BU School of Public Health Annual Survey
The Boston University School of Public Health needed to survey its stakeholders.
In its quest for continual improvement, the Boston University School of Public Health (BUSPH) strives to identify the key strengths and weaknesses of its programming and resources through an annual internal review. One crucial component of this review is an annual survey meant to “take the pulse” of the BUSPH community and administered to internal and external stakeholders, including students, faculty, staff, alumni, and employers.
Having conducted the 2021 and 2022 surveys, NORC will continue to administer the survey in 2023, 2024, and 2025.
BUSPH originally engaged NORC at the University of Chicago to administer its annual survey in the fall of 2021. The survey addresses specific topics of interest, including the admissions process, advising, health and wellness, career outcomes, and diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice. It has now engaged NORC to re-administer the survey in 2023, 2024, and 2025.
Each year, NORC reviews and makes recommendations to refine the instrument based on survey research best practices and the needs of the BUSPH community, and systematically tests the online survey.
Data collection for each iteration of the survey occurs in the fall (generally in October and November). Once the survey is complete, NORC cleans and analyzes the data and works with BUSPH leadership to help identify both key strengths and areas of improvement for the school.
At the conclusion of each survey, NORC provides BUSPH with reports and data files that provide them actionable information on its community.
After each round of data collection, NORC has prepared comprehensive reports for BUSPH that provide the survey results for each stakeholder group (e.g., students, staff, faculty, alumni, and employers/practicum supervisors), as well as broken down by key subgroups (e.g., by gender and race/ethnicity). These reports provide only aggregate statistics to protect respondents' identities. In addition, NORC securely delivers to BUSPH a data file (with personally identifiable information removed) and appropriate documentation of our methods.
Project Leads
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James R. Neumeister
Senior Research ScientistPrincipal Investigator -
Karen Grigorian
Vice PresidentSenior Staff -
Erin Knepler
Senior Research DirectorSenior Staff
FAQ for Study Participants
Boston University School of Public Health (BUSPH) is interested in gathering feedback from community members regarding BUSPH's programming and resources to identify strengths and areas of improvement.
Boston University School of Public Health is sponsoring the survey. They have contracted with NORC at the University of Chicago to administer the survey, collect and analyze data, and report findings.
NORC is a nonprofit corporation affiliated with the University of Chicago that conducts survey research in the public interest for government agencies, educational institutions, private foundations, nonprofit organizations, and private corporations. NORC collects data to assist polic makers, researchers, educators and others with crucial issues facing the government, organizations and the public.
All individuals who are BUSPH alumni, current students, employers/practicum supervisors, faculty, and staff, will receive an invitation to complete the survey via email.
Email invitations that include a link to participate in the survey are being sent by NORC at the University of Chicago. The survey is being conducted online and is formatted for all computers and mobile devices. If you believe that you are in the study population but have not received a survey link, please contact us for assistance by email at BUSPHschoolsurvey@norc.org.
Yes. Responses to data collection are voluntary and confidential. Respondents will submit their self-administered questionnaires via web mode using a secure server. No personal identifying information is included in the final data. Results will be reported only in aggregated groupings, and no individual data or results will be publicly released.
Topics in this year's survey include but are not limited to the following: the admissions process, department culture, student experiences, diversity and inclusion, and opportunities for professional development.
You are not required to participate. Likewise, should you choose to participate, you may skip any questions in the survey that you do not wish to answer or stop participating at any time.
Each individual participant will be asked to complete a web-based questionnaire requiring an estimated 15-25 minutes to complete and may be completed at their convenience, in multiple sittings if necessary.
NORC will analyze the data and provide written reports to BUSPH leadership; these reports will contain only aggregate results and no individual data or results will be reported. After removing personal identifying information, NORC will provide raw data from the survey to BUSPH to enable them to further review the results to identify key strengths and areas of improvement for the school.
If you have any questions or concerns pertaining to your participation in this research study, please contact NORC at the University of Chicago by email at BUSPHschoolsurvey@norc.org. You can also reach out to the following BUSPH school survey coordinators:
- Alumni: Jacoba van Heugten, Assistant Dean of Development and Alumni Relations, jjvh@bu.edu
- Current Students: Mary Murphy-Phillips, Assistant Dean of Students, mcmurph@bu.edu
- Employers: Julia Lanham, Assistant Dean of Career Services, jlanham@bu.edu
- Faculty: Danielle Haley, Chair of the Faculty Senate, dfhaley@bu.edu
- Staff: Denise Joseph, Chair of the Staff Senate, dejoseph@bu.edu
