Student evaluation questionnaires and the developing world: An examination of the move from a hard copy to online modality

• We give an overview of hard copy and online student SEQ modalities.
• We examine online SEQs in relation to a developing country.
• This study found little difference between the response rates of hard copy and online SEQs.
• The turn-around-time was significantly increased using the online modality.

Universities typically use student evaluation questionnaires (SEQs) as tools for gathering data for course improvement. Since 2002 SEQs have predominantly been used in online modalities in the developed world. However, the developing world has historically had issues with the reliability of information communication technology (ICT), such that this is the first generation to experience ICT as a dependable commodity. This research is located in a university in Trinidad and Tobago where further historical and contextual matters are at play. Results from a pilot online student evaluation system found that students were just as likely to use online SEQs as they were their hard copy equivalents, and that future students are more likely to favour the online format.