UCUES Best Practices of Response Rates

Tongshan ChangSereeta Alexander

Kelly Kadlec

The University of California

Presentation at SERU Business Meeting and Colloquium University of Minnesota

October 9, 2014

The University of California

Presentation Outline

The University of California

• UCUES Administration

• Response rates

• Berkeley UCUES Marketing Strategies

• Irvine UCUES Marketing Strategies

2

UCUES Administration

The University of California

UCUES Administration…

• Census survey administered once every two years

• The Office of Institutional Research and Academic Planning

at UC Office of the President administered first time in the

spring term, 2012

• 2014: administered in the spring term

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UCUES Administration

The University of California

Invitations and Follow-ups…

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Campus Launch Date Close Date Active Days Invitation/Follow-ups

Berkeley 2-Apr-14 30-Jun-14 89 16

Davis 1-Apr-14 31-Jul-14 121 12

Irvine 1-Apr-14 30-Jun-14 90 14

Los Angeles 16-Apr-14 1-Aug-14 107 10

Merced 1-Apr-14 21-Jul-14 111 8

Riverside 3-Apr-14 1-Aug-14 120 25

San Diego 10-Apr-14 12-Aug-14 124 15

Santa Barbara 8-Apr-14 29-Jul-14 112 8

Santa Cruz 8-Apr-14 2-Jul-14 85 12

UCUES Response Rates

The University of California

UCUES Response Rate of 2014 Administration

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UC

Berkeley

DavisIrv

ine

Los A

ngeles

Merced

Riversi

de

San Diego

Santa Barbara

Santa Cruz

28%32% 30%

35%

19%

28% 26% 26% 27%31%

9% 7%11%

10%

6%

8% 9% 8%10%

10%

Partial Rate

Completion Rate

UC Average Rate: 37%

UC

Berkele

yDav

isIrv

ine

Los A

ngeles

Merced

Riversi

de

San Dieg

o

Santa

Barbara

Santa

Cruz

30%33%

35% 34%

19%

30% 30% 29%34%

30%

7%6%

9%7%

5%

7% 7%6%

7%7%

Partial Rate

Completion Rate

UC Average Rate: 36%

UCUES Response Rate of 2012 Administration

UCUES Response Rates

The University of California

UCUES Response Rate of 2014 Administration by Gender, Ethnicity

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White

Unknown

Native American

Multiple Races

International Students

Chicano/Latino

Asian

African American

Male

Female

0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40% 45%

2014

2012

UC Berkeley UCUES Marketing Strategies

The University of California 7

Landing Page & Print Materials:• UCUES.berkeley.edu website created as official landing page• Landing page design matched bookmarks, table tents, flyers, & posters

Invitations:• 18 messages sent over 90 days (with a hiatus during finals) • Prize deadlines highlighted• Content of email reminders changed frequently with respect to subject lines,

signatories, and the body of the message

Incentives:• Mix of low- and high-value incentives throughout the survey administration

period (e.g., Cal T-shirts, signed sports memorabilia, mini iPads, iPad Air)• Publicized winners, their comments and photos

Legitimizing the Survey:• Departments and Colleges leveraged to help get the word out• Addition of a graphical banner publicizing UCUES on the student portal and

other campus sites that students frequent (e.g., Career Center, Student Affairs)

UC Berkeley Marketing Strategies: ucues.berkeley.edu Landing Page

The University of California 8

UC Berkeley UCUES Marketing Strategies:iPad “Apple a Day Giveaway”: April 28 – May 2

The University of California 9

UC Berkeley UCUES Marketing Strategies:iPad “Apple a Day Giveaway”: April 28 – May 2

The University of California 10

UC Berkeley Marketing Strategies:

Frequent Email Publicity

The University of California 11

Survey Completion Date

# su

rvey

s co

mpl

eted

UC Berkeley UCUES Completion Date Trends, 2014

Marketing Strategies: UC Berkeley

The University of California 12

UCUES Survey Response Rates (RR) and Counts by Day, 2014

UCI Best Practices of Response Rate - Invitations

The University of California

• Email

• KUCI Radio Station

• Printed and Electronic Signage

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UCI Best Practices of Response Rate - Invitations

The University of California

• UCI Homepage, Facebook, ZotPortal, MyEEE

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UCI Best Practices of Response Rate - Invitations

The University of California

• Personal Invitations (Bookmarks and Candy)

15

UCI Best Practices of Response Rate - Incentives

The University of California

• Raffle Prizes ($3,000+)

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UCI Best Practices of Response Rate - Legitimizations

The University of California

• UCI UCUES site with survey portal, email signatories

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Best Practices of Response Rate

The University of California

• In summary…

• Most effective invitation?

• Email

• Most effective incentive?

• Prizes, School Spirit

• Most effective legitimization?

• Email Signatories, Landing Page

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