We are now hosting the AAS Live Overview every Thursday at 1pm CST for those who want to learn more about the Alumni Attitude Study.  As demand for this work increases and we continue to see tremendous results bringing the AAS to campuses all across the country, we want to provide all schools the opportunity to learn more about the AAS and its benefits at their convenience.  This presentation provides information about how the AAS, over the past 10 years, has helped institutions become more data-driven; provide direction on how to make the best use of their resources, budgets, boards and staff; and increase alumni engagement and participation. (more…)

Having spent the past 10 years successfully implementing alumni attitudinal surveys for various institutions across the country, we find that taking on this task in-house can be an intimidating proposition.  One of the things we (The Alumni Attitude Study) do at the beginning of each project is work with our clients to establish and maintain some key principles that will apply throughout the entire survey process.  These principles need to be the foundation of the survey project, from designing the questions to taking action on the findings.   (more…)

The computer age ushered in a myriad of process improvement technologies.  Rarely does an organization look critically at issues in other than a process-oriented fashion.  And this is a good thing, since rarely are effective solutions discovered independently of the process in which the issue exists.  One of the most powerful of those recent technologies – and one that is widely applied in the corporate world — is that of benchmarking. (more…)

A question we often hear form our clients at the early stages of a research project is about their expected response rate.  What response rate should we get?  Is it enough?  Is it better or worse than others?  Should we give away a prize to insure a higher response rate?

Response rate is important.  It tells us a lot about the target population’s attitude regarding the survey and their belief in our willingness to listen and take action.  Response rate, however, is not as important as the number of responses. (more…)

These principles need to be the foundation of the survey project, from designing the questions to taking action on the findings.

Many people start by thinking about the questions they want to ask rather than thinking about what they hope to achieve by conducting the survey.  Good survey processes and questionnaires start with a clear understanding of the following five operational guideposts: (more…)