Survey Advisory Committee

The primary purpose of the Survey Advisory Committee (SAC) is to provide recommendations on policies and practices to govern surveys of members of the NC State campus community (i.e., students, faculty, staff, administrators, and alumni), and to implement approved practices.

SAC was created in response to the growing perception that the number of surveys being administered on campus has escalated in recent years.  The increasing number of surveys has in all likelihood come at some financial cost to NC State as more units devote resources to survey activities.  In addition, over-surveying has likely contributed to survey fatigue among members of our campus community, leading to declining response rates and, ultimately, less robust data to use in our accreditation, assessment, program evaluation, and other similar necessary activities.

The goal of the committee is to develop mechanisms for promoting efficiency in survey activities on campus.  Such efficiencies could prove cost-effective for NC State, and better enable units to collect the high quality data they need from our faculty, staff, students, and alumni.  Specifically, SAC seeks to minimize survey burden and costs to our campus community, and to make sure, to the fullest extent possible, that the surveys that are administered are methodologically sound.  The ultimate objective is to enable the University, its various units, and scholars to collect and benefit from high-quality, useful survey data in the most efficient and cost-effective manner possible.

Charge PDF Document

The Committee will:

  • Recommend to the Provost university guidelines for managing the total number of surveys and for avoiding unnecessary overlap in populations, timing, and content of surveys administered to university populations. This would include specific criteria for determining what survey projects would be included in the scope of these guidelines.
  • Advise Institutional Strategy and Analysis (ISA) on the development of an online source of detailed information about recently administered, current, and planned surveys of our NC State community members that would serve as both a tracking mechanism of surveys and provide a service to current and prospective survey researchers.
  • Advise ISA on strategies for informing prospective survey researchers about the university survey guideline, other research policies as appropriate (e.g., use of human subjects), and best-practices in survey research.
  • Advise ISA on strategies for ensuring that prospective survey researchers provide sufficient information to ISA for evaluating the project and approving access to the survey population.
  • Advise ISA on strategies for coordinating approved survey projects when feasible.

Current Membership PDF Document

SAC membership is purposefully selected to include offices on campus that regularly administer surveys; that include heavily surveyed populations; and/or that are regularly contacted to gain access to survey populations.  There are representatives from Faculty and Staff Senate, Student Government, and department and college senior administration.   The Institutional Review Board, General Counsel, and the University Research Committee also have members serving on SAC.  Finally, SAC includes faculty and staff members with expertise in survey research and/or assessment. View a list of current members PDF Document.

Meetings

Agendas and Minutes

AY13-14

May 12, 2014………. Agenda | Minutes

April 21, 2014………. Agenda | Minutes

March 17, 2014………. Agenda | Minutes

February 17, 2014………. Agenda | Minutes

January 27, 2014………. Agenda | Minutes

November 18, 2013………. Agenda PDF Document | Minutes PDF Document

October 21, 2013………. Agenda PDF Document | Minutes PDF Document

September 16, 2013………. Agenda PDF Document | Minutes PDF Document

AY12-13

March 28, 2013………. Agenda PDF Document | Minutes PDF Document

 AY11-12

February 24, 2012………. Agenda | Minutes PDF Document

January 20, 2012………. Agenda PDF Document | Minutes PDF Document

November 21, 2011………. Agenda PDF Document | Minutes PDF Document

September 27, 2011………. Agenda PDF Document | Minutes PDF Document

Related Documents

Survey Advisory Committee Annual Report, March, 2013 PDF Document