Request Survey Approval

UC San Diego and the UC Office of the President invest a significant amount of time and resources into creating surveys and analyses to ensure the UC system and UC campuses are making data-informed decisions. Therefore, before making a request to have your survey approved, please familiarize yourself with existing data and surveys already available to ensure the information you are seeking is not already available. Requested new surveys that are highly duplicative of existing data collection efforts will not be approved.

Once existing data and survey have been reviewed and found to not contain the desired data, please follow the steps outlined below if required to do so. Some surveys are exempt from this process, as noted in the Exempt Surveys section.

If your desired survey is covered within the guidance and the data, please use the UC San Diego Survey Approval form linked below.

Exempt Surveys

Surveys Exempt from This Guidance

The following surveys are considered exempt from this guidance:

Surveys used to collect data strictly for assessment or program improvement internal to a business unit or department and involving fewer than 150 people.
Administrative surveys designed to solicit feedback from participants regarding a specific campus event.
Point-of-service surveys administered during or immediately following the service interaction.
Course-embedded curricular evaluations or assessments (per Regents policy 2301).

Administrative forms that individuals complete as part of routine business operations (e.g., directory updates, scholarship applications, IT services help tickets, and polls used for voting purposes such as elections and referenda) are not considered surveys, even if these are administered using electronic survey software.

Even if a survey is exempt, principal investigators should still: (1) familiarize themselves with existing surveys in order to reduce duplicative efforts that contribute to survey fatigue and waste of institutional resources; (2) follow all relevant laws and policies, and (3) utilize leading practices for data collection, analysis, and storage.

Survey Approval Steps

Principal Investigators must:

Complete all necessary training (FERPA, Privacy@UC San Diego or Privacy 101).
Prepare all survey materials (survey content, drafts of all proposed communications to participants, and any other relevant documents).
Determine whether survey is exempt from this guidance. (See below.)
Identify a responsible party. In most cases, this will be your Dean or Vice Chancellor.
Complete the UC San Diego Survey Approval Form. Please keep the Survey Consultation Committee’s meeting calendar in mind for submission in order to ensure a faster review time.

Support for Creating a Survey

Have you reviewed the available surveys and still have unanswered questions that require a customized survey? Schedule a time with our committee members who can help direct you to available support.