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Alumni Survey |
Dear graduate of Johns Hopkins University:
(Was this email forwarded to you from another Johns Hopkins alumnus/alumnae? Please be sure to use your unique web link to fill out this survey.)You may recall when you entered college, you participated in a survey of new students. This web survey is a follow-up to that research, asking you to evaluate the benefits of your undergraduate education and to let us know what you have been doing since graduation. The survey is being distributed to alumni who received a bachelor’s degree from the Krieger School of Arts and Sciences, the Whiting School of Engineering, and Peabody Conservatory. We are interested in students who graduated with the class of 1995, 2000, and 2002. The Alumni Survey is part of a larger research project by the Consortium on Financing Higher Education that includes a group of private universities and colleges like Johns Hopkins. These studies are designed to help us improve the quality of the student experience at Johns Hopkins and will benefit students who follow in your footsteps.
Please read the Survey Information Form that appears below. It explains the purpose and benefits of the study and addresses possible concerns that you may have. Your participation in this study is completely voluntary. Your responses will be used only for research purposes and will be strictly confidential. The identification number on the survey is only used to avoid sending you a second request to participate, once you have completed the survey. No individuals will be identified in any presentation of survey results.
We hope that you will take a few minutes to reflect on your college experience and complete the survey before April 15. Thank you for your participation in this important research project. We are eager to hear from you and depend on your input to help us continue to provide an excellent education at Johns Hopkins. If you have questions regarding the survey, please contact the office of Institutional Research by phone (410) 516-4107 or email irsurvey@jhu.edu.
JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY, ALUMNI SURVEY 2005
WEB SURVEY INFORMATION FORMPURPOSE OF RESEARCH STUDY:
This survey is part of a university research program to follow students as they progress from their first semester on campus to life after graduation. It collects information on undergraduate education, employment and graduate education, and alumni activities. It is used to measure the quality and value of undergraduate education at Johns Hopkins University. The results of the survey are also used to improve programs and services on campus. The survey will be distributed to students who received a bachelor’s degree from the Krieger School of Arts and Sciences, the Whiting School of Engineering, or Peabody Conservatory in the graduating classes of 1995, 2000, and 2002. This year we anticipate that approximately 2000 alumni will participate in the study.
The Alumni Survey is part of a larger study by the Consortium on Financing Higher Education (COFHE). COFHE is a group of 31 private colleges and universities that cooperate to conduct research and exchange data. The COFHE group provides valuable comparative data from a set of first-tier universities closely matched to Johns Hopkins. The survey can be used to measure the quality of instruction and the impact of a Hopkins education. Johns Hopkins University also participated in the COFHE Alumni Survey in 2000.
PROCEDURES:
The survey is being distributed to students who completed their undergraduate education three years, five years, and ten years ago. If you volunteer to participate in this study, we ask you to complete the web survey that follows.
RISKS/DISCOMFORTS:
There could be items on this survey that you are uncomfortable answering or to which you would simply prefer not to respond. Your participation in this study is strictly voluntary, and you will be under no obligation whatsoever to answer any question that you prefer not to answer. You may choose not to answer any specific questions you do not want to answer and still remain in the study. The risks associated with participation in this study are no greater than those encountered in daily life. There will be no cost to alumni to participate in the survey. Individuals will not be paid for participating in this study.
BENEFITS:
Your participation in this survey provides benefits to you and to the university. The survey gives you an opportunity to reflect on your academic experiences and the benefits of your college education. It may help you to set personal goals and think about your plans for the future. Results from the survey help the university to design programs and services that will benefit future generations of students who attend Johns Hopkins University.
VOLUNTARY PARTICIPATION AND RIGHT TO WITHDRAW:
Your participation in this study is entirely voluntary. You choose whether to participate. If you decide not to participate, there are no penalties, and you will not lose any benefits to which you would otherwise be entitled. If you choose to participate in the study, you can stop your participation at any time, without any penalty or loss of benefits.
CONFIDENTIALITY:
Please note that your responses will be used for research purposes only and will be strictly confidential. No individuals will be identified in any presentation of survey results. We will not release individual identifiers to other researchers or to other agencies.
Any study records that identify you will be kept confidential to the extent possible by law. The records from your participation may be reviewed by people responsible for making sure that research is done properly, including members of the Homewood Human Subjects Review Board of the Johns Hopkins University, or officials from government agencies such as the Office for Human Research Protections. (All of these people are required to keep your identity confidential.) Otherwise, records that identify you will be available only to people working on the study, unless you give permission for other people to see the records.
Study records and electronic data will be maintained in locked files by the Institutional Research Office, in the Provost’s Office at Johns Hopkins University. Results of the survey will be collected and analyzed by staff members in Institutional Research. Access to these records will be authorized by the Director of Institutional Research.
IF YOU HAVE QUESTIONS OR CONCERNS:
You can ask questions about this research study now or at any time, by contacting Dr. Cathy J. Lebo, Director of Institutional Research, Johns Hopkins University, at Garland Hall 265, Phone: (410) 516-4107, Email: irsurvey@jhu.edu.
If you have questions about your rights as a research subject, or feel that you have not been treated fairly, please call the Homewood Institutional Review Board (HIRB) of Johns Hopkins University at (410) 516-6580.