Digital Skills Programme feedback
Introduction
People who attend Digital Skills Programme courses are asked to provide feedback by filling in an online form. In 2024/25 (19/06/24 – 18/06/25) we received 958 feedback form responses – an average of 80 responses a month. This was an increase compared to the average of 66 responses/month received in 2023/24.
The majority of the feedback form questions are course-specific (e.g., ‘What was the most interesting or useful thing you learnt?’) and so not suitable for team-level analysis, but some of the more general questions are useful for insights into how the Digital Skills Programme as a whole is rated by attendees, plus how people find out about our courses, and what other topics people would like to see courses on.
Responses were generally very positive
The overall sense from the feedback forms is one of overwhelming positivity and appreciation for the Digital Skills courses. In the Learning Experience section, attendees are asked whether they agree with three statements – ‘The course was relevant to my needs’, ‘The content was organised and easy to follow’ and ‘The tutor presented the course well’, as well as being asked ‘Has attending the course given you a greater understanding of the topic?’. Over 90% of respondents answered yes to each of these questions, and each question showed an increased percentage of positive responses compared to the previous year.
Responses to the ‘Do you have any other comments on the course, the training room, or the trainer?’ question tended to be course-specific, but again were generally very positive. Highlights include:
“Riccardo did a great job — everything was easy to understand, laid out well and moved at the right pace.”
SharePoint: Planning and designing a SharePoint site 16/6/25
“Thank you so much for arranging this session, it’s really helpful!!”
Producing a thesis or dissertation using Word 2/12/24
“It was an excellent seminar, masterfully presented by Tracy.”
Developing your data skills programme 13/3/25
“The course was ran very well by Bart, engaging elements were brilliant and a lot of great content to take away and learn from.”
Generative AI: Introduction to responsible use of Generative AI and ELM 12/3/25
How do people find out about our courses?
The responses to the ‘Where did you find out about the course?’ question can help us to direct advertising effort for the upcoming year.
Probably most notable was that People and Money had moved up the list and was now the third most popular way for people to find out about our courses, compared to number 7 in 2023/24. After switching to using People & Money for staff course bookings several years ago, it is great news that more staff are using it to proactively find our courses, rather than relying on receiving emails and recommendations.
Another notable result is that only one person said they found our courses through social media. We have stopped using X this year, but have still been posting to Instagram. It’s useful to know this is not an effective way to promote courses, even though it may still be useful for general awareness and promoting other team activities.
Some of the choices for this question are not very clear (if an attendee found about the course in an email from their School, should they choose ‘Email’ or ‘Promoted by School/Department’?) so we are going to update them for 2025/26.
What new courses would attendees like to see?
The final question, “Are there any other digital skills topics that you would like a course on?” prompted a wide range of responses, many of which were for courses we already run, or for topics well covered by LinkedIn Learning. I asked ELM to summarise the answers and it came up with five areas:
- Advanced Microsoft tools such as Excel, SharePoint, Word, PowerPoint, Planner, Power Automate and Power BI.
- Programming and data analysis – Python and R for data science and statistical analysis, plus AI applications.
- Design and multimedia – Adobe Creative Cloud applications, plus Canva and other design tools.
- Data management and visualisation – Nvivo, SPSS and data visualisation techniques.
- AI and emerging technologies – AI and ethics, and the use of generative AI.
These will give us a useful place to start when planning new courses in 2025/26.
Conclusion
Whilst obviously providing invaluable feedback on individual courses for the tutors, the Digital Skills feedback forms also give a useful overview of how the programme is valued by attendees, as well as insights into how people find our courses, and areas we should consider developing courses in.
