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Assessment, Accreditation and Strategic Planning

University Surveys

For university surveys, including faculty and staff research, you can utilize your individual Google Forms tool or your department’s SurveyMonkey tool (if applicable). Alternatively, you can request access to one of the shared WIU Qualtrics licenses. 

Which Survey Tool is Right For Me?

Choosing the right platform depends on how complex your survey needs to be and the level of reporting or customization you’re looking for. Here’s a quick guide:

  • Google Forms
    Google Forms is the best option when you need to create a simple survey quickly. It’s ideal for straightforward questionnaires where you don’t need complex logic or advanced customization—things like brief satisfaction surveys, general feedback forms, or baseline information-gathering. Its integration with Google Workspace makes it easy to share and collect responses efficiently and limit responses only to those with WIU logins.
  • SurveyMonkey
    SurveyMonkey works well when you want a more polished, professional survey experience and need options beyond the basics. It supports a wider range of question types, templates, and stronger analytics than Google Forms. This makes it a great fit for program evaluations, recurring feedback surveys, or any project where survey design, data quality, and report outputs matter. Note that SurveyMonkey requires a cost, and WIU does not have an enterprise license, so departments must purchase this software in order to utilize it.
  • Qualtrics
    Qualtrics is the strongest choice for surveys that require advanced logic, customization, or research-grade capabilities. It supports complex branching, embedded data, quotas, and sophisticated reporting, making it ideal for academic research, institutional assessments, and large-scale survey projects where precision and flexibility are essential. Note that users that wish to use Qualtrics are responsible for building and configuring their own surveys using a shared WIU license. Requesting access to the shared license is outlined below.

Process for Sending a Survey

Please follow these steps in order to ensure that proper approvals are obtained at each step:

  1. If your survey is subject to Institutional Review Board (IRB) oversight, you must email documentation of IRB approval (or excemption) to aasp@wiu.edu prior to building your survey. IRB meets monthly and requests that materials be submitted no later than two (2) weeks prior to their next meeting date, so ensure you leave ample time for review and approval. Please contact IRB with questions regarding this requirement by emailing irb@wiu.edu or calling the Office of Sponsored ´ºÓêÖ±²¥s at (309) 298-1191.
  2. Build your survey using a tool listed above.  If a license to Qualtrics is needed, email your request to aasp@wiu.edu. This can be done at the same time you email documentation of IRB approval, if applicable.
  3. After your survey is built, disseminate your survey via the . The Announcement system access is restricted to on-campus or VPN-connected computers. The Announcement system will allow you to specify a specific population to send the survey. Ensure that you opt to send the announcement to the Office of the Provost for approval.