To: From: "Robert P. Redwine" Subject: MIT Undergraduate Survey Dear [first name], Every few years, MIT surveys all undergraduate students about various aspects of their academic and student life experience. These data are used to inform the senior administration, faculty and various departments such as the Libraries, Athletics and Housing about issues of importance to you. Data from similar surveys have been utilized extensively in the past and have resulted in significant changes, such as in dining and the writing requirement. We are cooperating with several select colleges and universities in a survey of our students -- an evaluation of undergraduate experiences and how students spend their time on campus. I would like to have your help with this project because I am confident that the results will be important in assessing our strengths and weaknesses. Twenty-eight schools of the Consortium on Financing Higher Education (COFHE) are participating in this student survey. COFHE's activities are especially valuable to us because they provide a means of enhancing the collective interests of educational institutions like MIT and permit us to compare our institutional situation with those of similar schools. I am asking you to help MIT have a strong representation in the data that are analyzed in this project. This survey is entirely voluntary. All individuals who submit the survey will be eligible to receive a $25 incentive. One in ten of the respondents will receive this incentive. In order to simplify and shorten the survey, Information Systems will merge some demographic data with response data. Merging the data, awarding of the incentives and insuring that only MIT undergraduates are able to participate, requires the use of MIT certificates for authentication. Please be assured that Information Systems will remove all identifiers before the data are transferred for analysis. The data will be treated as confidential, no one will be personally identified, and all results will be reported in summary. In addition to the base survey, MIT has incorporated some supplemental questions that are particularly relevant to recent changes on campus. We are especially interested in the pace and pressure you experience as a student here. The survey consists of several linked sections; please complete all of them since collectively they create valuable information. This survey takes approximately 20-25 minutes to complete. We encourage you to fill out the survey as soon as possible, but please do allow enough time to complete it in one sitting. You will be provided with information about what to do if you encounter any problems while taking the survey. We thank you in advance for taking the time to provide important feedback to MIT! To access the survey, please go to the following personal survey URL: [URL] Thank you very much for your help with this project. Yours truly, Robert P. Redwine Dean for Undergraduate Education To: From: "Lydia Snover" Subject: MIT Undergraduate Survey Dear [first name], Recently you received an invitation from Dean Redwine asking for your help with a survey MIT is conducting with twenty-eight colleges and universities. I noticed that you have not yet completed the survey. Surveys like this give students an opportunity to make their voices heard and permit us to compare our institutional situation with that of similar schools. This survey is entirely voluntary. All individuals who submit the survey will be eligible to receive a $25 incentive. One in ten of the respondents will receive this incentive. In order to simplify and shorten the survey, Information Systems will merge some demographic data with response data. Merging the data, awarding of the incentives and insuring that only MIT undergraduates are able to participate, requires the use of MIT certificates for authentication. Please be assured that Information Systems will remove all identifiers before the data are transferred for analysis. The data will be treated as confidential, no one will be personally identified, and all results will be reported in summary. The survey takes approximately 20-25 minutes to complete. We encourage you to fill it out as soon as possible, but please do allow enough time to complete it in one sitting. We thank you in advance for taking the time to provide important feedback to MIT! To access the survey, please go to the following survey URL: [URL] Yours truly, Lydia Snover Assistant to the Provost for Institutional Research To: From: "Lydia Snover" Subject: MIT Undergraduate Survey Reminder Dear [first name], Recently you received an invitation from Dean Redwine asking for your help with a survey MIT is conducting with twenty-eight colleges and universities. I noticed that you still have not yet completed the survey. Surveys like this give students an opportunity to make their voices heard and permit us to compare our institutional situation with that of similar schools. To access the survey, please go to the following survey URL: [URL] This survey is entirely voluntary. All individuals who submit the survey will be eligible to receive a $25 incentive. One in ten of the respondents will receive this incentive. In order to simplify and shorten the survey, Information Systems will merge some demographic data with response data. Merging the data, awarding of the incentives and insuring that only MIT undergraduates are able to participate, requires the use of MIT certificates for authentication. Please be assured that Information Systems will remove all identifiers before the data are transferred for analysis. The data will be treated as confidential, no one will be personally identified, and all results will be reported in summary. The survey takes approximately 20-25 minutes to complete. We encourage you to fill it out as soon as possible, but please do allow enough time to complete it in one sitting. We thank you in advance for taking the time to provide important feedback to MIT! Yours truly, Lydia Snover Assistant to the Provost for Institutional Research