Undergraduate students at The University of Texas at Austin are invited to take an online survey titled “Share What You Know With Bevo.” The survey seeks to broaden the understanding of the undergraduate experience at the university to help better facilitate improvements on campus.
Now in its third year at the university, the survey, which is nationally known as the Student Experience in the Research University survey, or SERU, gives students the opportunity to share their opinions about what the university can do to improve the undergraduate experience on campus, including topics such as academic preparation, quality of education, student services and overall satisfaction.
“Knowing more about our students and their experiences on campus is extremely valuable at the institution, college and department levels,” said Gale Stuart, SERU principal investigator and director of the rapid analysis team in the Office of the Executive Vice President and Provost. “It is critical to encourage all undergraduate students to complete the survey when it hits their email inbox.”
The survey will be available through early May. The goal is to reach a participation rate comparable to 2011’s yield, which was around 40 percent. Students who complete the survey, which lasts about 25 minutes and consists of multiple choice and written response questions, will be entered to win a series of prizes including:
- Pairs of passes to the Austin City Limits Music Festival
- Longhorns football jersey signed by coach Mack Brown
- Beats Solo HD headphones
- Co-op, Bevo Bucks and iTunes gift certificates
- Dinner at the UT Club
The results of the survey are used to improve curricula, increase research opportunities, improve services and inform policy related to undergraduate education. Last year, the Task Force on Undergraduate Graduation Rates used data from the 2011 SERU survey to help inform policy recommendations in its final report. View the 2011 survey results online.
SERU was developed by the Center for Studies in Higher Education at the University of California, Berkeley, which was created to expand knowledge about the undergraduate student experience. The University of Minnesota’s Office of Measurement Services is now spearheading the survey nationwide. At The University of Texas at Austin, the Office of the Executive Vice President and Provost is administering the survey, which costs $20,000 to conduct.
More than 20 top-ranked universities across the nation administer the survey, including the nine University of California system schools.
