Here are some of the best questions for a student survey about academic workload, plus tips on how to generate questions that surface honest, detailed feedback. We use Specific to help you build such a survey in seconds—generate one here.
Best open-ended questions for a student survey about academic workload
Open-ended questions let students express their experiences in their own words, leading to deeper understanding and unique insights. They’re especially powerful when you want to uncover factors impacting academic stress, well-being, or performance—areas where numbers alone don’t tell the full story.
It’s not surprising that over 47% of students consider their academic stress “traumatic or very difficult to handle”, according to the American College Health Association. Designing thoughtful open-ended questions helps us get past surface-level issues and spot real concerns. [1]
How would you describe your overall academic workload this semester?
What factors contribute most to your sense of being overwhelmed (assignments, exams, extracurriculars, etc.)?
Can you share a recent example of when you felt particularly stressed about your coursework?
Are there certain courses or subjects where you struggle the most to manage your workload?
What strategies do you use to balance schoolwork with other commitments?
How does your workload impact your ability to get enough sleep?
Do you feel the expectations from your teachers are realistic? Why or why not?
Have you experienced any physical symptoms (tiredness, headaches, stomach issues) related to academic stress?
What support (if any) do you wish your school provided to help manage your workload?
If you could change one thing about how assignments are scheduled, what would it be?
Best single-select multiple-choice questions for student survey about academic workload
Single-select multiple-choice questions shine when you want to quantify responses or break the ice without overwhelming students. For sensitive topics like sleep deprivation—where 80% of students report significant sleep loss during exam periods—these question types help students answer quickly, honestly, and with less pressure. [2] They also let you spot trends across the student body in seconds.
Example questions:
Question: How would you rate your typical weekly academic workload?
Very light
Light
Manageable
Heavy
Very heavy
Question: How often do you feel overwhelmed by assignments?
Never
Rarely
Sometimes
Often
Always
Question: Which area contributes most to your workload challenges?
Homework assignments
Exams/tests
Group projects
Extracurricular activities
Other
When to follow up with "why?" It’s a good idea to use follow-up “why” questions after closed responses—especially if you want more context or if the answer seems surprising. For example, if a student selects “Exams/tests” as their biggest challenge, you might follow up with, “Why do exams feel particularly difficult for you?” This uncovers specifics that multiple-choice questions alone could miss.
When and why to add the “Other” choice? Sometimes, students have reasons that don’t fit neatly into your list. Adding “Other” lets them bring up workload challenges you didn’t predict. A smart follow-up like, “Can you describe what you meant by ‘Other’?” often uncovers fresh, valuable insights.
Using an NPS-style question to measure student experience
NPS (Net Promoter Score) questions aren’t just for customer satisfaction—they’re a great way to gauge how likely students are to recommend your school or academic program, based on their workload experience. It’s a straightforward 0–10 scale: “Based on your recent experiences, how likely are you to recommend our academic program to a friend or peer?” With a single question, you quickly benchmark student sentiment and spot areas for improvement. Try building an NPS survey for students with this generator.
The power of follow-up questions
If you’re serious about understanding student perspectives, follow-up questions are your secret weapon. We recently shared details on how automated follow-ups work in conversational surveys—the takeaway: AI enables real-time, tailored questions that adapt to each student’s response, gathering context just like an expert interviewer would.
Student: “I always feel tired during finals.”
AI follow-up: “Can you share what’s causing the most disruption to your sleep during finals?”
Without the follow-up, you’re left guessing—is it late-night study, worry, a poor schedule, or something else? That second question creates room for revealing details.
How many follow-ups to ask? Generally, 2–3 targeted follow-ups strike the right balance. Any more, and students might feel like you’re dragging things out. Specific lets you set a cap and move on as soon as you have the feedback you need.
This makes it a conversational survey—one that adapts like a real conversation, not just a static form.
Analyze open-text: AI-powered survey platforms like Specific make it easy to analyze piles of unstructured responses—you can analyze survey responses with AI to extract key themes and action points, even across hundreds of answers.
AI-powered follow-ups are still a new concept—try generating your own survey to see how much richer your feedback can get.
How to write a good prompt for ChatGPT or AI to generate student survey questions
Writing a clear, context-packed prompt is the fastest way to unlock the full power of AI survey generators. Start simple—then add more background for best results.
For quick inspiration, try:
Suggest 10 open-ended questions for Student survey about Academic Workload.
Now, watch quality jump when you add more about your context and goals:
We’re gathering anonymous feedback from college students regarding academic workload and its impact on stress, sleep, and achievement. Suggest 10 open-ended questions to help us identify challenges and opportunities for support.
To organize your list:
Look at the questions and categorize them. Output categories with the questions under them.
Then, pick the strongest categories (for example, stress, sleep, support services), and prompt:
Generate 10 questions for categories stress, sleep, and support services.
What is a conversational survey, and why switch from traditional forms?
Conversational surveys feel like messaging with a smart interviewer—instead of blasting through a static checklist, you’re in a dynamic, adaptive dialogue. With Specific’s AI survey maker, questions can branch, adapt, or clarify automatically, making the survey feel personal and lightweight.
Here’s how survey creation compares:
Manual Surveys | AI-Generated Surveys |
|---|---|
Write each question by hand, manage logic & choices manually | Type your survey’s goal in plain English and let the AI write, structure, and optimize all your questions |
Follow-ups and clarifying questions require manual intervention | AI asks real-time follow-ups, using prior answers as context |
Lower response rates (10–30%) and shorter, less thoughtful answers | AI-powered surveys see 70–90% completion rates, and up to 4x more detailed responses [4][5] |
Difficult to analyze open-ended answers at scale | Built-in AI analysis: summarize, cluster, and chat with your data |
Why use AI for student surveys? AI-powered survey generators streamline the entire process, from question drafting to respondent engagement to deep-dive analysis—all in one workflow. The result: higher student completion rates, richer data, and instant, actionable insights. If you want an AI survey example that’s purpose-built for academic workload, Specific delivers best-in-class user experience. It’s conversational, adaptable, and genuinely engaging for both students and staff building the survey. Learn more about creating a student survey about academic workload in our detailed guide.
See this academic workload survey example now
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