Survey example: Online Course Student survey about instructor effectiveness

This is an example of an AI survey for online course students about instructor effectiveness. Take a minute to see and try the example—experience how modern feedback tools work.

Everyone struggles to build student surveys that actually get good insights about what makes instructors effective, and most surveys don’t produce actionable data.

Surveys like this are powered by Specific, the leader in AI-driven conversational surveys and analysis. All tools and examples here use Specific’s platform.

What is a conversational survey and why AI makes it better for online course students

Creating an effective student survey on instructor effectiveness isn’t easy—traditional surveys feel like homework and often get half-baked, rushed responses. That’s where AI-powered, conversational surveys come in. Instead of dry forms, these surveys chat with people like a real conversation—asking relevant follow-ups that naturally guide students to give deeper, more thoughtful feedback.

At Specific, we see that conversational surveys let you:

• Engage students more effectively—questions don’t feel robotic, so completion rates go up

• Get higher-quality responses by clarifying unclear feedback right in the moment

• Save serious time vs. manual survey design, using best-in-class AI survey generators

If you look at the research, in a study with 600+ participants, AI-powered chatbots used for conversational surveys actually got more engagement and better quality responses than old-school online forms [1]. That’s not just a win for survey creators—it’s a win for students who want their voices heard without dealing with clunky tools. Another study found students outright prefer chat-like conversational surveys over regular forms, both for ease and reliability [2].

Why use AI for online course student surveys?

• Personalized experience. The AI adapts tone and language based on student profiles.

• Higher quality data. Follow-up questions improve reliability and accuracy.

• Better completion rates. Students are less likely to abandon surveys that feel conversational, which lifts response rates up to 25% and slashes abandonment by 30% [3].

We’ve made sure Specific’s conversational surveys are the smoothest way for both creators and students to have honest, rich feedback exchanges. It’s simply a better experience, both ways. Want to see best practices for survey questions? Check out our guide on best questions for online course student instructor effectiveness surveys.

Automatic follow-up questions based on previous reply

The magic of Specific’s AI survey example is its ability to ask just the right follow-up questions, instantly and in real time—just like an expert interviewer. This isn’t possible with basic forms. Instead of collecting vague answers that leave you guessing, the AI notices what needs clarification and asks for more detail, right as the conversation unfolds.

For example, if you don’t use follow-up questions, you might get:

• Student: “The instructor was good.”

• AI follow-up: “Can you share a specific example of what the instructor did well?”

• Student: “Lectures felt too fast.”

• AI follow-up: “Was there a particular topic you wish the instructor had spent more time on?”

Without these follow-ups, you’re left with a pile of unclear, one-sentence replies. With them, you get the real story behind each response. That’s how you turn feedback into insights instead of guesswork.

If you haven’t tried this experience, see for yourself—let Specific’s automatic follow-ups show you how real insight happens. Learn more about the tech behind it at AI-powered follow-up questions.

Follow-ups turn a one-way form into a genuine conversation—that’s what makes it a conversational survey, not just an online form.

Easy editing, like magic

Making changes to your survey shouldn’t feel like a chore. With Specific, editing is as simple as chatting: Tell the AI what you want changed, and it updates your survey instantly, using expert research logic. Whether you want to rephrase a question, add new ones, or change the tone, just say the word. The AI survey editor does all the tedious heavy lifting—you only need a few seconds to see your tweaks live. Try it yourself with the AI survey editor.

Flexible survey delivery for online students

Specific lets you deliver your online course instructor effectiveness survey in two ways. Choose what works best for your students and learning context:

• Sharable landing page surveys: Share via email or learning platform announcement. Ideal for broad outreach to students in different courses. Great when you want responses outside your course system—for example, at semester end or after major projects.

• In-product surveys: Embed the survey into your LMS or online course portal. Perfect for catching students at the right moment (after module completion, or just after class) so feedback is fresh and context-rich.

For most instructor effectiveness surveys, I recommend the in-product approach—students are far more likely to respond while in the flow of the course content, and you can target surveys to specific cohorts or interactions. But when you want reach and flexibility, landing pages are unbeatable.

AI-powered survey analysis—instant insights, no spreadsheet pain

Results are only valuable if you can use them. Specific’s AI survey analysis features let you skip the spreadsheet grind:

• AI summarizes every response, auto-detects themes, and surfaces what matters

• Chat with the AI about data patterns in plain English—no stats degree required

• AI-powered automated survey insights help you turn raw answers into actions instantly

Analyzing survey responses with AI means you get clarity on what students say about instructor effectiveness, without sorting through endless open-ended comments.

See this instructor effectiveness survey example now

Experience how a real AI survey can transform instructor feedback—richer insights, faster design, and high student engagement.