Purpose

Central Piedmont’s culture of assessment includes an interest by many College stakeholders in obtaining information and feedback from various constituencies. One popular tool for gathering information and feedback is a survey. A survey is a method of gathering data using relevant questions from a sample of people with the aim of understanding populations as a whole. (Qualtrics). Survey research is one of the most effective ways to learn how various groups of individuals interact with the institution to inform decision-making and seek continuous improvement.

The purpose of these guidelines is to:

• ensure integrity of survey design, administration, analysis, and communication
• ensure best practices in survey use to benefit the College, survey users and respondents
• minimize duplication of effort
• minimize survey fatigue of respondents
• improve survey results
• ensure quality of data collected

Goal Statement

All surveys of college students, employees, alumni, or external and community partners, except surveys identified as exempt, must be reviewed and/or approved by the Office of Planning and Research before being conducted.

Planning and Research does not provide support for record level data collection for administrative, departmental, or business processes. Planning and Research does not assist in creating workflows.

Examples of Surveys that Planning and Research administers and must approve

• Surveys used for campus-wide planning, assessment, improvement, or decision making
• Surveys administered to the entire Central Piedmont community
• Surveys administered to the college’s primary population or demographic sub-population (faculty, students, staff, etc.)
• Surveys submitted to external entities or on behalf of external entities (i.e.: institutional or program accreditors, agencies providing grants) that are representative of the institution.
• Surveys included in an approved External Research request. If a survey is part of a research project, it must be reviewed and approved. Details on Research Approval and the submission process can be found online. While internal surveys for institutional purposes might not require formal Research Approval, ethical data collection practices are essential.
• Surveys that are conducted on a regular basis (i.e. annually, each semester) that involve deeper analysis (i.e. trends across time, validity, sentiment analysis, and other statistical analysis)

Examples of Surveys that Planning and Research does not administer but must review and approve

• feedback or evaluation forms for events, workshops, seminars, or programs, conducted immediately after the event
• point-of-service satisfaction surveys for users of specific services or attendees of specific events
• academic department- or program-endorsed surveys of their own students, faculty or staff that provide real-time results for immediate action
• surveys with minimal survey logic and analysis beyond frequency tables
• short surveys (one or two questions) or polls that are meant to get a pulse on a specific topic
• surveys that rely on the ability to follow up with respondents for clarification, personalized examples, individual-use cases, etc.
• surveys included in the college’s institutional assessment process and administered by pre-established organizations such as Community College Survey of Student Engagement, Noel-Levitz, Council for Adult and Experiential Learning, etc.

Exemptions

The following surveys are exempt:

• surveys by faculty as part of their instruction of students currently enrolled in their class(es) for course feedback

Procedures

To submit a survey to be approved and administered by Planning and Research:

1. Review the survey calendar on the Planning and Research website to ensure that proposed administration dates do not interfere with other college-wide surveys.
2. Submit the Larger-scale Survey Administration form (login required). Optimal Deadlines for Form Submission:
   1. fall survey administration: July 1
   2. spring survey administration: November 1
   3. summer survey administration: March 1
3. Planning and Research will review the submission and schedule a meeting to discuss the details of the service request.
4. Surveys administered by Planning and Research are generally open and accept responses for at least three weeks. Survey reports, which provide an analysis of the findings, will be sent to the requestor two-four weeks after the survey closes. This schedule may vary based on time of year.

To submit a survey for review and approval by Planning and Research:

1. Submit the Smaller-scale Survey Review form (login required).
2. Planning and Research will review the submission and schedule a meeting to discuss the details of the service request.

Resources

Planning and Research provides resources to help members of the college community construct appropriate questions and identify appropriate populations. Information about these and other resources on the Planning and Research public-facing website and intranet include:

• questionnaires, surveys, and polls
• survey design best practices
• privacy concerns
• a calendar of recent, current, and upcoming surveys
• general guidelines
• survey research tools
• professional development opportunities