Jisc Online Surveys changes question types, and why it matters for student feedback survey design

Updated Sep 07, 2026

Jisc separated single- and multiple-answer Choice and Grid questions in Online Surveys on 6 March 2026. The change made the response mode visible when adding a question, instead of relying on a toggle within one question type. Jisc product update.

The documented changes

The v3.34.2 release notes record the new question types and a revised Add item menu. Jisc’s accompanying explanation says the earlier toggle could be overlooked and that changing it during live collection could create response-data problems.

The same release changed the Insights response-time display to HH MM SS and replaced the mean with the median. A later release, v3.35.0 on 16 March, fixed a problem in which manually closing a survey removed drop-out data from Insights. These are documented product changes; the notes do not quantify their effect on student response quality or completion. Jisc change log, March entries.

The median-response-time briefing explains why timing and respondent burden should be interpreted separately. A long response duration need not mean a question was confusing, and a short one does not establish that an answer was thoughtful.

Check the questionnaire and its exports

Our practical suggestion is to test both the instructions and the permitted answers. If a prompt asks students to select all relevant options, confirm that it allows multiple selections. Review the resulting export so analysts know whether percentages refer to respondents or selections.

Keep a copy of the questionnaire, question types, fieldwork dates and relevant release notes with the analysis. If setup changed between runs, describe the difference before presenting a trend. Do not attribute a movement in a dashboard metric to students’ experience until you have checked the collection and reporting context.

A platform fix does not automatically repair an institution’s question wording, sampling or interpretation. Invite students and staff to test a revised instrument using a collaborative design process. Our governance checklist also provides questions about documenting analysis choices.

Review note, 7 September 2026: verified the March versions and dates against Jisc’s official release history, replaced indirect legacy source links, and removed unsupported claims that the changes necessarily improve survey quality or make median duration a better measure of friction.