Here are some of the best questions for a community college student survey about online learning experience, plus key tips for designing impactful feedback. Specific can help you build a conversational survey like this in seconds.
Best open-ended questions for community college students about online learning
Open-ended questions allow students to share deeper insights, making them essential when you want detailed feedback or context. They're perfect for revealing what’s working, what isn’t, and ideas you might never consider. Here are 10 of the best open-ended questions to use with community college students about their online learning experience:
What aspects of online courses have you found most beneficial to your overall learning?
Can you describe any challenges you’ve faced while taking classes online?
How does learning in an online format compare to your experiences in face-to-face classes?
In what ways could instructors improve online course delivery or interaction?
Do you feel connected to your peers during online classes? Why or why not?
What tools or support services have helped you succeed in online courses?
Have you experienced any technical difficulties during online learning? If so, how did you resolve them?
How has online learning affected your motivation or engagement with course material?
What advice would you give incoming students about succeeding in online classes?
Is there anything you wish your college offered to enhance the online learning experience?
With more community college students opting for online classes—76% want some courses fully online in the future [1]—these open-ended questions surface what truly matters to them.
Best single-select multiple-choice questions for community college student online learning surveys
Single-select multiple-choice questions are ideal when you want to quantify feedback or guide respondents to a quick answer. They're especially helpful as ice-breakers or when you need clear, structured data to track trends. For community college students navigating online learning, these questions can identify broad patterns while uncovering where to dig deeper with follow-ups.
Question: How would you rate your overall satisfaction with your online learning experience?
Very satisfied
Satisfied
Neutral
Dissatisfied
Very dissatisfied
Question: How often do you interact with instructors outside of scheduled online class sessions?
Never
Rarely
Sometimes
Often
Always
Question: What is your biggest challenge in online classes?
Staying motivated
Technical issues
Connecting with peers/instructors
Understanding course material
Other
When to follow up with “why?” Follow-up “why” questions are perfect when a student selects an answer that could mean many things. For example, if a student chooses “Dissatisfied” on satisfaction, simply asking “Why do you feel dissatisfied with your online learning?” can reveal critical areas for improvement.
When and why to add the “Other” choice? Always include an “Other” option when you suspect unique or uncommon challenges may not fit your predefined list. This lets students raise unexpected issues, and follow-up questions here often uncover insights you’d otherwise miss.
NPS question: Measuring recommendation among community college students
NPS (Net Promoter Score) is a straightforward way to gauge overall loyalty and satisfaction. In a community college context, it quickly tells you how likely students are to recommend your online programs to others. Given rising interest—62% of students gave their online experience an “A” grade in 2022 [1]—NPS surfaces both promoters and detractors, so you can focus on what drives advocacy or discontent.
If you want a ready-to-go template, you can generate a survey with this question instantly: NPS survey for community college students.
The power of follow-up questions
Follow-up questions are where conversational surveys become truly insightful. Instead of stale, one-off answers, dynamic probing helps clarify, deepen, and contextualize each response. Specific’s AI-powered follow-ups ask smart, relevant questions in real time—just like a skilled researcher would. This unlocks richer stories and actionable ideas.
Student: “Sometimes I feel lost in online lectures.”
AI follow-up: “Can you describe what makes you feel lost? Is it unclear instructions, technical issues, or something else?”
How many follow-ups to ask? Usually 2–3 follow-ups are enough to capture the full picture, but with Specific you can set an auto-advance so the AI moves on once the needed information is collected. The balance is between depth and not overwhelming your respondents.
This makes it a conversational survey: Instead of a rigid form, your survey now adapts to each student, just like a real conversation.
Easy analysis with AI: Even if every response is longform text, AI-powered response analysis makes it simple to extract insights, spot trends, and summarize what students care about most.
These automated and contextual follow-up questions change everything—try generating your own conversational survey and experience the difference first-hand.
How to write prompts for ChatGPT (or other GPTs) to create great questions
If you like building surveys with AI tools, try these prompt approaches. The first, simplest way to get started is:
Suggest 10 open-ended questions for community college student survey about online learning experience.
But the AI performs better if you provide more context: who you are, your goals, what you already know, and the outcomes you want. For example:
I'm designing a survey for community college students who took at least one online course in the past year. My goal is to understand their pain points and what would make online learning better. Suggest 10 open-ended questions that'll help us improve our program.
Once you have some draft questions, get more organized:
Look at the questions and categorize them. Output categories with the questions under them.
Then, based on which categories feel most important or actionable, dig deeper:
Generate 10 questions for categories "Motivation and Engagement" and "Peer Interaction".
This iterative approach lets you craft sharper, more relevant surveys—in minutes.
What is a conversational survey—and why it matters for online learning feedback
A conversational survey goes beyond static forms. It feels more like a chat than a questionnaire, allowing the AI to probe deeper using tailored follow-ups. Compared to traditional survey methods—where you write out every question and hope for detailed answers—an AI survey automatically adapts, saving time and uncovering real insights.
Manual Surveys | AI-Generated Surveys |
|---|---|
Fixed, non-adaptive questions | Dynamically follows up on answers |
Time-consuming to build and analyze | Fast creation with AI, instant analysis |
Respondents often feel unheard | Feels like a natural, engaging conversation |
Why use AI for community college student surveys? AI survey builders like Specific let you create and iterate surveys effortlessly, reach students on their level, and make sure follow-up questions always make sense. Plus, analysis is easier—tools like AI survey response analysis help uncover the “why” behind every answer, even in massive datasets.
Specific delivers best-in-class conversational survey UX, making student feedback easy, engaging, and actionable—both for you and your student respondents.
See this online learning experience survey example now
Start collecting authentic, practical feedback with AI-powered conversational surveys that engage students and make every insight count. Create your own survey and discover how easily you can improve your online learning programs.