Institutions should work to develop a range of ways for providing information about and feedback from surveys. The use of a range of means to promote the GCA surveys to students and graduates, keeping in mind those methods which are most likely to reach people, including posters around campus, emails from senior staff, announcements in lectures, articles in campus newspapers. Institutions should adapt their marketing and dissemination of survey outcomes in ways that best communicate with different stakeholder groups. Institutions should promote the GCA national surveys to people before the surveys are distributed. There is considerable room for greater levels of promotion both before graduation, and between graduation and survey distribution Institutions should contact graduates using methods which are most likely to secure a response, rather than methods which may be simply ready-to-hand such as university email. Institutions may need to develop systems to enhance their capacity to keep contact with graduates. Institutions should take steps to confirm that people in the GCA national survey population have in fact received a form. This might involve follow-up calls, using multiple methods for distributing forms, or validating contact lists prior to survey distribution. Institutions may need to develop systems to enhance their capacity to keep contact with graduates. Institutions should enhance the appearance and content and impact of survey materials to better capture potential respondents’ attention. Institutions should focus on enhancing the significance and authority of the GCA national surveys for graduates. Even after the initial distribution, institutions need to actively develop the significance and authority of the survey forms in ways which inspire graduates to complete the forms. They should offer potential respondents clear and compelling reasons why their input into the surveys makes a valuable contribution to their university and to them as individuals. Institutions should inform graduates about the value and treatment of survey data. This might involve informing them of privacy, confidentiality, or other human-ethics related issues. GCA would encourage institutions to re-evaluate their survey protocols and, where possible incorporate those strategies that are not already part of the survey process. Should institutions wish to use incentives to encourage responses, GCA recommends modest rewards, but larger in number. It is recommended that survey resources be focused on implementing a holistic approach (as described above), rather than single high value lottery incentives. However, it is recognised that some institutions might see value in offering incentives, particularly those which encourage quick response, for example, by a certain date. Speeding response can assist Survey Managers in managing their AGS administration.
Institutions should work to develop a range of ways for providing information about and feedback from surveys. The use of a range of means to promote the GCA surveys to students and graduates, keeping in mind those methods which are most likely to reach people, including posters around campus, emails from senior staff, announcements in lectures, articles in campus newspapers. Institutions should adapt their marketing and dissemination of survey outcomes in ways that best communicate with different stakeholder groups. Institutions should promote the GCA national surveys to people before the surveys are distributed. There is considerable room for greater levels of promotion both before graduation, and between graduation and survey distribution Institutions should contact graduates using methods which are most likely to secure a response, rather than methods which may be simply ready-to-hand such as university email. Institutions may need to develop systems to enhance their capacity to keep contact with graduates. Institutions should take steps to confirm that people in the GCA national survey population have in fact received a form. This might involve follow-up calls, using multiple methods for distributing forms, or validating contact lists prior to survey distribution. Institutions may need to develop systems to enhance their capacity to keep contact with graduates. Institutions should enhance the appearance and content and impact of survey materials to better capture potential respondents’ attention. Institutions should focus on enhancing the significance and authority of the GCA national surveys for graduates. Even after the initial distribution, institutions need to actively develop the significance and authority of the survey forms in ways which inspire graduates to complete the forms. They should offer potential respondents clear and compelling reasons why their input into the surveys makes a valuable contribution to their university and to them as individuals. Institutions should inform graduates about the value and treatment of survey data. This might involve informing them of privacy, confidentiality, or other human-ethics related issues. GCA would encourage institutions to re-evaluate their survey protocols and, where possible incorporate those strategies that are not already part of the survey process. Should institutions wish to use incentives to encourage responses, GCA recommends modest rewards, but larger in number. It is recommended that survey resources be focused on implementing a holistic approach (as described above), rather than single high value lottery incentives. However, it is recognised that some institutions might see value in offering incentives, particularly those which encourage quick response, for example, by a certain date. Speeding response can assist Survey Managers in managing their AGS administration.
gca001375.docx