Ulster University adopts Explorance tools to overhaul student feedback systems
University implements Blue and MLY to modernize survey processes and increase student voice engagement
Ulster University has signed a new agreement with learning experience platform provider Explorance to introduce Blue and MLY as part of a wider institutional effort to improve student feedback systems.
The transition replaces a legacy internal survey tool and introduces AI-powered analysis of open-text responses.
Explorance provides learning experience management solutions to support institutions in capturing, analyzing, and responding to student feedback. Blue will serve as Ulster’s central module evaluation platform, while MLY will support the analysis of qualitative student input.
Shift from legacy systems
Ursula McTaggart, senior lecturer in the Centre for Quality Enhancement at Ulster, is leading the rollout. McTaggart says the university’s previous system for end-of-module evaluations was developed 15 years ago, with student participation rates falling below ten percent.
“In the National Student Survey (NSS), we have been scoring lower than we would like in the student voice section; how students give, how we act on feedback,” McTaggart says. “So we set out to see what can we do to improve that, including increasing engagement with end-of-module surveys.”
A staff-student working group was created to review internal feedback practices and assess external models. The group also evaluated commercial survey platforms before selecting Explorance.
Implementation plans and timeline
McTaggart engaged with Explorance at a student voice conference and later invited the company to present to Ulster’s internal group. “It was amazing to talk with other members of the Bluenotes community there, and also some who are not using Blue, and it was clear Explorance was who we needed to be working with,” she says.
Following a procurement and business case process, Ulster selected Blue, including a test server and data dashboard, along with MLY for text analysis. “Now, we have pulled together a project implementation team, as we have no student voice/surveys team here, and our plan is to use the new system for all student surveys,” McTaggart says.
Survey fatigue was one of the concerns raised in student focus groups, prompting the university to refine its approach. “Students are exhausted with surveys, so we are looking to be more strategic with the number of surveys going out,” McTaggart says. “Evaluations will include mid-module too, as requested by students through focus groups we have run, to enable change within their own module and directly influence their own experience.”
MLY is already being used to analyze feedback from semester one, and Ulster plans to apply it to NSS and the Postgraduate Taught Experience Survey later this academic year. Blue is expected to be deployed for broader use by semester one in 2025, integrated into the university’s Blackboard Ultra learning management system.
Supporting institutional priorities
Professor Alex Owen, dean of learning enhancement at Ulster University, says: “We are committed to leading the continuous enhancement of a high-quality Ulster University learner experience, and Ensuring Student Voice is one of our learning enhancement themes. Improving engagement with a module evaluation process aligns with several key requirements in the UK Quality Code for Higher Education, including those related to student engagement, assessment, learning and teaching quality, information transparency, and continuous enhancement.”
John Atherton, vice president of sales for EMEA at Explorance, adds: “We are looking forward to working with Ulster University and bringing Blue and MLY together for the first time in Northern Ireland. From an institutional point of view there is a clear need to increase engagement, more so the quality of engagement to make change at curriculum level and using this for meaningful feedback, so we are keen to support that outcome. Importantly the whole system will be integrated in Blackboard Ultra, the University’s LMS.”
