Best questions for student survey about communication from instructors

Here are some of the best questions for a student survey about communication from instructors, plus tips for designing your own. At Specific, we help you generate this kind of survey in seconds, with zero hassle.

Best open-ended questions for student survey about communication from instructors

Open-ended questions are essential when you want honest, nuanced responses that capture students' true experiences. These questions let students give details in their own words, often surfacing insights you didn’t expect. If you’re looking for a wider range of perspectives or want to understand the “why” behind an opinion, open-ended questions are the way to go. For surveys, these questions unlock unlimited responses and personal stories that multiple choice just can’t touch. [1] [2]

1. What methods of communication do you find most effective when instructors share course information?

2. Can you describe a time when communication from an instructor helped you succeed?

3. How could instructors improve their communication with students?

4. What challenges have you experienced with instructor communication this semester?

5. In what ways does instructor communication impact your motivation or learning?

6. How do you typically receive updates or feedback from your instructors?

7. What changes would you suggest for how instructors communicate expectations?

8. Can you recall an instance where unclear communication caused confusion? What happened?

9. What do you wish instructors understood about your preferred communication style?

10. How does timely feedback from instructors affect your engagement with coursework?

Including open-ended questions invites students to express thoughts freely and surface creative or unanticipated feedback. This is especially useful if you’re looking to improve classroom dynamics or solve specific pain points. [3] [4] [5]

Best single-select multiple-choice questions for student survey about communication from instructors

Single-select multiple-choice questions are perfect when you need structured, quantifiable data or want to make it easy for students to respond quickly. These questions lower the barrier for participation, are less intimidating, and help you spot trends at a glance. They also let you start a conversation—sometimes students find it easier to pick from a list than compose a detailed response right away. You can always dig deeper with a follow-up question later. This structured approach also makes analysis a breeze, especially when paired with open-text followups.

Here are some practical multiple-choice questions for this survey:

Question: How satisfied are you with the frequency of instructor communication?

• Very satisfied

• Satisfied

• Neutral

• Dissatisfied

• Very dissatisfied

Question: Which communication channel do you prefer for receiving updates from instructors?

• Email

• Learning management system (LMS) messages

• Text messages

• In-person announcements

• Other

Question: How clear are the instructions your instructors provide for assignments and exams?

• Very clear

• Somewhat clear

• Neutral

• Somewhat unclear

• Very unclear

When to followup with "why?" If a student picks an extreme or ambiguous answer (like "Dissatisfied"), a simple "Why do you feel this way?" can uncover the specific issues behind their choice and give you actionable suggestions for improvement.

When and why to add the "Other" choice? If you want to uncover insights that didn't cross your mind during survey design, always add an "Other" option with a prompt to specify. Followup questions can help you spot patterns or needs you might have overlooked entirely—sometimes those comments reveal the most valuable feedback of all.

NPS question for student survey about communication from instructors

NPS (Net Promoter Score) is a simple but powerful way to gauge overall satisfaction. For student surveys about communication from instructors, it gives a clear measure of how well instructors are fostering a positive learning environment through their communication. Students rate, on a scale from 0 to 10, how likely they are to recommend their instructor’s communication style or approach to others. This single score provides a quick health check, and when paired with a follow-up “why?” question, delivers both quantitative and qualitative insights. You can generate an NPS student survey here and see how it fits into your broader feedback process.

The power of follow-up questions

Follow-up questions are the heart of truly conversational surveys. Instead of letting a response sit flat, automated followups probe for details, clarify phrasing, and ask “why?” until you get to the actionable truth. We’ve built this approach into Specific, which means the AI asks smart, context-aware questions in real time—just like an expert interviewer. That real-time feedback loop uncovers much richer insights without having to chase down students over email or schedule lengthy meetings. Check out our feature explainer on automated follow-up questions for a deeper dive.

• Student: "Communication is sometimes unclear."

• AI follow-up: "Can you share an example of a time when communication from your instructor was unclear? What could have helped?"

How many followups to ask? Typically, 2-3 followups are enough to arrive at useful insight, without overwhelming the student. Specific lets you configure when to stop follow-ups or let the respondent proceed to the next section once you’ve collected the information you need.

This makes it a conversational survey: Followup questions aren’t just add-ons—they transform your survey into a conversation, making participants feel heard and valued.

Survey response analysis: Worried about too much unstructured data? Our AI tools make it easy to analyze survey responses and spot recurring themes, even from a high volume of qualitative replies—no need to read through everything yourself.

Automatic follow-ups are a new approach—you should try generating your own survey and experience how it feels!

Prompts to ask for better student survey questions about communication from instructors

Writing survey questions can be daunting, but prompting ChatGPT or similar AI makes the process much easier. Start with a direct request, then iterate for more depth and structure. Here are some prompts to get you started:

Ask for a wide variety of questions:

Suggest 10 open-ended questions for student survey about communication from instructors.

Want to get better results? Always provide more context—explain the goals, the use case, and a bit about your students. AI delivers far better outputs this way:

I am an academic advisor working at a university and want to improve how instructors communicate with students. Can you suggest 10 open-ended survey questions to help us pinpoint what works and what doesn't?

After collecting questions, get clarity and structure with:

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

Then, focus on the categories that matter to you. Refine further with:

Generate 10 questions for categories “feedback timing” and “clarity of instructions.”

What is a conversational survey?

A conversational survey is a feedback tool that feels like an interactive chat, rather than a static form. Rather than asking everything up front, the survey adapts in real time based on previous answers, prompting for clarification, digging deeper into pain points, and genuinely listening. This approach builds trust and encourages honest sharing.

Why use AI for student surveys? Manual survey creation is tedious, inconsistent, and makes it hard to react to what respondents are really saying in the moment. AI-powered conversational surveys—like those you can create with Specific’s generator—adapt in real time, ask smarter followups, and let you chat with your collected data for fast, actionable insights. The AI handles complex logic, summing up both quantitative and qualitative trends.

We’ve seen that using an AI survey example as your template saves both time and mental bandwidth, while engaging respondents on a deeper level. Traditional forms can’t compete. If you want an even smoother workflow, look into our guide on how to create your own survey for this exact topic.

Specific delivers best-in-class user experience for conversational surveys, removing friction from start to finish. Students are engaged, creators get complete and meaningful feedback, and everyone saves time.

See this communication from instructors survey example now

Don’t wait—see how easy it is to capture real, actionable feedback from students with a truly conversational survey. Try now and uncover insights you can actually use, powered by a smarter survey experience.