Jisc Online Surveys adds Image choice questions, and why it matters for student feedback survey design

Updated Sep 07, 2026

Student feedback gets harder to use when universities ask students to describe a visual problem using only words. On 22 July 2026, Jisc published Introducing: Image choice questions, announcing that Jisc Online Surveys users can now add image-based answer options to local surveys. For teams responsible for student voice, that matters because the service can support local survey and consultation work. A more visual response format can make some local evidence easier to collect, but only if universities treat it as a survey design change rather than a cosmetic extra.

What has changed in Jisc Online Surveys Image choice questions

The core change is straightforward. Jisc says survey builders can now add an independent Image choice question and let respondents choose one image or several images as their answer. The product update says institutions can use the feature to collect visual preferences, compare designs, identify objects, or present options that are easier to understand visually. That makes the update relevant for feedback on learning spaces, induction materials, wayfinding, dashboard mock-ups, accessibility design, or other student experience questions where the thing being judged is genuinely visual.

"You can now add an independent Image choice question to your survey."

The linked Jisc help page adds the detail institutions will need if they want to use the feature well. It says each answer option contains an image, an option label, and alternative text, and that builders can choose either Single answer or Multiple answer variants. Supported image formats are PNG, JPG or JPEG, WebP, and GIF, with a maximum file size of 2 MB per image. Jisc also says responses are analysed by option label, with results showing the number and percentage of respondents selecting each option. For multiple-answer questions, it notes that the total number of selections can exceed the number of respondents. The practical takeaway is that this is not just a prettier checkbox. It is a new data structure inside the survey.

The scope is local rather than national. This does not change NSS, PTES, PRES, UKES, or OfS survey rules. It affects institutions using Jisc Online Surveys for internal feedback work. That gives the update more significance than it might first appear to have. Jisc's main service page quotes 88 per cent of UK higher education institutions, but explicitly bases that figure on October 2019 licence-holder data. It should not be read as a current adoption estimate.

What this means for institutions

The first implication is that universities can now ask some student experience questions more directly. If a team wants feedback on room layouts, signage, virtual learning environment navigation, assessment brief templates, or induction materials, image-based answer options may produce a cleaner initial signal than text-only descriptions. But the value depends on restraint. Image choice works best when the issue really is visual. It is less useful when students need to explain a process, a relationship, or a sequence of events. This is where our discussion of staff–student survey redesign is relevant: the question format should match the decision the institution is actually trying to make.

The second implication is accessibility and comparability. Jisc's help page is explicit that option labels and alternative text do different jobs, and that the alternative text should describe the relevant visual information rather than repeat a filename. That matters because a visual feedback route is only useful if students using screen readers or other assistive technologies can answer it confidently. Institutions should also standardise image dimensions, labels, file naming, and archiving before these questions spread across departments. If one school swaps images mid-cycle or rewrites labels without recording the change, the resulting trend line will be harder to defend than it looks.

The third implication is governance. Visual survey questions can make local feedback easier to gather, but they can also make evidence management messier if teams do not preserve the assets behind the results. Universities should know which exact image set a cohort saw, which labels were attached, whether answer options were randomised, and where the open comments that explain those choices sit. That is especially important in a wider environment where institutions are already wrestling with survey sprawl and comparability. These are our suggested design safeguards, not measured effects reported in the product announcement.

How student feedback analysis connects

Selecting an image identifies a choice; it does not itself explain the respondent's reasoning. A student may choose one timetable layout, learning-space image, or dashboard design over another because it feels clearer, less cluttered, more inclusive, or simply more familiar. A separate comment prompt or follow-up discussion can invite that explanation. The practical lesson is the same one we see across other local survey changes: closed-question innovation is most useful when it is paired with a stable method for reading the comments beside it. Our NSS open-text analysis methodology is designed for national survey comments, but the principle carries over to local Jisc-built surveys.

This is where Student Voice Analytics fits most naturally. If universities start using more visual response formats in local feedback work, they still need a reproducible way to compare the comments attached to those choices and track what changed afterwards. Use our student comment analysis governance checklist alongside a local protocol for image versions and question logic. This is a proposed workflow, not a claim that the analysis service archives survey images or integrates directly with Jisc.

FAQ

Q: What should institutions do now if they use Jisc Online Surveys for student feedback?

A: Review shared survey templates and decide where image-based answer options would genuinely improve data quality. Then set basic rules for option labels, alternative text, image dimensions, file storage, and change logging before different teams start using the feature in different ways.

Q: What is the timeline and scope of the Jisc Image choice update?

A: Jisc published the product update on 22 July 2026, and the linked help page shows the feature as live in Jisc Online Surveys. It applies to institutions using the platform for local surveys. It does not change the methodology or rules for NSS, PTES, PRES, UKES, or OfS-managed surveys.

Q: What is the broader implication for student voice?

A: The broader implication is that student voice is becoming more multimodal. Universities can now collect some kinds of local feedback in a way that is closer to what students are actually judging. But the evidence will only stay useful if visual choices, accessibility information, open comments, and follow-up actions are kept together in one defensible trail.

Correction, 7 September 2026: the 88 per cent adoption figure is based on October 2019 data. Accessibility and data-quality benefits depend on survey design and have not been established by this product announcement. We have also clarified the scope of our analysis service.

References

[Jisc Online Surveys]: "Introducing: Image choice questions" Published: 2026-07-22

[Jisc Online Surveys]: "Image choice questions" Published: not stated

[Jisc]: "Online surveys" Published: not stated