• General Questions
• Regarding Running Surveys
• Regarding Results and Reporting
  

What does Digital Measures need from our institution to implement Survey Connect?

First, send Digital Measures a copy of the survey questions you would like to run. Survey populations can include students, faculty, staff, and administrators on your campus or alumni, employers, and other external stakeholders. The survey questions you send will be used to create customized instruments to collect the information your institution needs.

Next, you beta test the surveys you submitted. This includes viewing the reports that will be available after the surveys are run. You communicate changes you would like made to the survey instruments or the reports. You can continue testing your surveys until you decide they are ready.

After you have approved your surveys, they are launched for the dates and times you specify, and results can be monitored in real-time.

What is our institution’s role in implementation?

We recommend that a campus administrator oversee the implementation of Survey Connect campus-wide. This will not need to be the person’s sole responsibility, and the time commitment will drop significantly after implementation. Note that your campus administrator should have some technical background, as this is a software system.

We also recommend having each school or college appoint an administrator. This role is commonly filled by an associate/assistant dean, a technology coordinator, or someone similar. This is typically just one of the responsibilities of the person and is not a full or perhaps even part-time role. If desired, your campus administrator can also fulfill this role for your school or college; this decision is up to you.

Can we load our historical data into Survey Connect?

Yes. Data can be loaded into Survey Connect from other databases. This will enable you to create trend reports utilizing your historical data.

What types of questions can my institution use with Survey Connect?

Survey Connect is capable of utilizing just about any question format, including:

• Checkboxes – allows respondents to select multiple values from a set of predefined options
• Likert scales – allows respondents to specify their level of agreement to a statement
• Radio buttons - allows respondents to choose one of a predefined set of options
• Drop-down boxes – allows respondents to choose one of a predefined set of options
• Text boxes – allows respondents to share freeform feedback such as text, numbers, and/or symbols

Why should we not build a system like Survey Connect in-house?

There are several good reasons to use Survey Connect instead of building your own system. Three of them are:

• Survey Connect is ready to be used immediately and is rich with features. Instead of spending your resources building a system from scratch, you can use them to customize Survey Connect. You are able to focus on the implementation, use of the system, and extraction of the data from the system rather than the construction of it. You benefit from Digital Measures' experience working with hundreds of other campuses.
• Most campuses' IT organizations are not in a position to build software solutions in-house. Creating software solutions entails significant time, expense and resources dedicated to design, construction and maintenance. It is a better use of resources to focus a campus' IT organization on supporting and extending functionality in solutions such as Survey Connect.
• All of Digital Measures' clients can obtain full downloads of all their data in comma-delimited or XML files at all times, ensuring clients always have access to all data and that the data can be used in other systems. Furthermore, your other software systems can "talk" to Activity Insight because of Digital Measures' use of web services.

What are the advantages of using Survey Connect?

• Eliminates the time-consuming task of distributing paper surveys
• Allows instant access to data, maximizing informed strategic decision making
• Quick implementation, at far less expense than building a system in-house
• Benefit from a turn-key solution: software, helpdesk and built-in utilities
• Allows real-time reporting between departments, colleges, schools, campuses and/or institutional systems
• Compatible with other Digital Measures solutions

Is the initial setup period the only opportunity we have to customize Survey Connect?

No. You may revise your survey instruments stored within Survey Connect at any time.

How secure is Survey Connect?

Digital Measures has taken many steps to create a safe environment for your data while still making it easy for you to securely access it. All data is collected over a 128-bit SSL-encrypted connection, the industry-standard method of transferring sensitive information. All of Digital Measures' servers are managed by IBM in a tier 1 datacenter. All data is securely backed up each night to three geographically-dispersed locations owned by IBM, and two owned by Iron Mountain. In addition, Digital Measures is registered with and certified by the United States Department of Commerce as compliant with the Safe Harbor Principles in effect between the European Union and the U.S.

Who owns my data and what can Digital Measures do with it?

All data provided by and collected for your campus are solely owned by your campus. As per the terms in Digital Measures' standard service agreement, your data cannot be disclosed, reused, sold, or disseminated in any way by Digital Measures. Furthermore, per our standard service agreement, we legally agree to take steps to protect your confidential data.

Is Survey Connect American Disabilities Act (ADA) compliant?

Yes.

Is my survey sample size limited when using Survey Connect?

No. Survey Connect can help you gather feedback from as many people on your campus or outside of it as you would like. You can target a few faculty or reach out to your entire student population.

How often can we run surveys with Survey Connect? Are there limits on how many surveys we can run?

There are no limits. You are able to run unlimited surveys with Survey Connect, at any time throughout the year.

How many times can each person respond to a survey?

For most surveys, you will probably desire that each person only respond once and this can be enforced. In cases where you desire that each person be able to respond multiple times, this can also be allowed.

How are potential respondents notified about surveys?

Digital Measures can email potential repondents for you or you can notify them yourself via email, hard copy, portal, or any other method based on the number of respondents you would like to reach.

How do people access a survey to respond?

There are several ways potential respondents can access the system:

• Click a link in an email
• Click a link on your website or portal
• Access a web address and login

How long are results kept online and accessible?

Results collected with Survey Connect are always available online to the individuals to whom you grant access.

Who can see data in Survey Connect and generate reports from it?

Only the people you specify can access your data. Our clients each set their own user permissions for the users on their campus. Security can be assigned in nearly any way you desire. The typical security configuration most campuses use is similar to this:

• Faculty and staff are only able to access final results for their school or college
• Designated individuals are able to create surveys for their college or school. You may also desire that these same people be able to run reports for this college or school
• A designated individual is able to create surveys for everyone campus-wide. You may also desire that this same person be able to run reports for everyone on campus

Can we prepare different custom reports per academic unit?

Yes. Custom reports can be built into the system for each of your units.

Can we submit new surveys to be built into the system even after the initial setup period?

Yes. You may add, revise and remove surveys at any time.

Can we use data from Survey Connect in other Digital Measures solutions?

Yes. Survey responses collected with Survey Connect can be pulled into other Digital Measures solutions, such as Activity Insight and Course Response. This makes the data collected with Survey Connect easily accessible and increases the cumulative value of the solutions that Digital Measures offers.