Institutional Research and Planning

Survey Approval Process

The Survey Coordinating Committee fosters a culture of collaboration among researchers who use student, faculty and staff survey data for institutional improvement, planning and decision making. By completing the application linked below, you will be participating in Ohio State's collaborative survey process, with access to the shared expertise and knowledge of the committee.

Survey request approval form

If you have questions about the Ohio State Survey Committee approval, contact surveys@osu.edu.

The following factors will be considered in the approval and scheduling process:

  • The schedule of surveys already being administered.
  • The number of surveys already approved for the target population in an academic year. 
  • Lack of alternative data sources for the information needed.
  • Alignment with Ohio State's strategic plans and priorities. 

Please review the following checklist. If you answer “Yes” to any of these situations, you are exempt from having to complete the survey request form. However, you can still reach out to the Survey Coordinating Committee (surveys@osu.edu) for information about consultation requests or with questions regarding the development or administration of your survey. 

Exemption Checklist

You are external to Ohio State (please email Michele Hansen.676@osu.edu to share more information about your project).

  

Your survey is related to the formal process of Student Evaluation of Instruction (SEI) teaching and instruction. 

  

Your survey is being conducted by your unit/department/college on your own students, faculty or staff seeking feedback on the operations of the unit/school/department (if your survey is about department climate or diversity, equity and inclusion, please contact Michele Hansen (hansen.676@osu.edu) before sending.

  

Your survey is a small-scale or focused-intent survey such as an event evaluation, program evaluation or point-of-service survey targeting only specific users or participants. 

  

Your survey is being administered in support of the formal faculty promotion and tenure process or graduate student degree requirements (dissertation or master’s thesis), meets the definition of IRB systematic human subjects research, and you are using your own recruitment strategies (do not need to request a survey sample). 

  

Your planned recruitment strategy does not involve seeking survey samples, lists or contact information of survey participants from an Ohio State office (e.g., Institutional Research and Planning, Center for the Study of Student Life, Strategic Enrollment Management Analysis and Reporting, University Registrar).

  

Your survey is population is under 2,000 students. 

  
 

Ohio State Survey Coordinating Committee

Committee Mission  

The Survey Coordinating Committee seeks to create a culture that uses student, faculty and staff survey data for institutional improvement, planning and decision making. We work to make survey information more readily available so that the findings can be used by the university community for multiple purposes and survey researchers can be connected to relevant resources. In addition, the Ohio State population responding to surveys will see how their input is used and valued with the hope of increasing future survey response rates.

Committee Members

The committee includes representatives or appointees from Institutional Research and Planning, Office of Student Life, Strategic Enrollment Management, Human Resources, Graduate School, University Libraries, Faculty Affairs, the Institutional Review Board, and more. 

  • Erica Regan (co-chair), director of the Center for the Study of Student Life, Office of Student Life
  • Michele Hansen (co-chair), associate vice president, Institutional Research and Planning   
  • Andrew Blatter, director of operations, strategy and innovation, Graduate School 
  • Sarah Bohman, director of institutional performance, organizational and leadership effectiveness, Human Resources
  • Liana Crisan-Vandeborne, business intelligence senior analyst, College of Arts and Sciences 
  • Shanna Jaggars, assistant vice provost, Student Success Research Lab 
  • Dan DeMay, executive director of enrollment analytics, research and strategic insights, Strategic Enrollment Management
  • Helen Malone, vice provost for academic policy and faculty resources, Faculty Affairs 
  • Mitsu Narui, director of institutional effectiveness and assessment, Institutional Research and Planning   
  • Ansel J. Oakleaf, associate director for impact and analytics, University Libraries 
  • Molly Schmied, chief analytics officer, Office of Advancement 
  • Jacob R. Stoddard, associate director – IRB operations and data analytics, Office of Responsible Research Practices

Contact the Survey Coordinating Committee (surveys@osu.edu) with questions or to request a consultation regarding the development or administration of your survey. 

Charge 

The Ohio State Survey Coordinating Committee is charged with: 

  1. Overseeing campus interests regarding surveying students, faculty, staff, alumni and donors. 
  2. Providing resources and consultation on survey instrument development and administration (appropriate sample sizes, populations, process of sampling).   
  3. Developing and maintaining a calendar of surveys regularly administered to faculty, staff and/or students. 
  4. Developing a survey review process. 
  5. Determining the appropriate timing and cycle intervals of surveys. This entails developing a prioritization of large-scale existing surveys.   
  6. Sharing the results of approved and completed surveys. 
  7. Recommending alternative data sources, including existing survey data, where possible and relevant. 
  8. Reviewing and approving any survey that falls outside of the exemptions or conditions listed in the checklist above.