XX. Electronic Survey Policy and Guidelines

I. Policy Statement

The Metropolitan State College of Denver employs consistent procedures for notification and processing mass electronic surveys to the following constituencies: faculty, staff (academic and non-academic), students, and alumni. The college expects anyone sending electronic surveys to any or all of these constituencies to do so in accordance with the procedures outlined in this document.

Outside vendors and organizations not directly employed by the College must work with and through the proper vice presidential area to survey Metro State students, faculty and staff. For planning purposes; the survey development and implementation process will take a minimum of ten (10) business days.

II. Reason for Policy

Unsolicited e-mail and excessive surveying of the student body is a major concern of the college. The college must exercise appropriate control over electronic surveys so it may properly maintain network performance, limit the number of unsolicited e-mail messages and maintain the effectiveness of the electronic survey mechanism.

III. Exceptions

This policy shall not be construed as limiting faculty members’ ability to conduct research. Surveys conducted by faculty which pertain solely to the conduct and administration of the class or classes that they teach are exempt from this policy.

This policy is also not intended to impact or replace existing Student Government election systems and processes.

IV. Definitions

Electronic Survey: A scientific gathering of a sample of data or opinions considered to be representative of a whole, including thorough data analysis to assist in the formal decision making process in an on-line environment. Survey design and analysis of survey data must be confirmed through the Office of Institutional Research.

Electronic Quick Poll: A non-scientific method utilized to obtain a general perception of the population in a short period of time in an on-line environment. The data collected from quick polls should not be treated as scientific or necessarily factual. Quick poll questions are presented in a completely objective format, i.e. true/false and multiple-choice. Current results of quick polls may be presented on-line in real-time as each participant completes the poll.

V. Justification for an Electronic Survey

Individuals wishing to solicit information from various constituencies on campus through electronic surveys and quick polls are encouraged to review the “Survey Justification Checklist” available in the appendix of this document. This checklist can be used as a tool for survey developers in determining if an electronic survey or quick poll is the best means available to meet a project’s goals and objectives.

VI. Policy and Procedure

Surveys

The steps for conducting a formal, on-line survey through the College’s systems are as follows, in accordance with the flow diagram in the appendix:

1. After reviewing the Human Subjects Review Policy and Procedures to ensure the survey follows required guidelines or is exempt from the Policy, submit the survey to the Human Subjects Review Committee. The following link describes the Human Subjects Review Policy and Procedures, including submission to it: http://clem.mscd.edu/~forrestj/HSRC.htm
2. Submit the exempted or approved request to the appropriate Vice President or Dean.
3. Receive initial approval of the Vice President over the requestor’s division. In the absence of the Vice President over the area, the Assistant Vice President for College Communications must validate and give initial approval of the survey.
4. The individual wishing to conduct the survey and the Vice President will consult with the Assistant Vice President for College Communications as to the substance of the survey. In addition, the administrative officer who approved the survey will inform and seek approval from Cabinet, as appropriate, for the survey request.
5. Upon final approval the responsible administrator or designee will coordinate final development and dissemination of said survey through the Office of Institutional Research. This will insure accuracy, that the survey measures what it is intended to measure and that a valid population selection is utilized.
6. Survey data will be analyzed and distributed in a timely manner through the Office of Institutional Research. Raw data should be made available as well. Data from surveys conducted through outside firms such as Noel Levitz should be made available to the Office of Institutional Research upon request. The survey itself shall be located and conducted in a standard location within MetroConnect to provide the necessary authentication services while preventing duplication and weighting of data.

Quick Polls

The steps for conducting a quick poll to students, faculty or staff are as follows:

1. After reviewing the Human Subjects Review Policy and Procedures to ensure the quick poll follows required guidelines or is exempt from the Policy, submit the quick poll to the Human Subjects Review Committee. The following link describes the Human Subjects Review Policy and Procedures, including submission to it: http://clem.mscd.edu/~forrestj/HSRC.htm
2. Submit the exempted or approved request to the appropriate Vice President or Dean for that constituency (i.e. students, faculty, and staff).
3. The specific vice president or dean will decide whether it is appropriate for distribution to his or her population.
4. If the specific vice president or dean approves, he or she should consult with the Assistant Vice President for College Communications as to the content of the quick poll.
5. Only the approving vice president or dean may instruct the Metro State Information Technology portal administrators to post/send the quick poll.
6. The Metro State Portal Administrators will make the quick poll available in a test environment and contact the sender for final approval before dissemination. Once approved, the quick poll will be made available in the production environment.

VII. Access Priority

In the event of multiple departments wishing to survey constituents within the same timeframe, the following shall serve as a priority access list from highest to lowest priority:

1. Board of Trustees, the President of the College
2. Administrative Divisions of the College through the appropriate Vice President
3. Student Government through the SGA President
4. Other proposed and approved polls through divisional channels

All requests to survey students, faculty and staff should be reviewed by the Office of Institutional Research to insure validity and determine the best methods, including timeframes, for conducting the poll. OIR will be responsible for tracking surveys and data to prevent duplicate efforts by those wishing to conduct said surveys.

VIII. Results

OIR is responsible for analyzing the data and providing results to the surveying party within 72 hours. Should the survey requestor desire the data in a certain format, they should submit a request to OIR in writing and allow five (5) business days for processing. Special requests, such as contracting with an outside firm, for data analysis should be discussed and coordinated with OIR during the initial development of the survey.

IX. Participation

Those conducting surveys and quick polls at Metro State may not force or compel users to participate in any way. The survey requestor is responsible for initiating all publicity for their respective surveys and polls. Active surveys and polls may be publicized through media tools such as MetroConnect announcements, Today@Metro, Metonline, The Metropolitan, flyers, posters, and any other format the requestor deems appropriate.

Appendix

Survey Justification Checklist

1. Does the survey/quick poll relate to official college business?
2. Define Goals and Objectives - What you want to learn and Why:
   • Ratings of current products or services
   • Employee attitudes
   • Customer satisfaction levels
   • Reader/viewer/listener opinions
3. How will the results be utilized and disseminated?
4. Is an e-survey or Quick Poll the appropriate/only methodology
   • Face-to-face i.e. focus group or interviews
   • Telephone
   • Mail
   • Web survey vs. e-mail survey
   • Must the data be statistically valid?
5. Determine your sample - Whom you will interview
   • What is your target population
   • Is it possible to identify population using current College data?
   • What is the Sample size? Based on: time available, and necessary degree of precision
6. Do you have the skill/resources to create your questionnaire i.e. what you will ask, how you will ask it.
   • Writing meaningful, valid questionnaires is a skill. A few things to keep consider:
   • Keep it short and simple
   • Introduction or welcome message
   • Allow ‘Don’t know’ or ‘Not Applicable’ responses where appropriate
   • Question types: Multiple choice, numeric open end, text open end? Rating scales and agreement scales?

Additional resources for developing surveys and survey questions are available at: http://www.statpac.com/

Approved February 13, 2006