Surveys, when designed and used appropriately, can provide valuable information about student learning and development. Miami University's Office of Institutional Research (IR) conducts multiple surveys of faculty, staff, and students each year, including national surveys that allow comparisons with benchmark institutions. This page provides information on how to using survey data for assessment purposes and the types of survey data that are already available to Miami faculty and staff.

Why use surveys?

Multiple types of data can be used to assess students’ learning and development. Surveys can provide an indirect measure of student learning and development (i.e., a measure that indirectly suggest a student has achieved the outcome). While direct measures are always preferred, they are not always practical. Surveys, when designed and used appropriately, can provide valuable information about student learning and development.

After you identify the type of data that you need, determine whether you need to design your own survey or whether Miami University's Office of Institutional Research (OIR) has survey data that you can utilize. OIR conducts multiple surveys of faculty, staff, and students each year, including national surveys that allow comparisons with benchmark institutions. Many surveys are designed to go hand-in-hand with other surveys in order to provide multiple perspectives (e.g., faculty and student perspectives). For some of these surveys, the IR Office has data stretching back as far as 1970!

Online Survey Tools

Formstack is Miami's recommended form solution due to accessibility and ease of use. More information on Formstack is available from University Communications and Marketing.

Miami also subscribes to Qualtrics, a survey tool which provides additional features such as e-mailing integration and analytic tools. More information on Qualtrics is available from IT Services