Online course feedback is input from learners about specific parts of a course, such as its lessons, assessments, navigation, or technology. Focused questions help creators find a fixable problem instead of relying on a general satisfaction score.
Start with the decision you need to make
Before writing a question, decide what you might change based on the answer. Ask about one course element at a time, use plain language, and avoid leading questions. The University of Missouri–St. Louis recommends questions that focus on one subject and on experiences learners can judge directly.
A rating can show how often learners agree with a statement or how easy they found a task. An open-ended follow-up can explain why. Keep the rating scale consistent across questions, and give learners room to describe a specific example.
Online course feedback questions to adapt
Choose prompts that fit your course rather than using every question in a single survey:
- Navigation: “How easy was it to find this module’s instructions, materials, and next activity? What was difficult to locate?”
- Learning materials: “Which reading, video, demonstration, or practice activity helped you most? What made it useful?”
- Clarity: “What concept or instruction is still unclear? Which lesson or activity would benefit from an explanation?”
- Assessment preparation: “How well did the practice activities prepare you for the assignment? What additional instruction or practice would have helped?”
- Technology and participation: “Did a course tool or discussion make it harder to take part? Tell us which one and what happened.”
- Accessibility and course design: “Was the material available in a format that worked for you? Was there a point where the course layout or content made it difficult to continue?”
- Keep, Start, Stop: “What should we keep doing because it helps you learn? What should we start doing? What should we stop or change?”
For positive course feedback, ask learners to name a particular lesson, resource, or activity and explain how it helped. A fill-in template could read: The worked example in [lesson] helped me apply [concept] to [task] because [reason]. It is a prompt for a learner to answer from their own experience, not a ready-made testimonial.
Combine ratings with specific comments
Closed-response questions, such as a rating, are easy to scan across responses. Open-ended prompts can reveal what learners mean and what they want changed. A short survey can use both, with a comment prompt tied to the same course element as the rating.
Avoid asking two things in one item. For example, “Were the lessons clear and useful?” combines clarity and usefulness. Ask about each separately so an answer points to a more specific course decision.
Ask when learners can answer and you can act
The right timing depends on what you want to learn. Ohio State and the University of Oregon describe feedback gathered during a course as a way to adjust the current experience; end-of-course feedback mainly informs a later offering.
- Before or at the start: Ask what learners hope to do by the end and what experience or knowledge they bring. Use the answers to clarify goals and understand the group’s starting point.
- After an early activity or major assignment: Ask about that particular experience while details are fresh. A survey sent close to a deadline may draw comments focused mostly on that assignment.
- Mid-course: Once learners have encountered enough of the material, ask what is working and where they are getting stuck. There may still be time to adjust the current course.
- At the end: Ask about the full course experience and look for patterns to use when revising the next offering.
- Weeks or months later: Ask whether learners have applied or retained what they learned. This addresses later use, not immediate course satisfaction.
Interpret the answers, then respond
Learner feedback describes learners’ experiences and perceptions. It does not by itself show whether they can perform a skill. When judging learning, consider feedback alongside relevant work or assessment results, and use questions about practice activities to find where learners may need more support.
Treat an overall score as a signal to investigate, not a diagnosis. Low response rates may make results less representative, and research on nonresponse bias in online evaluations has found mixed results. A single course evaluation also should not stand alone as a measure of teaching effectiveness.
Written comments need context too. A longer response is not automatically more useful. Look for specific reasons, examples, or suggestions, then check whether similar themes appear across responses. A comment that identifies a particular instruction as confusing gives you a clearer place to investigate than a general expression of dissatisfaction.
Choose anonymity based on the purpose of the survey and explain how responses will be handled. Anonymous feedback may make it more comfortable for learners to speak candidly; named responses can make follow-up possible. Protect learners’ privacy and avoid promising confidentiality beyond what your process can deliver.
Close the loop by sharing the themes you heard, what you plan to change, and what will remain as it is. That gives learners a clear account of how their feedback informed the course, even when a requested change is not feasible.
