Best questions for college graduate student survey about ta experience

Here are some of the best questions for a college graduate student survey about TA experience, plus tips for crafting them. We use Specific to generate great conversational surveys about TA feedback in seconds.

Best open-ended questions for college graduate student survey about TA experience

Open-ended questions unlock richer, more detailed insights than closed questions—especially when you want to understand students' experiences and perceptions. They're great for capturing stories, suggestions, and nuanced feedback on TAs beyond what a checkbox or rating can deliver. We see open-ended prompts as the heart of qualitative research, perfect for exploring student expectations, pain points, and highlights.

1. What aspects of your TA's teaching style did you find most helpful this semester?

2. Describe a moment when your TA made a significant impact on your learning experience.

3. What challenges, if any, did you face in communicating with your TA?

4. How did your TA support your academic progress outside of regular class times?

5. Can you recall specific feedback from your TA that helped you improve in the course?

6. What suggestions do you have for TAs to improve the learning environment?

7. Share an example of when your TA went above and beyond your expectations.

8. How comfortable did you feel approaching your TA with questions or concerns?

9. What, if anything, would you change about how TAs engage with students in your department?

10. Is there anything else you'd like us to know about your experience with TAs?

It's no surprise that 71% of college students now use AI to help with research, brainstorming, and summarizing—open-ended questions tap into that same need for depth and context. [1]

Best single-select multiple-choice questions for college graduate student survey about TA experience

Single-select multiple-choice questions shine when you need quantifiable data or want to guide the conversation. They're especially helpful when respondents might be hesitant or unsure how to phrase their thoughts. By offering concise options, you make it easier for students to respond, while follow-ups let you dig deeper later on.

Question: How satisfied were you with your TA's ability to explain complex concepts?

• Very satisfied

• Somewhat satisfied

• Neutral

• Somewhat dissatisfied

• Very dissatisfied

Question: How easy was it to get help from your TA when you needed it?

• Very easy

• Somewhat easy

• Somewhat difficult

• Very difficult

• Did not seek help

Question: Which method did your TA use most often for communication?

• Email

• In-person office hours

• Online chat (e.g., Slack, Teams)

• Learning management system (e.g., Canvas, Blackboard)

• Other

When to follow up with "why?" If a student selects "Somewhat dissatisfied," a smart follow-up could be, "Can you share what made you feel this way?" This not only clarifies the response but also uncovers deeper issues or opportunities for TA improvement.

When and why to add the "Other" choice? Use "Other" when there's a chance your predefined options don't cover all experiences. A follow-up gives students space to specify something you hadn't considered—unexpected insights often come from here.

NPS question: When to use it with college graduate student TA experience surveys?

NPS (Net Promoter Score) asks, "How likely are you to recommend your TA to a fellow student?" on a 0 to 10 scale. It's perfect for tracking overall student satisfaction and benchmarking graduate program TA performance. Since NPS is widely understood and easy to interpret, it's a simple metric to monitor trends over time and see whether TA initiatives are moving the needle. Add a brief follow-up—"What is the main reason for your score?"—to get actionable feedback.

Want to try it? Generate an NPS survey on TA experience instantly with Specific.

The power of follow-up questions

We recommend leveraging automated follow-up questions for every TA experience survey. Why? Follow-ups clarify vague responses, uncover root causes, and gather meaningful anecdotes that static forms simply miss. We’ve seen that AI-powered followups can adapt and probe like a skilled interviewer—no need for tedious email back-and-forth. According to recent stats, 85% of educators believe AI can improve personalized learning—follow-up questions are a textbook example of this in action. [2]

• College graduate student: "My TA was helpful but sometimes hard to reach."

• AI follow-up: "Can you share an example of a time you tried to reach your TA and what happened?"

How many followups to ask? In our experience, two to three well-targeted followups are ideal. If you’ve collected the context you need to address an issue, move on—Specific’s settings let you adjust this for your audience with just a click.

This makes it a conversational survey—not an interrogation or rigid form. Students engage more, answers are richer, and the process feels like a two-way dialogue.

AI survey response analysis is a breeze even with long, text-heavy answers—just use tools like Specific’s AI survey response analysis to find recurring themes and pain points at scale. Qualitative analysis that once took hours now happens instantly, so you can focus on acting on the results.

These follow-up capabilities are new—give it a try and experience the difference an engaging AI-driven survey can make.

Prompting AI tools for college graduate student TA experience questions

If you want GPT-4 or ChatGPT to craft TA survey questions for you, be specific. Start broad, then increase context for even better results.

First, tell it simply:

Suggest 10 open-ended questions for college graduate student survey about TA experience.

Give the AI more context for smarter outputs, like:

I am a university program coordinator. I want to learn how our graduate students perceive their TAs, understand strengths and weaknesses, and get actionable feedback for TA training. Suggest 10 open-ended questions.

After getting your list, group questions by theme:

Look at the questions and categorize them. Output categories with the questions under them.

Narrow in on a topic you want to explore—say, communication—and prompt:

Generate 10 questions for the “Communication between TAs and students” category.

What is a conversational survey (and why use AI to generate one)?

Conversational surveys aren’t just a trend—they’re a leap forward for student feedback. These surveys feel natural, adapt to each answer, and collect useful context in a way standard forms never could. With Specific, you literally chat with the survey builder to design your interview. No need to manually draft, edit, or reorganize—let the AI handle that, then use the AI survey editor to tweak details via a chat.

Here’s a quick comparison:

Why use AI for college graduate student surveys? First, it’s proven that 60% of universities already use AI chatbots to answer student queries and boost engagement—students expect this convenience, and it works. [3] Specific turns that same conversational approach onto feedback collection, so it’s easy for both sides.

Looking for a step-by-step guide? See our walkthrough on creating TA experience surveys.

Try an AI survey example for graduate student TA feedback, or experiment with our AI survey maker for a fresh perspective. Our platform makes both the survey creation and the response collection feel smooth, modern, and intuitive for everyone involved.

See this TA Experience survey example now

Get inspired by real survey questions loved by students. Specific’s conversational surveys bring your TA feedback process to life, drive deeper insights, and delight respondents—start unlocking true student perspectives today.