The University Survey Advisory Team (U-SAT) was originally formed in 2015 to monitor online survey administration metrics and identify core student surveys. However, the modern digital landscape has created unprecedented opportunities to acquire uncoordinated online sample panels. This resulting surge in over-surveying has caused a significant drop in student response rates on the core surveys needed for high-level institutional planning.
To counter this trend, the Executive Vice President and Provost reconstituted U-SAT with greater authority over student surveying and the availability of sample panels across the entire university system. Our renewed charge strikes a necessary balance: protecting our students from repeated, fatiguing survey requests while respecting and facilitating vital academic research.
Core Responsibilities
The team manages comprehensive coordination and data integrity to ensure institutional surveys remain impactful and respectful of the campus community's time. Specific Responsibilities of the Team include:
- Centralized Calendar Oversight: Maintaining the official university survey calendar to manage the spacing of student touches.
- Core Survey Protection: Structuring administration cycles to ensure no more than two Core University Surveys overlap in a single semester.
- Data Privacy Integration: Working closely with IT leadership, data security, and Qualtrics administrators to track and monitor all survey distribution channels.
- Multi-Institutional Alignment: Partnering with offices seeking participation in multi-institutional comparison studies to verify they align with university data principles.
- Accountability Reporting: Submitting an annual comprehensive report to university leadership highlighting longitudinal trends in survey usage, sampling sizes, and core response rate improvements.
Our Committee
U-SAT is a University of Minnesota governance group consisting of key representatives from institutional research, student affairs, undergraduate and graduate education and each campus.
| Representative | Title | University Department |
|---|---|---|
| Mark Miazga (Chair) | Director | University Survey & Assessment Services |
| Ilya Begelman | Director, IT and Data Management | Graduate School / OIT Lead Representative |
| Steven Hawks | Director of Undergraduate Assessment | Office of Undergraduate Education |
| Christopher Kast | OSA Director of Assessment | Office for Student Affairs |
| Thomas Lindsay | Director of Research Support | College of Liberal Arts |
| Jessica Ford | SQL Developer/Analyst | University Data & Institutional Reporting (UDIR) |
| Brian Pfannenstein | Data Analyst | University Data & Institutional Reporting (UDIR) |
| Emily Fang | Interim Director | Institutional Research, UMD |
| Kristin Youngblom | Associate Director of Institutional Research and Admissions Innovation | Office of Enrollment Management & Institutional Effectiveness and Research, UMM |
| Bryan McManus | Business & Research Analyst | Institutional Effectiveness, UMC |
| Katie Pekel | Chief of Staff and Associate Vice Chancellor for Strategic Initiatives | UMR |