Survey Governance
UBC often uses surveys to solicit feedback from students, faculty and staff. Results from these surveys are used to inform strategic planning and decision-making. However, the accessibility of digital surveying tools has led to an increase in surveys at the university. Over-surveying our community has led to survey fatigue and lower response rates, which limits the interpretations we can draw from the data.
Survey Governance Committee
UBC has established a Survey Governance Committee to provide a centralized and coordinated approach, with the aim to reduce survey duplication while also helping to increase response rates and improve the quality and use of feedback.
The committee, which comprises UBC students, faculty, staff and senior administrators, will review surveys intended for broad distribution to the university community, in adherence with privacy legislation and the Data Governance Program. They will help coordinate the timing of surveys to avoid potential conflicts, and will offer additional survey support if needed.
The committee will prioritize surveys that are being conducted for academic research, institutional surveys, and those strongly supporting the strategic priorities of the university. They will also evaluate requests by external agencies to conduct surveys with UBC students, faculty, staff and alumni.
The committee will not review surveys that are course-based, classroom projects, or Faculty-specific. Also, it does not replace the Research Ethics Board for those surveys requiring ethics review. The purpose of the committee is to:
- coordinate surveys of the university community;
- determine avenues for accessing students, faculty, staff and alumni;
- reduce survey fatigue by managing timing and sampling methods;
- ensure results are shared with the university as appropriate; and
- ensure adherence to privacy legislation and data governance.
All surveys intended for broad distribution to the university community will now require approval by the committee before being deployed. The committee maintains a calendar of approved surveys. To avoid potential conflicts, please visit the Survey Calendar before you submit your survey for review.
Please submit your request a minimum of four weeks before your intended launch date.
Survey Support
Access Survey Data
Under the guidance of the Survey Governance Committee, the Student Experience, Evaluation and Research (SEER) unit conducts the following core surveys:
New to UBC Survey, Undergraduate Experience Survey, National Survey of Student Engagement, and Canadian Campus Wellbeing Survey.
- Request access these survey dashboards to inform your priorities.
- Explore opportunities to collaborate or add questions to these surveys governed by the committee.
Contact the committee: survey.governance@ubc.ca
Survey Guidance
Support for surveys not being reviewed by the Survey Governance Committee is also available by the Planning and Institutional Research office.
- Reach out for help with survey design and best practices.
- Receive advice or guidance on planning a new survey or modifying an existing survey.
- Explore resources to help you develop your own survey or focus group, including various sampling methods.
Contact PAIR: pair.team@ubc.ca
For more information, see Survey Support
UBC’s Survey Calendar
- View the schedule of approved surveys intended for broad distribution to the university community.
See the Survey Calendar
Access Other Survey Data
UBC’s Data Governance and Data and Reporting team considers requests for access to university data in support of UBC administrative functions, scholarly research and other purposes that are consistent with UBC’s mandate. For details, see Access Survey Data.