Survey Results

Survey Results

Survey Project Approval, Creation, and Administration

The Office of Institutional Research and Effectiveness reviews, builds, administers, and analyzes survey results for the WNC community. IRE is available to assist with the design of your survey project, and will create and administer your survey using professional software. IRE can also assist with the analysis and reporting of your survey results.

WNC faculty, staff, and students interested in creating and administering internal or external surveys must contact Institutional Research and Effectiveness at ire@wnc.edu before proceeding to determine if approval from the SPFIE Subcommittee on Research is needed. If approval is needed, the Committee will convene to review the project. This is a critical step to ensure compliance with WNCs College Policy on Research and approved use of survey results.

IRE will review all proposed survey projects to ensure the following guidelines have been followed:

• If the results of the research are to be published or presented at a conference, the approval of the SPFIE Subcommittee on Research is required.
• If data from student records are used in assessment research, all requirements of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) must be met. Non-public student data can be used without the students consent by university employees for legitimate educational purposes provided the data are not reported in such a way that individual students can be identified. All other users must receive written consent from the students to access non-public student data.
• Surveys in the following exempt categories may not require SPFIE Subcommittee on Research approval unless they will be used in published or otherwise presented research:
  • Regular classroom examinations, research assignments, or test studies.
  • Faculty research protected by academic freedom.
  • Survey by academic faculty of their current students (for broader student surveys, please contact IRE: ire@wnc.edu).
  • Survey by administrative and executive faculty of academic faculty, students or classified employees (if conducting this type of survey, please contact IRE: ire@wnc.edu).
• For surveys exempt from SPFIE Subcommittee on Research approval, if survey results will not be published and the survey responses will be linked to an individual, individuals must be notified of the purpose of the research and of the fact that participation is voluntary, and actions to ensure confidentiality must be explained to participants.
• If a survey is exempt from SPFIE Subcommittee on Research approval, and the respondents remain anonymous, the purpose of the research and the fact that participation is voluntary must be explained to participants.