Survey Guidelines

Surveys are tools to collect quantitative and/or qualitative data from Bowling Green State University (BGSU) students, faculty and staff. Individuals use surveys for a variety of reasons including, but not limited to,

Informing educational programs and instructional practice
Evaluating meaningful initiatives and institutional priorities
Providing important insights
And, collecting data to address a variety of questions

The BGSU Survey Guidelines on this page are for email surveys sent to BGSU students, faculty and/or staff. For alumni surveys, please contact University Advancement.

Quicklinks

Internal Survey Guidelines
External Survey Guidelines
BGSU Survey Schedule
Survey Procedures and Practices Committee

Internal Surveys

Internal surveys are sent to BGSU students, faculty and/or staff by other BGSU students, faculty and/or staff. At BGSU, we differentiate surveys into two main categories and in order to send out an internal survey, you first must receive approval.

Internal surveys for human subjects research purposes:

If your internal survey is for human subjects research purposes, then you will need to go through the Institutional Review Board (IRB) process to receive approval.

Institutional Review Board (IRB) process

If you are unsure if your survey is for human subjects research, please contact the Institutional Review Board at irb@bgsu.edu, or complete an IRB Review Determination Form at IRBNet.

Internal surveys for assessment and/or evaluation purposes:

If your internal survey is for assessment and/or evaluation purposes, then you will need to complete the BGSU Office of Academic Assessment Survey Request form to receive approval.

Academic Assessment Survey Form

There are a few exemptions and things to consider BEFORE submitting the Academic Assessment Survey Form.

STEP 2:
After receiving approval, you will need to request a list of email addresses from the Office of Institutional Research through the data request form.

Institutional Research Data Request Form

Additional information about Assessments and/or Evaluation Surveys

The following details are not for Human Subjects Research Surveys.

There are a few instances where individuals sending a survey for assessment and/or evaluation purposes do not need to complete the Academic Assessment Survey Request Form. Exemptions to the process include:

A college, department, or unit is sending the assessment/evaluation survey to their contact list.
The survey is for course evaluation purposes.
The assessment/evaluation survey is being sent by a faculty member to students within their particular classes.
The assessment/evaluation survey is being sent to students from other students within the same class.

Things to consider before submitting a survey for assessment and/or evaluation purposes:

All surveys must comply with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (FERPA) and with BGSU data protection practices.
Assessment/evaluation surveys should align with University strategic goals and the educational mission of BGSU.
Surveys need to be accessible; if you have questions, please check with BGSU Accessibility Services.
If you are not using Qualtrics (the BGSU approved survey software), please check with BGSU Information Technology Services (ITS) about data governance and security. If you are not using a BGSU approved survey software, BGSU offices will not offer technical support.
When considering survey response rates, generally they average between 10% to 25%.

Questions on the BGSU Office of Academic Assessment Survey Request form include:

Your name, contact information, and affiliation
What is the purpose of your survey?
How will your data be used?
- Assessing learning
- Evaluating a program, service, and/or event
- Identifying perceptions, attitudes, and/or actions
- Planning purposes
- Process improvement
- Satisfaction
- Study of topic
- Other _____________
Who is your survey audience?
- Undergraduate students
- Graduate students
- FacultyStaff
How many individuals will you be emailing this survey?
What questions will be on your survey?
What is your preferred start date and an alternate start date?
How long will the survey be open (i.e., number of weeks)?

BGSU Survey Schedule | Institutional Surveys

Survey/Assessment	Purpose	Audience	Contact	Administration Timeline
ODHE Changing Campus Culture	Identify benchmark data for the Ohio Department of Higher Education’s Changing Campus Culture Initiative	Students, Faculty, and Staff	Title IX	Annually in the spring semester March
BGSU Inclusion & Belonging	Identify benchmark data related to inclusion and belonging at BGSU	Students, Faculty, and Staff	Division of Inclusion & Belonging	Annually in the spring semester March
Collaborative on Academic Careers in Higher Education (COACHE)	Assess faculty job satisfaction	Faculty	Institutional Effectiveness	Every three years (last administration 2023) February/March
Healthy Minds	Assess health and well-being	Students, Faculty, and Staff	Health and Wellness	Every other year in the fall semester (last administration 2023) October
National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE)	Assess students’ levels of engagement and related information about their experience at BGSU	All first-year students and seniors	Office of Academic Assessment	Every other year in the spring semester (last administration 2025) February
National College Health Assessment	Assess students’ health habits, behaviors, and perceptions	Students	Health and Wellness	Every other year in the fall semester (last administration 2024) October
National Faculty and Staff Health Assessment	Assess faculty and staff health habits, behaviors, and perceptions	Faculty and Staff	Health and Wellness	Every other year in the fall semester (last administration 2024) October
Graduation Survey	Gather post-graduation employment data to identify future plans	Graduating students	Kuhlin Hub for Career Design and Connections	Prior to commencement with multiple reminders
Student Gambling Survey	Gather information about gambling activities	Students	Health and Wellness in conjunction with the ADAMHS Board of Wood County	Every three years in the fall semester (last administration 2022)
University-wide Evaluation of Teaching & Learning	Course evaluation	Students	Office of Academic Assessment	At the end of every session within every semester and term

External Surveys

These are surveys sent to BGSU students, faculty and/or staff by individuals not affiliated with BGSU. If the purpose of the external survey is for human subjects research and you are requesting BGSU email addresses, please go through the BGSU IRB process. If an external survey is for a purpose other than human subjects research, please email the Office of Academic Assessment.

2021 Survey Procedures and Practices Committee:

Victoria Ampiaw – TRIO Programs
Richard Anderson – Faculty Senate Representative
Jenifer Baranski – Office of Research Compliance
Coty Behanna – Office of Residence Life
Kim Brooks – Academic Affairs
Jonathan Chambers – Graduate College
Faith DeNardo – Wellness Connection
Patrick Kelly – Office of Human Resources
Oyebanjo Lajubutu – Office of Institutional Research
John Lommel – Institutional Effectiveness
Jeffrey Mangette – Office of Registration and Records
Thomas Mowen – Institutional Review Board
Daniel Powell – Equity, Opportunity & Compliance
Michelle Rable – Registrar
Donald Schumacher – Information Technology Services
Darby Shanahan – Graduate Student Senate
Jessica Turos – Office of Academic Assessment
Betsy Winters – Office of Online and Summer Programs

Updated: 06/18/2025 01:13PM