Survey Process

Survey Process

Both the ModernThink Higher Education Insight Survey^© and the ModernThink Institution Questionnaire^©(IQ) used in this process have been developed specifically for higher education by ModernThink and a blue ribbon panel of industry experts. The assessment for the Great Colleges Program is a two-part process designed to gather detailed data about each participating institution. In part one, the institution completes a questionnaire and in part two, a random sample of the institution's full-time Faculty, Administrators and Exempt Professional Staff complete the ModernThink Higher Education Insight Survey^©.

The collected information from the two instruments is combined to produce a detailed set of data enabling the experts to determine the strengths and opportunities of the participating institutions. Experts assess each institution based on this data and then institutions are recognized in a variety of areas. For more information on the recognition methodology, click here.

All participating institutions receive two summary reports based on these assessments and have the opportunity to purchase additional reports and services which detail their survey results in addition to benchmarking against other institutions.

Part One – ModernThink Institution Questionnaire^© (IQ)

Each institution must complete the IQ. The IQ captures information about policies, practices and demographics. The invitation to complete this portion of the assessment will be sent out by February 21, 2012 and is due April 13, 2012. Please refer to the Timeline.

The IQ password information is emailed to the Primary Contact designated on the registration form and is completed and submitted online to aid in the functionality and ease of the surveying process. The Primary Contact can share the login information to the questionnaire so that it can be completed by different administrators if necessary. Click here to see a sample of the 2012 IQ . If you participated in a previous year's program and would like a copy of your IQ, please email This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Part Two – ModernThink Higher Education Insight Survey^© 

The ModernThink Higher Education Insight Survey^© consists of sixty statements that employees/faculty respond to using a five-point agreement scale (Strongly Agree, Agree, Sometimes Agree/Sometimes Disagree, Disagree, Strongly Disagree). Additionally, there is a Not Applicable response option. The survey instrument also includes an eighteen item benefits satisfaction component and two open-ended questions.

There are fifteen demographic questions at the end of the survey (Gender, Age, Ethnicity, Race, Relationship Status, Annual Salary, Job Status, Years at Institution, Tenure Status, Supervisory Status, Years in Current Role, Job Category, Job Role, School/College and Department). Respondents were encouraged to provide responses however they had the option of omitting a response if they had concerns regarding the anonymity of their responses.

The ModernThink Higher Education Insight Survey^© measures fifteen dimensions reflecting managerial and organizational competencies. These dimensions were determined and confirmed through a series of factor analyses and provide the basis for the majority of the recognition categories. Click here to see a 2012 Survey Sample .

Please see our Statement of Confidentiality in the FAQs regarding the security of this sensitive data. All employee data is submitted anonymously.

Survey Audience

The audience for the ModernThink Higher Education Insight Survey^© is full-time Faculty, Administrators and Exempt Professional Staff.  Associate Colleges should include Adjunct Faculty. Depending on how many total full-time employees you have in these three areas, you are asked to supply ModernThink with 400-600 randomly selected full-time  Faculty, Administrators and Exempt Professional Staff. So if you have one third of each, your random sample of 600 would include 200 Faculty, 200 Administrators and 200 Exempt Professional Staff. The chart below lists how many employees you should randomly select based on your Institution's employee size. Click here to see the Job Roles under each Job Category.

Survey Sample Size Requirement 

 *Your random selection should be proportional to your Faculty /Administrators/Exempt Professional Staff populations. Exempt staff are not subject to FLSA overtime provisions and are paid an annual salary for all hours worked. Exempt employees include but are not limited to the following: professionals; those who exercise independent judgment and discretion in their roles; and/or those who manage other people. Non-exempt staff can be hourly or salaried. They are typically administrative, operational or production employees.

If your institution is interested in surveying more than the random sample required of any of these Job Categories or including part-time employees and/or adding location/campus as an additional demographic, please contact Janet Wurtzel at 1.888.684.4658 ext. 117 or This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .  This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Results
The two data sets will be combined and analyzed to determine the recognized institutions for 2012. For more details on the Recognition Methodology click here.  All participating institutions will receive three complimentary topline reports--click here for details. Additional reports are available to gain more in-depth insight. To learn more about the reports click here.

Custom Survey Option

In addition, you can take your survey experience to an even higher level by customizing your survey. You can, for example, survey Other Staff or add custom survey statements. To learn more, visit our Survey Options section of the website and/or contact Janet Wurtzel 1.888.684.4658 ext. 117 or  This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .

It is expected that all interested institutions will be accommodated. However, The Chronicle reserves the right to limit participation, if necessary, to ensure adequate representation across the various categories and classifications.