Tip of the Week: A questionnaire is an easy way for students to order services
What is it?
The backgrounds of the questionnaires is in the HowULearn questionnaire of the University of Helsinki, which was created again two years ago to provide more opportunities for reflection and act more concretely as a service for students.
For two years, these kinds of questionnaires have been used to provide over 1 500 service performances at Aalto ENG and a several times larger target group has been informed about the service production.
How?
The questionnaire is sent to first-year students in the autumn and spring and once during the second and third year of studies.
The student typically gives his or her name when responding to the questionnaire. There is a possibility to respond anonymously, but only few choose to do so. The Learning Services organise services according to the responses given by the students as well as the students' wishes. Service production uses general information messages as a starting point. The messages include a compilation of Into links related to the service. Subsequently, workshops are organised for students according to their needs. If necessary, students are contacted and guided individually.
What is it suitable for?
The practice is suitable for effective targeted service production and producing individual service to students. Degree programmes can also use the questionnaire to become better familiar with the needs for knowledge among their students and receive valuable feedback, e.g. on academic advising and orientation.
Benefits?
The student gets an easy opportunity for ordering a service or obtaining more information. The student structures his or her thoughts using the means of reflection and makes his or her goals concrete with the choices made. The student can see that he or she has an effect on the school's issues as the results are communicated to the entire target group of the questionnaire. The degree programme gains valuable information about the goals of the students, e.g. in relation to their timetable for graduating, number of credits accumulated and programme selection at the master's degree stage.
Based on the feedback, students have even felt like they are maintaining dialogue with their higher education institution.
What is required?
The practice requires a person to produce the questionnaire and link the questionnaires and service producers together as well as plenty of enthusiasm to communicate to the students in connection with the invitation to the questionnaire, reminders and distribution of results. The practice also requires a register description.
Further information:
Project Manager Ville Kivimäki, Aalto ENG, [email protected]
Previous stories
- Tip of the Week: The annual clock helps us do things in a systematic way
- Tip of the Week: Syllabus helps students plan their studies
- Tip of the Week: Monitoring doctoral studies is caring about the student
- Tip of the Week: Messengers give feedback to teachers
Read more news

On Mars the weather varies dramatically, however the planet’s climate is not changing
The doctoral dissertation of Henrik Kahanpää also questions a prevailing perception related to dust devils on Mars. As a researcher, he hopes that humans would never go to Mars.
The School of Business’ Homecoming Day invited alumni to Otaniemi for the first time
In his presentation, the keynote speaker of the seminar, Pekka Lundmark, CEO of Nokia, emphasised the importance of co-operation
Laureen Mahler uses origami folding to create bio-based packaging that is also pleasant to look at
Many products of the packaging industry are made of plastic and other fossil-based materials. The Aalto University Bioinnovation Center is developing ecological packaging solutions based on origami folding which also have value as beautiful objects.