Here are some of the best questions for an online course student survey about syllabus clarity, plus tips for crafting them effectively. If you’re looking to build a conversational, AI-driven survey in seconds, you can generate your own survey with Specific.
The best open-ended questions for online course student surveys about syllabus clarity
Open-ended questions let online course students share their perspectives in their own words, making them a powerful way to uncover deeper insights about syllabus clarity. They’re especially useful when you want to capture nuance, highlight areas of confusion, or hear unfiltered student experiences. However, it’s important to be mindful—Pew Research Center found open-ended questions have an average nonresponse rate of 18%, so keep them focused and inviting[1].
What part of the syllabus was most confusing or unclear to you?
Can you describe a time when you felt lost or unsure about what was expected in the course?
Which section of the syllabus did you find most helpful? Why?
Were there any topics or assignments mentioned in the syllabus that you wish had more explanation?
How well did the syllabus explain the grading criteria for the course?
Is there anything you would change about how the syllabus presents course objectives?
What additional information do you wish the syllabus had included?
Did you encounter any surprises during the course that weren’t addressed in the syllabus?
How did the syllabus help you plan your work throughout the course?
If you had to explain the syllabus to a new student, what points would you emphasize or clarify?
The best single-select multiple-choice questions for online course student surveys about syllabus clarity
Single-select multiple-choice questions are ideal when you need quantitative data about student experiences or want to gently guide conversation. They’re less cognitively demanding, which can lower nonresponse rates—closed-ended questions typically get only 1–2% nonresponse[1]. They’re also a great starting point if students might feel overwhelmed thinking of long-form answers; you get a quick pulse and can dig deeper with follow-ups.
Question: How clear was the syllabus overall?
Very clear
Somewhat clear
Somewhat unclear
Very unclear
Question: Which part of the syllabus was least clear to you?
Course schedule
Grading policy
Assignment details
Learning objectives
Other
Question: Did you find the estimated workload in the syllabus to be accurate?
Yes, very accurate
Somewhat accurate
Not very accurate
Not included in the syllabus
When to follow up with "why?" When someone picks a choice that signals confusion or dissatisfaction, a short follow-up like “Why did you feel that way?” or “Can you elaborate?” can help reveal the root cause. For example, if a student says the grading policy was unclear, a follow-up can uncover whether it’s due to vague language, missing information, or inconsistent explanations.
When and why to add the "Other" choice? If you’re not confident all relevant options are covered—or want to capture edge cases—add “Other.” Follow up with, “Could you specify what you meant by ‘Other’?” Responses here can surface issues you hadn’t considered, leading to actionable changes.
NPS works for syllabus clarity, too
The Net Promoter Score (NPS) question—“On a scale from 0 to 10, how likely are you to recommend this course (or its materials) to a friend?”—can be a simple, high-impact addition to a survey about syllabus clarity. Why? Because it quickly shows how much clarity and confidence in course materials impact students’ overall perceptions and willingness to recommend the course. High NPS scores often align with clear, predictable course structures, while low scores frequently point back to confusion, unclear expectations, or gaps in communication.
Try launching an NPS survey for online course students about syllabus clarity—just add targeted follow-up questions to gather more color around each score. It’s a quick way to connect syllabus clarity with broader advocacy.
The power of follow-up questions
Follow-ups are where conversational surveys truly shine. When students answer vaguely or flag trouble spots, automated follow-up questions can draw out why they felt that way or what specifically puzzled them. Automatic AI follow-up questions let you dig deeper, efficiently and at scale—much better than endless back-and-forth emails.
Student: "Some assignments weren’t clear."
AI follow-up: "Which assignments felt unclear? Was it the instructions, the due dates, or something else?"
How many followups to ask? We’ve found that 2–3 thoughtful follow-ups usually yield the richest insights, especially when each one is driven by what the student previously said. Of course, you can enable a setting to stop once you’ve gathered the information you need. With Specific, configuring this is straightforward, so you keep surveys short and effective.
This makes it a conversational survey: Instead of a static list, the survey feels like a real conversation—which increases comfort and trust, helping students open up.
AI-powered analysis makes insights easy: Even when students give lots of unstructured feedback, analyzing responses from online course student surveys is fast with AI. Specific lets you chat with results, get summaries, or ask for top themes instantly—no manual sifting through responses.
These new, conversational follow-ups make old-school forms feel outdated. It’s worth generating a survey yourself just to see what the experience is like.
Prompts for ChatGPT or other AI to create your survey
Want to build your own list of questions? The prompt “Suggest 10 open-ended questions for online course student survey about syllabus clarity.” is a fast starting point. But the more context you share, the better your results. For instance, include your role, goals, and unique challenges:
I’m a course designer working with first-year university students in an online psychology class. My goal is to evaluate how well the syllabus communicates weekly expectations and workload. Suggest 10 open-ended questions for online course student survey about syllabus clarity.
Once you have your questions list, continue with:
Look at the questions and categorize them. Output categories with the questions under them.
From there, pick the categories you want to double down on, and use:
Generate 10 questions for categories “grading and assessment” and “assignment expectations.”
Iterate until your survey targets every aspect of syllabus clarity that matters most to your students.
What is a conversational survey?
A conversational survey mimics a real, back-and-forth discussion—rather than delivering a sterile, static form. Instead of “all questions, all at once,” questions are revealed naturally, with instant follow-up based on what the respondent just said. This boosts engagement, especially for students who might otherwise breeze through or abandon a long survey.
Manual Surveys | AI-generated Surveys |
|---|---|
Questionnaire created from scratch, one field at a time | Survey auto-creates from a simple prompt (even complex, multi-layered surveys) |
Fixed, one-size-fits-all questions | Dynamic, AI-generated followups tailored to real responses |
Difficult to analyze qualitative feedback at scale | AI summarizes themes, emotions, issues for you instantly |
Why use AI for online course student surveys? Because the online education landscape is more crowded than ever—the global e-learning market is valued at $240 billion—small tweaks in syllabus clarity can mean the difference between a course that’s abandoned (MOOCs average just 5–15% completion[2]) and one where students persist to the end (cohort-based courses with active, clear support can top 90% completion[3]). AI surveys give you rich, actionable feedback, fast, so you can build clarity and confidence into every online course.
Specific’s conversational survey platform delivers a best-in-class experience—smooth for both creator and student, boosting response rates and data quality. See this in action with this how-to article on creating surveys for online course students about syllabus clarity.
See this syllabus clarity survey example now
Discover how a conversational, AI-powered survey uncovers actionable insights about syllabus clarity—see it in action and take confidence in smarter student feedback, fast. Try building your next conversational survey for your course in minutes.