Automating Course Evaluations at Scale with Explorance Blue: The University of St. Gallen

About the University of St. Gallen (HSG)

The University of St. Gallen (HSG) is a leading teaching and research institution in Switzerland, specializing in management, economics, law, social sciences, international affairs, and computer science. With over 30 institutes and research centers, HSG delivers more than 800 undergraduate and postgraduate courses each semester and serves approximately 9,000 students.

HSG holds the prestigious “triple crown” accreditation (AACSB, AMBA, and EQUIS) and consistently ranks among the world’s top business schools.

The Challenge: Moving from manual processes to timely, actionable insight

Prior to adopting Explorance Blue, HSG relied on paper-based course evaluations and spreadsheet-driven analysis. This approach required extensive manual effort and significantly delayed access to results. Programme managers often received evaluation data only at the end of the semester, limiting their ability to act on student feedback in a timely manner.

“Previously we used paper-based surveys. The required data was all collected through spreadsheets, which was a manual, labour-intensive process,” explained Kristin Huber, Quality Development Expert at HSG.

The delays posed a challenge for academic decision-making, as evaluation results directly inform whether a course is offered again, in what format, and how instructors are supported or reappointed. At the same time, HSG needed to ensure full transparency around who could access evaluation results, an essential requirement under Switzerland’s strict data protection regulations and the University’s own quality development guidelines.

As evaluation volumes increased, programme managers also requested additional reports, further adding to the administrative burden. HSG recognized the need for a fully automated evaluation system that could integrate with existing academic platforms while enabling faster, more structured insight-sharing across the institution.

The Solution: Automating course evaluations with Explorance Blue

Following a successful pilot in 2018, HSG selected Explorance Blue to manage course evaluations institution-wide. Blue’s automation capabilities, spanning survey setup, data collection, analysis, and report distribution, were central to the decision.

“Blue has provided complete automation of data running from our student information system, Un IT, which is integrated with our learning management system, Canvas,” Kristin noted.

Blue enabled HSG to establish a decentralized yet consistent evaluation process, allowing instructors to initiate evaluations at appropriate times for their courses, while ensuring results were delivered within defined institutional guidelines. Over time, instructor questions decreased, follow-up requirements dropped, and voluntary participation in evaluations steadily increased, an important indicator of growing buy-in.

To address transparency and governance, HSG introduced a new institutional hierarchy within Blue, granting access to evaluation results based on role rather than individual names.

“We are creating an institutional hierarchy based not on the person’s name but on their title, whereby only programme managers see the results,” Kristin explained. “This helps us ensure transparency and continuity, even with staff turnover.”

Instructors retained flexibility in setting evaluation periods, while programme managers and leadership gained synchronized access to insights for trend analysis and academic oversight.

The Outcome: Faster reporting, stronger engagement, and a high-feedback culture

With Explorance Blue, instructors now receive evaluation reports within 24 hours of reaching the minimum response threshold, compared to weeks or months under the previous manual process. Programme managers can access near real-time insights to inform course design, delivery formats, and instructor development decisions.

“Evaluations are one criterion for whether a course gets offered again or not, and in what format,” Kristin said. “If programme managers do not get the data soon enough to inform decisions, the whole process is slowed right down.”

Blue has also supported a shift toward a more open, engaged feedback culture at HSG. Instructors are encouraged to discuss results with students, strengthening trust and closing the feedback loop.

“The broader policy is for instructors to discuss the feedback with students,” said Joris de Vries, Specialist Data Management & IT Processes. “As a result, students are becoming really engaged with course quality issues.”

Beyond standard course evaluations, automation has freed institutional capacity to support qualitative analysis for smaller courses and to explore new feedback models, including module-level evaluations.

“The electronic and automated approach has allowed us the time to build up other areas in the department,” Kristin added. “We now have the capacity to develop new feedback and evaluation tools in addition to course evaluations.”

Together, these outcomes have enabled HSG to move from a manually intensive evaluation process to a scalable, transparent, and insight-driven approach, supporting continuous improvement, professional development, and academic excellence across the institution.