All University departments are required to undertake internal and external review of their undergraduate programs. Self-assessment is a key component of this process, and student surveys are one commonly used metric of student satisfaction with their educational experiences._x000D_ Informed by historical student experience data from our department and newly conducted student focus group data, we developed an undergraduate student exit survey to evaluate student perspectives of their learning experiences. Our instrument used a combination of selected items from past departmental survey instruments, items from the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE), and newly developed items to reflect departmental needs and local context. Our instrument was further refined through peer checking (review by colleagues) and pilot testing. We hope such a systematic approach to student experience survey development informs attendees’ practice at their own institutions._x000D_ Data collected from the survey will be used for internal and external review, and to guide and assess program improvement initiatives, current educational practice, and educational goals. In addition to the benefits to our own programs, we believe this survey contains many general questions about the students’ academic experiences, and would easily be applied to other programs. In relation to the programs offered by our department, we have identified through the survey a number of strengths, as well as opportunities to modify our educational practices. We believe we have developed a reliable instrument to track changes in student perceptions of their educational experiences in response to program modification over time.
