Survey Types
Here’s an overview of the different surveys we conduct and the general timelines for each.
Parent Survey
This is a periodic ‘report card’ as graded by those who pay the overwhelming proportion of your operating costs. In a nutshell, how well you are performing in the care of their children and of their families. Should be conducted online (we host the form) on a three-year cycle. This time frame allows you and your colleagues to absorb and digest the results from one such survey, to develop a game plan on how to respond in various ways (programs, communications, etc.), to implement that plan, and to have the parent body actually perceive your response before you take the measure again. More frequent surveying of this group, in the absence of significant shifts in how you operate, or in the general market in your area, would likely result in imperceptible changes in ratings. Give yourself a chance to respond, and at the same time, stay close to the market served. Better informed is better armed.
Participation rates should be in the range of 60% and up. If done entirely online, expect a one month collection period, involving a number of reminder email broadcasts. If done on paper, expect a two month collection period, and the costs for two complete mailings (paper, postage, and return postage-paid). Questionnaire length will be in the 120-130 question range.
For day schools, any uninterrupted (by major vacations) collection period (as described above) between the beginning of November (allowing new families to have a two month experience before being asked to offer ratings) and the end of May is fair game. Boarding schools would need to wait until January, providing the opportunity to have students go home in December to share their experiences with their parents.
Student Survey
This survey is like the parent survey (with some overlap in content), but directed at the ‘1st person’ recipient of your services, rather than the indirect measure of the one who pays the bill. There are experiences at the school for students and not for parents. Moreover, as students become older, they find their own voices, and may bear great influence on their parents’ ratings. On the other hand, they may (as is often the case) not be in regular, full-sentence communication with their parents. This, then, provides an additional source of input for you. In the event of differing ratings (e.g. higher ratings from students than from parents), you may be able to capitalize on this discrepancy by sharing student results with parents. As for timelines, match the parents for the same reasons. Participation should be by all students from Grade 5 and up.
Can be conducted on paper, or online, in either case under supervision in one or more sittings. Students will not complete the questionnaire on their own. Avoiding exam periods, and any other major stress points in the school year, November through May should be the target for conducting this survey.
Employee Survey
While in the business community, this one is more often done on an annual basis, in strategic terms, it makes sense to match it up with the parent and student surveys on a three-year cycle. As the folks charged with the delivery of your program, you need to make sure that they have an objective format and opportunity by which to tell you that they are: satisfied in employment; on the same page as the Board and Administration in what you’re hoping and dreaming for the School; feeling well supported in the workplace as they endeavor to fulfill their own hopes and dreams.
All employees, teaching and otherwise, should participate. Our dissection of results enables us to differentiate among employee types. Should be conducted in one or two sittings, as a group. If tightly managed, this can be done online, although employees are as likely as any other group to procrastinate to the point of not participating at all. Their relative small total number requires a very high participation rate (90%+ would be a good rule of thumb) for statistical validity.
As for timing, no time’s a good time for conducting an employee survey, so (using the November - May time frame as a guideline) choose the least worst, least stressful time in the school year.
Young Alumni Survey
This is also a performance report, but in the past tense, as opposed to a current year measure. The key question this answers (both generally, and across a long list of specific measures) is: “How well did we prepare you for post-secondary education and for life?” This survey forms an important answer to the question posed by many prospective parents: “How do I know that my child, entrusted to your care, will be better prepared for the next stage in life than if I enrolled him or her at School B or C or D?” Quantitative results to this question add meaningful value to the anecdotal. Counting on a response rate of about 25%, our target is to end up with 300+ completed questionnaires, allowing rigorous cross-tabulated analysis of results. This means that you need to distribute the survey to a minimum of 1200 graduates. This has ranged in past from 10 years to 25 years. Do not include non-graduating attendees in this count, as they will not participate at an adequate level to achieve the target. Depending on your email directory, this could be done entirely online, or in whole or part on paper. As with the parent survey, count on two complete mailings, if conducted by regular mail.
Best not to survey limited to those still in college or university. We find meaningful shifts in important rating measures, coincidental with achieving the degree. Age, experience, maturity, certainty, all of these may contribute to the shifts. Where those who are still students are having challenges, they are (on average) more likely to blame you for their problems. Once the degree is firmly in hand, this is less the case.
The collection period could range from as little as four weeks to as much as 12 weeks. Depends on the time of year, and the tenor of your relationship with this constituency. If conducted on paper, timing is restricted to periods when the youngest cohort will be home from school (matching your likely mailing addresses) for major vacations. If conducted online, avoid their exam periods. As for the frequency for conducting this survey, you are restricted mostly by the number of graduates you produce. The same group surveyed in one effort cannot be expected to offer much new information about their student experiences at your school (other than as influenced by reflection and maturity). Think about this project as to be repeated when you have enough new graduates to warrant a full analysis, or at least, a comparative analysis to the previous iteration.
Advancement/Development Survey of Alumni
This is the big one, a massive project polling all alumni in a non-anonymous survey. The purpose of this survey is to develop a better understanding of how the school can relate to its alumni. Essentially, we ask respondents to tell us about their past relationship with the school (as students), about their current relationship (as reflected in a myriad of ratings and attitudinal measures), and about the relationship which they would like to have with the school. This future relationship would entail measures of interest in passive communication, online networking, events and programs, volunteering, and of course, philanthropy. On this last point, you’ll be able to match answers with names, identifying, for example, those alumni who: loved their student experience; feel great about the school now; have a history of recent donations to the school; expect to make a donation in the future; earn more than $250,000 per year; and are interested in supporting a new athletic complex. From this project, you should find yourselves in a position to both: develop a full strategic plan for advancement with alumni; and address each member of the participating group as an individual. Call it mass customization. Rather than broadcasting messages without differentiation, you’ll be able to approach and respond to individual alumni based on their particular needs and interests. Personal meetings will be guided by personal answers to the survey questions.
Target 25% as a participation rate. High performance on this account so far is 38%. Depends largely on your past efforts in having and promoting a relationship with alumni.
Timing for this project is best at one of three points in the year. Launch in September, January, or just after Spring Break. Collection period will be not less than three months.
Collection mode likely to be a mix of online and regular paper mail. Count on two mailings by regular mail, and numerous reminder messages by email. Each message or mailing should be culled for those who have participated in the intervening period. Expect 90% identification. The paper mailing includes a mail merge letter as the front piece of the questionnaire, providing name, class, record number, and gender. A very small number, likely no more than 1%, will black out their identity from the form. The online form is generic, asking for name, class, and gender. Perhaps three-quarters will provide this information. Once we’ve completed the project, you’ll want to merge key fields from our database with your own.
This is a project that can be repeated when budget permits in an effort to bring more names into the database. I wouldn’t look at a second such project until four years has passed since the first survey.
I hope this adds clarity to your consideration of these various projects, and would be happy to answer any questions, as they arise. I look forward to the opportunity for us to work together.
Best regards,
Kevin Graham, President
1-888-688-6778