Various university constituents use surveys to gather useful data regarding students, faculty and staff at Temple. This web page is designed to provide information and resources for those interested in administering a survey to Temple students, faculty, and/or staff.

In recent years, the university has seen a significant increase in the use of survey research, and a concomitant decrease in survey response rates. The Temple University Survey Coordinating Committee (TUSCC) was initiated to coordinate the administration of institutional surveys involving students, faculty, and staff at the University, with the intent of maximizing the usefulness and power of the data generated from these surveys. TUSCC employs standards, criteria, and procedures with the intent to:

• ensure that surveys are well designed and administered appropriately,
• decrease the number of surveys administered to the same populations,
• protect certain student populations from survey requests (including incoming freshmen as they transition into the university),
• reduce the collection of duplicate information from different surveys,
• track the level of survey research imposed on various university constituencies,
• ensure surveys are collecting appropriate information in support of the university's strategic goals and accreditation needs, and
• encourage the communication and appropriate use of survey results within the Temple community.

Click here for more information about the series of nationally and locally constructed surveys and questionnaires Temple currently uses.

Click here for a listing of Survey Committee members.

Approval Process for Surveys of Students, Faculty, and/or Staff

If an office, department, or individual is interested in administering a survey to a large group or sample from the Temple community, the survey representative must first complete an application, specifying the purpose, design, and timeframe of the proposed survey. This application should be electronically submitted to surveys@temple.edu.

The TUSCC convenes regularly and reviews applications for surveys. Applications will be reviewed as quickly as possible, but the TUSCC often requests additional information from the application and this additional time should be included in the survey administration schedule. Surveys which are focused on a defined population, such as course evaluations or a survey of the members of a particular committee, do not have to be authorized by the TUSCC. They should, however, be administered with the approval of the particular University school/college or division.

Please Keep in Mind

• TUSCC maintains a calendar of surveys to ensure that students, faculty, and staff are not receiving multiple survey invitations and reminders over short time periods.
• There are certain times of the year, including the opening weeks of semesters, study days, and exam periods, when we do not survey students. Incoming students are not surveyed as they transition into the university.
• The intended timeline for a survey's administration is one of the considerations for approval by the TUSCC.
• In order to accommodate multiple survey requests, TUSCC will usually offer samples of a population, rather than the entire population.

Services and Assistance Available

There are resources available to the University community to assist in the development, administration, and analysis of surveys. The Measurement and Research Center (MARC) coordinates these services, which include:

• survey design and development
• determination of methodologies for collecting data
• selection of population sample
• administration of surveys (paper-based and electronic)
• analytical techniques

For additional information, contact Sally Frazee at sally.frazee@temple.edu, (215) 204-8611.