Survey Project Approval Process

Surveys of University of Minnesota student populations are governed by the University Survey Advisory Team (U-SAT), a Provost-appointed governance group representing all five campuses. U-SAT’s role is to coordinate and streamline internal student survey activity and maintain the official University of Minnesota survey calendar for researchers, faculty, and staff seeking access to student email samples.

In addition, U-SAT identifies UMN core student surveys for the institution and attempts to ensure that no other student surveys overlap with the fielding dates of these core surveys. 

Do you need U-SAT approval? 

Not all student survey projects require formal U-SAT approval. To determine if your Qualtrics, Google Forms, or other surveys require U-SAT approval, review U-SAT’s Survey Planning & Approval project page or submit a quick inquiry via the U-SAT Intake and Consultation form. 

Exempt projects

If your project is exempt, you do not need to submit the intake form unless you would like optional U-SAT assistance with: 

  1. Survey Timing: Finding the best time to survey your student population to avoid overlapping with major and minor campus surveys (which has the potential to boost your response rates).
  2. Survey Recruitment: Requesting an official UMN student email contact list for your survey. 

Important Note: U-SAT handles UMN student survey scheduling and logistics; it is entirely separate from human subjects compliance. Being exempt from U-SAT review does not mean you are exempt from Institutional Review Board (IRB) approval.

Projects that require approval

If your survey project requires formal U-SAT approval, you must fill out the U-SAT Intake and Consultation form and obtain U-SAT approval prior to the start of your survey’s data collection.

U-SAT helps students from getting overwhelmed by too many surveys. When a request is received, U-SAT checks the official UMN survey calendar to help you schedule your student survey around other student surveys happening. Submit your intake form at least several months in advance, or even earlier, to give yourself the best chance of getting the survey data collection dates you want. 

Information needed for U-SAT approval

If your survey project requires formal U-SAT approval, be prepared to provide the following details within the intake form:

  1. Target Population: The specific characteristics of the student group(s) you plan to invite to your survey. 
  2. Goals & Objectives: What you hope to learn from the survey; how the survey results will be used.
  3. Sample Size: How many students you plan to invite to the survey from each campus.
  4. Sampling Rationale: An explanation of how you calculated your target sample size for each applicable campus (refer to U-SAT’s Sampling Best Practices for guidance).
  5. Fielding Dates: Your ideal start and end dates for data collection (general estimates like "late Fall 2026" or "Winter Break" are fine).

Questions?

For questions related to U-SAT or the survey approval process, please contact U-SAT at [email protected]. 

Additional Resources

Qualtrics