Hello Christine
Great that you are sending out surveys - and at the recommended time frame. Can you share with us what you discover. How are survey results different at 30,60, and 90 days? What new information do you discover, if any? Are you satisfied with the responses? What could you do to improve response? And in what ways do you share results and with whom? What do those people do with the information?
Best wishes
Susan
We survey both the graduates and employers. The results are compiled and presented to the President, Academic Deans, Department Chairpersons and the management team for review. The information is used to keep our programs at the cutting edge of what industry needs. Our graduates complete a survey with their exit interview. They are also surveyed several times over the next couple of years. We also survey our students, every class, every instructor each quarter. The results are used by the school in various area, program development and individual teacher evaluations. We also survey our graduates again when they pick up their cap and gowns for the graduation ceremony. We use lots of surveys in almost all areas. This keeps us up to date on making the best product we can sell, our graduates.
Hi Betty
I hope everyone reads your comments on surveys and how vital they are to keeping programs on the cutting edge. Private schools have an advantage of being able to make decisions quickly and implement changes without the hassle of too much bureaucracy. Surveys provide the information to know what programs to offer next. To further make the point can you give us examples of changes and developments as a result of survey data.
Thanks
Susan
We currently have Employer Surveys and Graduate Surveys. Graduate follow-up telephone surveys might be helpful. You can call the graduate and document your conversation. This can at least work as a sort of replacement for those surveys that are not returned or followed up on.
HI Carol
Great that you implement employer and graduate surveys. What's important is to tally the responses, issue reports to each department, gain feedback, and make changes. I see you have noticed that people don't tend to complete or return surveys. So you are quite right that following up and particularly phoning is a great way to get needed information. As you know, your regulatory bodies require this information as well. Can you share more of what you do now or how you can specifically improve placement information gathering at your school?
Best wishes
Susan
Along with what other schools have mentioned with regard to surveying employers, we do encourage graduates, who eventually obtain hiring manager positions, to serve on our Advisory Boards. At the time of those meetings, we also haved those graduates speak in classrooms, sharing how their training aided their employment experience.
Hi Harrison
The focus of this forum is to put in place surveys or other assessments to determine how you are doing and where changes can be made. Staying in touch with graduates is vital as most licensing and accrediting boards want to know how your graduates are doing as to placement. Taking this a step further, you can determine how long your grads stay on the job and how long it takes for them to gain a promotion or raise. This will tell you if they are trained sufficiently and also whether your career services includes skills building in job retention and advancement. It's great that you get your successful grads back to your school. Besides being great sources for feedback, they may also be able to help with word-of-mouth referrals and get you corporate business.
Best wishes
Susan
We have surveys that are being use for grads, and employers, the employer survey provides the company with vital information concerning the students, this survey also enlighten the company of the arrears needs improving. The specify questions on the survey give the employer the opportunity to grade our students base on their performances. It also allows our company to keep a good rapport with the employer. The grad survey allows the company to keep in touch with the grad this survey is positive for retentions.
Hi Moszetta
The surveys sound interesting. It's always a great idea to get feedback from the employer and the working graduate. You can find out what skills or knowledge need to be added to course work to ensure your students are work ready. Keeping in touch with employers is a way to learn about other job openings in their company. And they may have employees they want to send to your school for training. It's a winning situation.
Best wishes
Susan
We conduct several surveys. 1. Exit surveys to obtain information from studentsimmediatley before graduation.2. Graduate Follow-up survey 30-45 days after completeion of studies and 3. Employer Survey that is sent to employers 45-60 days following graduation. The information gained is shared with the Administration including Presidemt and Program Directos. As we see opportunites to imprve the programs, we are able to make those adjustmetns quickly..
All of the surveys are importatn but especially the Employers. This points our areas of weakness, where the industry may be changing and in what areas that may need more or less emphasis.
The one "problem" we have is the small nuimber of responses. The importance is explaimed to the students but somehow it is not important to them once they leave campus.
Hi Sundra
Sounds like you work for a school that understands the benefits of a strong placement department. On the surveys sent to students, what percentage of feedback do you get? Some schools send a 90 day survey as well. Keeping in touch with grads gets the information you need and want. It also helps keep track of them if they move.
Re surveys to employers, what kinds of questions do you ask. Can you provide specific examples of the curriculum changes you make as a result of the feedback.
You mention the low response rate. Always a problem. You might set up a phone follow up session each term. Get students or other grads or temporary workers to follow up those who didn't send back their surveys. The surveys can be filled out over the phone, if the graduate is willing to take the time.
For employer response, you might personally call on each one at least once a year. Get the survey response that way. Or buuild a relationship so the employer is likely to send in the informaiton.
Great job.
Best wishes,
Susan
I will be sending out my first round of employer surveys and student surveys in January. Our school had the first students graduate earlier in 2004, so the timing should be good for responses. We also utilize a Graduate/Exit Interview that students are required to complete prior to graduation.
My challenge is locating current addresses on students and employers, since the data was not kept prior to my joining this school in August.
Hi Deborah
Great that you are sending out employer surveys. Lots of information should come back that will be of interest to your entire staff. From this changes and improvements can be made. If employers don't respond you may want to call them and ask if they will complete the survey on the phone. Building relationships is important. Employers are the source for more job openings, students, and free advice about your training programs. They can also be asked to visit school and give presentations or hold mock interviews.
Getting and maintainingcontact information is always a challenge. That is why frequent communication with students, grads, and employers is so important. Also ask for cell phone numbers. They don't change as quickly as address and other contact information.
Great job
Susan
Yes, we are collecting cell phone numbers. Additionally, we are gathering emergency contact names and phone numbers from the students so that we will have an additional method to contact them in the future.
Susan
We are a small college and have only started a full-time placement department within the last six months; we are not currently using surveys. After reading about their use, I can see a defininte need and will implement both employer and graduate surveys in the very near future. I reviewed the sample graduate survey in one of your replies in this forum--it will be very helpful. Do you have a sample employer survey?
Sharon
Hi Sharon
I'm sure you've done great in 6 months. There is so much to do when setting up a placement department. As you develop each aspect you might want to always ask yourself - how can we measure this? Then create a survey. Getting response isn't always easy and takes persistence. But the information you get is invaluable. For employer surveys suggest you send a cover letter and then a fill-in-the-blank form with the grad name you want some feedback on. Of course this assumes the grad has given you permission to contact the employer. Then ask the employer to rate the grad and other statements about your training. Provide space for some general comments. Ask the employer if they want to continue receiving mail from the school. Then create a survey that can be used for grads who work on their own and are self employed.
Best wishes
Susan
Surveys for Grads and Employers are nice. Though I think we tend to find that Employers are a bit more honest and straight forward than the students/graduates are. But it's helpful none the less.
If it would be at all possible I think surveying random people about their expectations based on whatever institution you work for would be good too. That way marketing can be taylored, and also the courses themselves, to better suit the community.
Hi Mathew
Surveying both grads and employers is important because of their different perspectives. Also you may be required to survey grads, particularly about their employment. To get more candid information from grads you might want to have outside contract workers contact the grads for the information in confidence.
Can you provide more information about your idea to survey random people. What would you be asking them? What would you hope to find out? You might want to survey the business community to determine the kinds of training needed. Or survey individuals to see if they know your school exists. Then plan marketing strategies to reach these people.
Best wishes
Susan
In surveying a random cross-section of the population it would be the same idea as if you were starting up a business for the first time, or generating a business proposition for a private investor. Basically it's anything that you want to ask which is specific to the materal the institution teaches. For example:
I work for a computer technology school, so we could always ask something like "Do you use computers at home and/or work?"
"If you answered the above question 'yes', how do you use your computer wheither at home or at work?"
And then based on the information gathered we could taylor the courses we offer to more reflect the community we serve. If more people are using the computer at home then it can be safe to assume that more rudamentary skills need to be taught, if more people use the computer at work then the courses should focus on more advanced techniques specific for certian jobs.
Also the survey wouldn't be very long, and would be to the point (maybe more so than the questions I used as examples). People tend to fill things out in a hurry if they are stopped on the street.
Hi Mathew
This is a great idea. It is doing a needs assessment survey. In addition to surveys you can also create a questionnaire and ask people. Get them talking and get more information than you planned for. Also look at local business trends and economic development plans to determine what business is in the area and the kinds of training their work force needs. Then plan training to meet those needs.
Best wishes
Susan
