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 are for email surveys sent to BGSU students, faculty, and/or staff. Please contact University Advancement regarding alumni surveys.

Internal Surveys – These are surveys 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.

1. Surveys for human subjects research purposes
2. Surveys for assessment and/or evaluation purposes

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

If your survey is for human subjects research purposes, then you will need to go through the Institutional Review Board process. Surveys for human subjects research purposes do not need to complete the BGSU Office of Academic Assessment Survey Request form. The IRB approval process will be sufficient, if the survey is determined to be research by the IRB.  Once you have IRB approval, you can complete an Office of Institutional Research Data Request form for access to BGSU email addresses.

If your survey is for assessment and/or evaluation purposes and you are sending the survey directly to BGSU email addresses, then you will need to complete the BGSU Office of Academic Assessment Survey Request form. The BGSU Office of Institutional Research is the official office that provides BGSU email addresses. Once your BGSU Office of Academic Assessment Survey Request has been approved, you can complete an Office of Institutional Research Data Request form for access to BGSU email addresses.

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

• 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 – 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?

           o   Assessing learning

           o   Evaluating a program, service, and/or event

           o   Identifying perceptions, attitudes, and/or actions  

           o   Planning purposes

           o   Process improvement

           o   Satisfaction

           o   Study of topic

           o   Other _____________

• Who is your survey audience?

           o   Undergraduate students

           o   Graduate students

           o   Faculty

           o   Staff

• 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)?

Survey Request Form

BGSU Survey Schedule – Institutional Surveys

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 contact the Office of Academic Assessment at assessment@bgsu.edu. 

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
• Marie Dunn – Marketing & Brand Strategy  
• 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