In late 2001, Consortium members met to develop a survey and establish a methodological approach. The Consortium then engaged a consultant to finalize the survey instrument, coordinate the data collection, analyze the data, and report on the survey findings.
Traditionally, this was a paper-based survey, which colleges administered to classes of students. In 2006, for the first time, colleges had the option of participating in either a paper-based or a web-based version of the survey. The Consortium hoped that a web-based survey would ease the administrative burden of the survey on colleges and encourage additional colleges to participate.
To ensure consistency in the administration of the surveys, a field guide was developed in 2001. This field guide, modified slightly, was used again this year for the paper-based survey. The paper-based field guide contains: a schedule outlining the timing of the survey; suggestions for the random selection of classes in which to administer the survey; survey instructions for individuals responsible for administering the survey; a reporting template and instructions about where to send c ompleted questionnaires.
PRA distributed packages to each participating college, which included: a cover letter with general instruction; the field guide; and between 350 and 500 blank questionnaires for distribution in class. Five colleges participated in the paper-based survey and were responsible for choosing the classes to be surveyed in accordance with a predetermined sampling strategy by program type and campus. At each college, survey coordinators were responsible for contacting instructors to alert them to the need for class time, distributing the survey, collecting the completed questionnaires, and shipping them to PRA. To ensure that questionnaires were assigned to the correct college, each questionnaire had an ID number attached to it, and specific ranges of survey ID numbers were assigned to each college. Upon return, the questionnaires were reviewed to ensure that the students filled them out correctly. [RA recorded the ID numbers of all completed questionnaires that were returned and then sent them for scanning. Any problems identified during the scanning process were reviewed.
PRA also developed a field guide for administration of the web-based survey. The web-based survey field guide contains: a schedule outlining the timing of the survey; suggestions for the random selection of students to receive the survey; information on two options for administering the web survey (college-administered or PRA-administered); a template for reporting the final results of the survey administration. Both field guides appear in Appendix B. |