This policy does not apply to:
- course evaluations or other faculty surveys of students in their own classes
- surveys of small groups (e.g., majors in one’s own department, staff in one’s own department, faculty in one’s own school)
- surveys associated with performance evaluations/reviews of an individual (such as a dean or vice chancellor)
- alumni surveys conducted by departments or External Affairs
- surveys of satisfaction with service, if carried out at the time of the service
- evaluations of an event, if carried out at the time of the event
- clubs or other groups (including Faculty Senate) surveying their own members
Individuals or groups who desire to survey members of the campus community must submit a survey request to the Chair of the Institutional Research Council giving the following information:
- name of person or group sponsoring survey
- contact information of the individual responsible for overseeing the survey
- target population (e.g., students, staff, faculty, graduating seniors) to be surveyed
- the number of people to be surveyed
- requested date(s) of survey administration
- description of the survey topic, rationale (why you want to do the survey/research question you are trying to answer), and methodology (paper and pencil? email? online? interview?)
- how data will be used and with whom results will be shared
- statement of whether Institutional Review Board approval is required, and, if required, indication of whether such approval has been sought and/or received (please note that IRB approval must normally be obtained if there are plans to publish or present survey results in venues external to the campus)
Survey requests are due August 1 (for fall semester surveys) and November 1 (for spring semester surveys).
IR Council will review the proposals using the following guidelines:
- IRB approval (if necessary) has been sought and granted
- the purpose of the survey fits with the campus’ mission and strategic plan
- the survey does not duplicate efforts (i.e., the information is not otherwise available)
Normally IR Council will seek to limit the number of survey requests to any one population to two per semester. Campus-wide surveys which are on an already-established schedule (e.g., NSSE every three years, IT survey every two years) have first priority. After that, priority is on a first- come, first-served basis.
Please note that the campus policy for sending mass emails to IU Kokomo students limits such emails to “emergencies,” “urgent needs,” and “required notifications.” Only the Chancellor may grant exceptions to this policy, and only the Vice Chancellor of Student Services may send such emails. Those wishing to survey students via email are strongly encouraged to select a sample of students to survey rather than attempting to survey all students.
To encourage sharing of survey information and minimize duplication of effort, IR Council will maintain on its website a list of all approved surveys, including date(s) of administration and name of the individual responsible. Members of the campus community are encouraged to
consult this list prior to developing a new survey, to determine whether the information they are seeking may already be available.
IR Council will maintain a data archive of survey information in a secure location, following applicable FERPA and/or IT security policies. To facilitate this, the following procedures have been established:
- All administrative units (including committees) whose surveys fall under this policy must submit to IR Council an electronic copy of the final report of survey results (in PDF format) and an electronic copy of the raw data file with identifiers removed (in Excel or SPSS format) within three months of completing the survey.
- Faculty and student researchers whose surveys fall under this policy are encouraged, but not required, to share a report of their findings for the IR Council archives.
- Those seeking information from a previous survey should first contact the individual responsible for conducting that survey.
IR Council will not share data or results from any survey without the permission of the individual responsible for that survey, unless that individual is no longer a member of the IU Kokomo campus community.
