Surveys

University Surveys

Institutional Effectiveness and Research maintains a list of University Surveys that are required by the Tennessee Higher Education Commission or that are administered at the request of members of the University Senior Leadership Team. 

APSU faculty and staff can access available survey results Please reach out to the listed survey administrator for additional data on a particular survey. If you have questions about university surveys or have a survey that you think could be included in this list, please submit a request using the button below. Note: IER does not distribute surveys outside of those required by THEC or the Senior Leadership Team. Individuals or areas must have an independent plan for their surveys’ distribution. See Survey Distribution Resources below

Institutional Review Board:

Research surveys may be subject to additional approval by the university’s Institutional Review Board (IRB). The IRB application and approval letter must be included in the IR Survey Request ticket for approval.  

Survey Development Resources:

Free training for survey best practices is available via .

Approved Survey Tools:

APSU supports many survey tools to collect and analyze data for research or area-specific feedback. Please review each tool’s features and capabilities below for guidance on which best meets your surveying needs. Note: APSU does not recommend the use of SurveyMonkey, Google Forms, or other open-access resources that may compromise user data. 

University Tools for Survey Research and Data Analysis:

These tools are designed for survey research and data analysis. See list of additional university tools, below, that can be used for forms, applications, service or event feedback, etc. 

Qualtrics – Qualtrics is a web-based platform that allows the university community to build and distribute surveys and analyze responses. APSU has an organizational license for account users to access advanced Qualtrics features.  Free training for survey best practices is available via

Watermark – APSU partnered with Watermark for a range of services, including “Faculty Success” to gather and organize faculty accomplishment data for evaluation, tenure and promotion, and program accreditation. APSU uses the Watermark Course Evaluations and Surveys (Watermark CES) feature for end-of-course evaluations. Instructors may customize evaluations with course-specific survey questions as approved by the IER team. 

Brandi Bickham is APSU’s Qualtrics Brand Administrator and the point of contact for Watermark CES. For additional information regarding training, account setup for new users, or other inquiries, email her at BickhamB@apsu.edu. 

University Tools for Forms, Applications, Polls, Service or Event Feedback, etc. 

D2L Surveys – APSU’s Learning Management System is D2L Brightspace, which contains learning resources and course materials for all APSU courses. Distance Education (online@apsu.edu) must enable survey permissions for D2L users to have access to the survey tool, and it can be used to collect a range of feedback on student learning. Additional information can be found on the

Govs Connect – This platform allows organizations and departments to promote and track event attendance for the APSU community. Features include RSVPs, post-event questionnaires, and event ratings. Additional information can be found here. 

Handshake – APSU offices and departments must post student jobs on Handshake. The tool allows students and alumni to connect with both on-campus and external employers. Handshake supports a to gather information from students and employers through targeted and embedded communication. Request additional Handshake information from APSU’s Career Success Center (csc@apsu.edu).

Microsoft Forms – All APSU users have access to the Microsoft suite, including Microsoft Forms. This method is appropriate for collecting service feedback, RSVP information for events, or applications and forms for area-based use. You must use your APSU Microsoft account when creating and distributing Forms. 

Modern Campus Omni CMS Assets (Web Forms) – All APSU webpages are managed by the Office of Public Relations and Marketing, using the Modern Campus Omni CMS. Approved Web Editors may enable Assets embedded within their assigned web page to collect responses from online visitors. Forms, Surveys, and Polls within these pages must be appropriate for ongoing collection from the general public. These tools are appropriate for program applications or service feedback. Additional information can be found on the PR and Marketing page.

Zoom Polls and Quizzes – APSU uses Zoom for virtual classroom sessions and other business meetings. Zoom Hosts can enable poll questions and quizzes within the meeting to gather information from meeting participants. Hosts can download a polling report after the meeting, with participants’ answers and response times. Polls can also be made anonymous by the host, removing participant information from the responses. 

Survey Distribution Resources: 

IER does not distribute surveys outside of those required by THEC, so individuals or areas seeking IER approval must have an independent plan for their surveys’ distribution. The following resources are available to support distribution of surveys. 

• Contact the Director of Communications for the college corresponding to your target audience to inquire about marketing via their regular communications and posts 

• Contact clerical support for the office or department corresponding to your target audience to inquire about marketing via their regular communications and posts  

• APSU’s Public Relations and Marketing supports these additional communications: 

• • Campus communications (apps and calendars)

• • Email communications   

• • Social Media