Item 6 from Provost Jordan's email update to university faculty. 
This update was distributed via faculty@list.gcsu.edu on 18 Jan 2011 at 12:06 PM

6. Update on Participation Rates on the Student Opinion of Teaching Surveys:  As you know there is great concern over the falling participation rates on the Student Opinion of Teaching surveys. Over the summer and most recent semester  we have been gathering information on the issue, speaking to sister institutions that have successfully addressed the problem, identifying  best practices, and working  with our SGA and FAPC to identify strategies to improve the student response rate.

Brief History: Before Spring 2009 surveys were printed and professors stopped class during a designated time period to distribute the surveys. The participation rate was relatively high…with a percentage ranging  between the mid 75 and 82%. The transition from paper to an online version was made on campus during fall 2009 with one   unwelcomed result:  a drop in participation rate. The online version has be administered over the past three semesters and the participation rates among students asked to take the survey the last several semesters have ranged from 33 to 60%. While the online version of the Student Opinion surveys has improved the process in a number of important ways- including:  decreasing the impact on staff   workloads, increasing flexibility as to when to complete the survey, increasing the consistency of the messaging and survey protocol,  reducing the need to interrupt teaching time, allowing  participation by students enrolled in online classes, and reducing  costs-  the significant drop in participation must be addressed.

Findings: Almost all institutions that migrated to online surveys experienced a temporary drop in participation that improves steadily over time. But, those institutions that implemented incentives for completing the survey and took deliberate steps to enhance messaging and build a culture of accountability were able to increase participation more significantly and speedily.

Plans: The strategy we have developed has several parts. I will outline those parts here and respond to  specific questions when I visit the colleges this semester.  Students will be sent several notices about completing the survey. If they do not complete the survey over a set period of time, they will be asked to complete a short survey that asks them to respond to questions about why they did not complete the survey.  If students complete either the opinion survey or the alternative survey, they will be able to access their end of semester grades at the earliest possible time. Those students who chose not to participate will be locked out of retrieving grades until a later date.  SGA has recommended that we provide students with a shorter time-span to complete the survey. During that shorter window of opportunity,  SGA officiers will help message to their peers the importance of completing the survey. FAPC has recommended that a statement be added to syllabi indicating the importance of the surveys. Our students have made a compelling case (through SGA) that all courses with 10 or more students be surveyed. This aligns with the “best practices” found at other institutions and sends a message about the importance of the survey. Faculty would still be able to select the class surveys that they feel are most representative of their efforts for evaluation purposes.