Survey Guidelines

Surveys are tools used to collect quantitative and/or qualitative data. 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.

Surveys for Human Subjects Research Purposes

If you are conducting a survey with BGSU students, faculty, and/or staff for Human Subjects Research purposes, then you will need to go through the Institutional Review Board (IRB) process to receive approval. All IRB projects should be submitted via Cayuse IRB. After you have IRB approval, you can request a list of email addresses from the Office of Institutional Research through their data request from.

Quicklinks

Surveys for Human Subjects Research Purposes
Surveys for Institutional Assessment Purposes
Surveys for Internal Assessment Purposes
Things to Consider
BGSU Survey Schedule Institutional Assessments
External Surveys

Surveys for Institutional Assessment Purposes

If you are conducting a survey as an institutional assessment to obtain campuswide data, you also will need to submit an application via Cayuse IRB. The focus of an Institutional Assessment is to collect university-wide data to support BGSU's continuous improvement efforts, enhance current practices or processes, and support institutional decision making. Please note that if your Institutional Assessment is simply for internal assessment purposes and not for research, the Cayuse IRB application is a short process that asks for an assessment description, external partner/organization information, assessment frequency, administration dates, target audience, and assessment dissemination. After you have approval for the Institutional Assessment, you can request a list of email addresses from the Office of Institutional Research through their data request from.

Surveys for Internal Assessment Purposes

There are a few instances where individuals sending a survey for assessment and/or evaluation purposes do not need to complete a Cayuse IRB application. Exemptions of this 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 classes.
The assessment/evaluation survey is being sent to students from other students within the same class.

Things to Consider

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%.

BGSU Survey Schedule Institutional Assessments

Survey/Assessment	Purpose	Audience	Contact	Administration Timeline
AI Literacy Survey	Assess understanding and use of artificial intelligence (AI)	Students, faculty, and staff	Provost Office, Center for Faculty Excellence, and University Libraries	To be administered in Spring 2026
Collaborative on Academic Careers in Higher Education (COACHE)	Assess faculty job satisfaction	Faculty	Institutional Effectiveness	Every three years (last administration 2023) February/March
Commute Survey	Assess daily commuting habits	Students, faculty, and staff	Office of Campus Sustainability	Every few years (to be administered February 2026)
Cost of Attendance Survey	Determine the type and amount of expenses students incur while enrolled with BGSU	Students	Financial Aid	Every other year Last administration October 2025
Dining Annual Survey	Gather perceptions of BGSU dining experience	Students, faculty, and staff	BGSU Dining	Annually - October
Employee Engagement Survey	Gather perspectives and experiences	Faculty and staff	Human Resources partnering with McLean & Company	Last administration September 2023
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
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
Multi-Institutional Study of Leadership (MSL)	Investigate the influences that shape socially responsible human development capacities & other leadership-related outcomes	Students	Marvin Center for Student Leadership and Civic Engagement	Every other year in spring semester (to be administered in March 2026)
National College Health Assessment	Assess students’ health habits, behaviors, and perceptions	Students	Health and Wellness	Every other year in the fall semester (last administration October 2024)
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 October 2024)
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 February 2025)
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 (last administered March 2025)
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 in 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.

Updated: 01/29/2026 02:35PM