Overview

Delete this page eventually

Overview

On May 14, 2015, the Periodic Review Oversight Committee added survey coordination to the charge of the Campus Working Group on Assessment (CWGA).

PROC's intention was, in part, to help the campus community make the most of survey efforts as a means for addressing survey fatigue¹. Additional information describing

• the goals of survey coordination, and 
• the CWGA's responsibilities for coordinating surveys

is available below, together with

• information describing the types of surveys to be reviewed 
• the Proposal Form

If you or your unit is planning a survey, please read the sections that follow to determine if your survey should be reviewed by the CWGA prior to implementation.

Please know that the purpose of this review is not to stop you from surveying. Rather, the review is intended to help you make the most of your surveys through supportive feedback that

• promotes survey planning that considers the current calendar of surveys, specific to the population(s) you wish to survey 
• points you to existing campus survey data, as relevant, or other helpful resources
• promotes compliance with federal, state, and university policies and privacy regulations, including the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) and, as relevant,  human subject research
• offers advice on surveying practices,
• and supports the campus goals for survey coordination. 

If you have questions or thoughts, please direct them to Laura Martin, Convener, Campus Working Goup on Assessment. 

What types of surveys are to be reviewed by the CWGA before implementation? 

The CWGA reviews all proposals to survey UC Merced students, faculty, staff and alumni except

1. Point of service surveys, such as workshop evaluations, except in instances where a significant fraction of a population participates. (Please see the first bullet under survey proposals requiring review below.)
2. Course evaluations
3. Faculty surveys of students for pedagogical or curricular purposes (i.e. the results will not be published or otherwise disclosed)
4. Surveys administered by faculty or graduate students as part of a research study that has been approved by the UC Merced Institutional Research Board
5. Student surveys of fellow students conducted solely to fulfill the requirements of a course assignment (i.e. results will not be published or otherwise presented to an audience external to UC Merced) under the guidance and direction of a faculty member who has completed an approved humans subjects protection curriculum
6. Student, faculty, or staff surveys (polls) that involve voting on (or selecting) one or more preferred options from a range of choices for a specific event (e.g. commencement speaker)

Proposals to survey UC Merced students, faculty, staff, and alumni, that require review by the CWGA includes those that 

1. Involve more than 5% of any of the aforementioned populations^2,3 and/or surveys that involve participation of stakeholders from more than one school or across administrative divisions.
2. Require contact information (e.g. names, email addresses, phone numbers)
3. Require institutional information about the population (e.g. race, sex, grades)
4. Involve publication or other disclosure of research results to an audience external to UC Merced
5. Are being conducted by an external group or stakeholder, such as a national research organization

If you have questions about whether your survey should be reviewed, please contact Laura Martin, Convener, Campus Working Group on Assessment.

As outlined in the CWGA charge,  the goal of our survey coordination efforts is to cultivate, over the long term, a campus culture of evidence-informed planning and decision-making (assessment) in which

1. Surveys are recognized as one of several, possible tools for gathering perceptions from stakeholders, and chosen for their appropriateness to the question under investigation.

2. Surveys are selectively and strategically employed as part of a plan for data collection that is grounded in a specified goal or set of goals (or questions) that, as relevant, includes multiple, complementary lines of evidence.

3. Planning to survey involves consideration of the larger campus context, including

• Our collective goal to manage survey fatigue⁴, as a means for maximizing the usefulness of each survey that is offered.
• Existing institutional data, including survey data.
• The campus calendar of surveys.
• Resources to support survey planning and implementation.

4. Planning to survey includes an evaluation of whether the survey is subject to the requirements associated with  human subject research as well as compliance with federal, state, and university policies and privacy regulations, including the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA).

5. Participation in surveys is understood by stakeholders to be one way (of many) to give back to UC Merced and advance our campus’ success.

CWGA Survey Coordination Responsibilities

In support of the aforementioned goals, and on behalf of campus constituents and the Periodic Review Oversight Committee, the CWGA

1. Reviews requests/proposals to survey students, staff, faculty, and alumni advising on topics related to the five outcomes listed under Goals above. This includes recommendations related to timing, sampling strategy, etc.

2. Makes transparent the magnitude of survey activity on campus.

3.  Coordinates the campus calendar of surveys, and facilitates awareness and use of the calendar for planning purposes.

4.  Facilitates discussions to address competing survey priorities and, as appropriate, makes recommendations for survey priorities to PROC.

5.  Facilitates the review and revision of institutional surveys, ensuring appropriate stakeholder involvement.

6.  Facilitates strategic promotion of institutional surveys, including planning.

7.  Facilitates the distribution of institutional survey data to campus stakeholders.

8.  Facilitates communication to campus stakeholders of how survey results are used, including actions taken in response.

9.  Consults, advises, and provides professional development regarding effective survey and data gathering practices as requested.