Innovative Institutional Survey Process Delivers More Than Data Insights at the University of Kansas
Partner Spotlight: University of Kansas
COACHE survey administration teams look different at every institution, usually made up of a varying array of stakeholders. Institutional Research is often a key player in COACHE teams — particularly when reviewing and interpreting results. The University of Kansas (KU) took this one step further: not only did the institution have its Analytics, Institutional Research, and Effectiveness (AIRE) team lead the COACHE process from end-to-end, the team used the COACHE model to revamp the entire institutional survey process at KU. In doing so, it also transformed the culture surrounding surveys — leading to greater trust, collaboration, and accountability in taking action to create long-term progress.
COACHE as a model for survey best practices
The transformation of KU’s campus survey process has been directed by Dr. Corinne Bannon, Chief Strategy and Data Officer, Vice Chancellor and her team, under the leadership of Dr. Barbara Bichelmeyer, Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor. The process highlights the important role IR is playing in the development of strategic initiatives at KU.
Dr. Bannon says the COACHE survey process, with its clear roles and responsibilities, served as a highly valuable model for the creation of a new constituent survey process for undergraduate students, graduate students, and staff surveys as well — all of which are now led by AIRE. In fact, she adds, the importance of improving the overall survey process came as a result of delving into some of the issues identified in KU’s 2022 COACHE Faculty Job Satisfaction Survey, the f irst COACHE survey the institution had conducted in 10 years.
Previously, constituent surveys had been conducted inconsistently, and there was a clear lack of engagement in the process from a range of stakeholders, as well as the respondents. In addition, the university had seen years of reduced state budget allocations plus relatively new executive leadership and transitions in Faculty Affairs leadership.
“We were facing a perfect storm of issues, and steps needed to be taken to ensure faculty felt heard and could trust leaders to respond,” says Dr. Bannon, who credits university leadership for not wanting to hide from the negative issues. Tackling these challenges head-on set the stage for the new university-wide process.
“When we created the new process, it was essentially the response to those bad survey results. We went through the COACHE process of continuous improvement, and we learned so much about how further listening to people doesn’t solve everything, but that being honest and communicating consistently goes far in building trust,” says Dr. Bannon.
As they continued to learn from the COACHE process, Dr. Bannon and her team found themselves asking, “Why would we not do this for our other constituent survey processes and commit to the efforts to do it the right way?”
Developing and implementing a consistent approach to surveys
AIRE led the development of the “Campus Constituent Survey Process” to provide a consistent approach to surveys. It adapted key elements of the COACHE process to ensure effective administration, participation, engagement, and tracked the implementation of the recommendations arising from the surveys. The AIRE-designed constituent survey process is now used as a model to implement the National Survey of Student Engagement (NESSE) focused on undergraduate students, a nationally benchmarked survey focused on graduate students, and Great Colleges to Work For focused on staff.
In alignment with the COACHE survey model, the constituent surveys are now conducted on a three-year cycle to offer consistency while also providing a useful cadence to help demonstrate actions as a result of survey responses. The new standardized survey process is a critical tool to help the university prioritize, implement, and track improvement recommendations made by faculty, undergraduate students, graduate students, and staff.
The process is supported by KU’s Campus Constituent Surveys Implementation Team. This model, originally developed to support the implementation of actions arising from the COACHE survey, is made up of leadership from a wide range of campus leaders, including student affairs, research, HR, and academic success. T he team now supports the implementation work for all surveys, helping constituent needs and key actions to be elevated beyond a single stakeholder. It ensures university-wide prioritization and collaboration by reviewing recommendations and communicating the status of actions every four months.
Prioritizing communication at every step
Communications are also highly visible and prioritized throughout the survey process — from the initial email about a particular survey in coordination with governance and university leaders, to consistent updates about progress. To support these efforts, a communications lead is embedded in the teams from AIRE and key departments, such as Faculty Affairs and the Provost Office.
This has been an especially relevant part of the new approach given earlier frustrations with the inconsistency in the survey processes and lack of follow-up on what actions may have taken place as a result, with faculty having previously challenged leadership to “just show us one thing you did based on survey results.”
Dr. Bannon highlights this as one of the reasons communicating with constituents is so important. “People need those reminders about how things are better because of what they helped us identify as an improvement we could make,” she says.
Shifting culture brings stakeholders together
The standardized process and consistent exposure to communication about the constituent survey process and results have led to a greater interest across campus in improving engagement and satisfaction.
Dr. Bannon says she is particularly proud of seeing the relationships that have been developed through this work, and how they have positively impacted other critical activities beyond the surveys themselves — such as budgeting and strategic planning.
“Our work has brought a feeling of ‘we’re all in this together’ when it comes to making the decisions that are going to have the most impact for KU. I’ve seen a building of relationships across those leaders and an understanding of what each of their pieces are — making a better place for people to work and research.”
KU is currently preparing for its next COACHE Faculty Job Satisfaction Survey. Dr. Bannon says that having that long-term commitment upfront helps establish trust for what people can expect going forward in efforts to affect positive change.
“We are building it so much into the fabric of what people expect — that is part of the culture building taking place,” says Dr. Bannon. “I think what we’re doing at KU is to be very intentional in our process, and I’m proud of that.”
This story appeared in COACHE’s recently released COACHE 20th Anniversary Impact Report: Looking Back – Moving Forward. Read the full report here.