduate Experience Survey, the focus is very different.
Do other universities conduct surveys like this?
Student experience surveys, such as the UBC Undergraduate Experience Survey, are widespread across North America. However, universities are increasingly seeking to compare students’ feedback with information regarding how faculty and others with teaching responsibilities structure learning experiences. In 2016, UBC ran the Teaching Practices Survey to collect similar data for interested Universitas 21 institutions. Derivations of the Teaching Practices Survey have also been run by a number of Bay View Alliance member institutions.
