Surveys

Survey Coordinating Committee & Institutional Research

The Survey Coordinating Committee (SCC) at the University of Nebraska at Omaha (UNO) coordinates large-scale campus-level surveys and makes decisions on which external surveys UNO participates in. This is done in collaboration with the Institutional Research (IR) team under the Systems Intelligenace & Data Analytics (SIDA) unit.

The committee goal is not to be a central approving authority for all surveys, but to act as a resource to maximize the return on survey projects that require large-scale faculty, staff, and student input. The committee purpose is to avoid the time conflicts and survey fatigue incurred with multiple surveys administered to students, faculty, alumni, and staff.

The committee comprises of representation from:

• Accreditation
• Student Life and Wellbeing
• Academic Affairs
• Business and Finance
• University Compliance
• Community Engagement
• Strategic Marketing and Communication (MarCOMM)
• Office of Research and Creative Activity
• Institutional Effectiveness and Student Success

The committee goals are:

• Manage the survey burden placed on faculty, staff, and students.
• Coordinate the timing of surveys to maximize their effectiveness.
• Prioritize surveys that facilitate UNO's mission and goals.
• Promote best survey practices.

The committee works in the following ways:

• Hold two regular meetings (fall and spring) to review campus survey activity and recommend any necessary changes to the survey policy.
• Review and make a final determination on new survey requests.
• Provide guidance, if necessary, in disseminating survey results to campus.

General Survey Policy at the University of Nebraska Omaha

Researchers who seek to conduct surveys of UNO faculty, staff, and students must complete the Campus Survey Request Form. Once the request form is submitted, IR and SCC will complete the review process and communicate the final decision to the survey researcher. Upon approval, IR will work with the survey researcher to develop a detailed administration plan to conduct the survey. IR will recommend an appropriate survey launch window and target population or sample to avoid conflicts with other surveys already scheduled to the same group.

• Campus Survey Request Form

Frequently Asked Questions

Which surveys fall under the policy?

• All external and internal electronic surveys whose target population are UNO students.
• All external electronic surveys to UNO faculty and staff.

Which surveys are exempted from the policy?

• Paper surveys, regardless of populations.
• Surveys conducted by university faculty, staff, student researchers, or external research partners that are targeted to a limited or well-defined group used to evaluate a program, course, etc.
• Internal assessments conducted by UNO administrative entities such as SAC, Faculty Senate, etc.

What are the survey scheduling priorities?

• Surveys identified as major institutional surveys to collect data for assessment and accreditation needs are scheduled in advance as top priorities in the semester they occur.
• Recurring surveys receive top priority in scheduling than new surveys.
• New surveys are scheduled as requests are received and approved.
• No surveys are scheduled during the final weeks or when course evaluation starts.

Can cash or gift cards be given out as incentives in a student survey at UNO?

• If a survey’s population is UNO students only, the survey incentives can have financial aid implications. For more information, please visit: https://www.unomaha.edu/admissions/financial-support-and-scholarships/_fss-files/gift_card_cash_policy.pdf

Does SIDA facilitate student research?

• SIDA is typically only involved in the distribution and administration of surveys that are related to institutional accreditation or assessment. Student researchers are encouraged to work with their research advisor on advertisement strategies across various student communication channels, which may include flyers and posters in public spaces across campus, social media, specific classes, the newspaper, daily email, or other means.