2009 Senior Survey

Member of the Class of 2009:

You may recall when you entered Johns Hopkins, you participated in a survey of new college students. This web survey is a follow-up to that research to help us learn about your undergraduate experience and your plans for the future. The survey is being distributed to all seniors in Arts and Sciences and Engineering. The Senior 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.

We hope that you will take a few minutes to reflect on your college experience and complete the questionnaire before April 24. Students who complete the survey will also be entered into a random drawing to win a $50 gift certificate that can be used for purchases at Best Buy.

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.

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.

Paula P. Burger
Vice Provost and Dean for Undergraduate Education

Enter the Survey >>
(Please be sure to use your own personalized link to the survey. If you were given a link to this survey by a fellow student, please retrieve your unique web link to the survey.)

JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY
SENIOR SURVEY 2009 STUDENT INFORMATION FORM

PURPOSE 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 graduation. It collects information on student skills, activities, and experiences in college. It is used to measure the quality and effectiveness of the student experience 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 seniors in Arts and Sciences and Engineering on the Homewood campus. This year we anticipate that approximately 1000 students will participate in this study.

This research 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 campus services. It provides a measure of the change in student skills and abilities compared to when students first entered college.

PROCEDURES:
The survey is designed for students who are finishing their college education. If you volunteer to participate in this study, we ask you to complete the web survey that follows. An identification number will be used only to avoid sending a second request to participate to students who have already completed the survey. The identification number is kept in a separate file and is not linked in any way to an individual’s responses to the questions on the survey.

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 students to participate in the survey. Students 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 your hopes for college. 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.

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, Assistant Provost for Institutional Research, Johns Hopkins University, at Wyman Hall 600, 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 Human Subjects Review Board of the Johns Hopkins University at (410) 516-6580.