Frequently Asked Questions

Institutional Priorities Survey™

How long does it take for paper-and-pencil surveys to arrive on campus once I place my order?

Materials are generally shipped by the next business day and should arrive on campus within five business days. Note: at your request, we can ship the materials via overnight or two-day express mail, payable by your institution.

What are the costs for the survey?

The per-survey fee is based on the number of surveys you order. The only other required fees are a processing and set-up fee and a 5 percent handling fee. All other materials are optional.

Check prices or place an order.

I have leftover surveys from the last time I administered, can I re-use them?

Yes, you will just need to pay the processing and set-up fee again plus the 5 percent handling fee. Please include an order form when you return your completed surveys for processing.

How long does it take to complete the survey?

Campus personnel need approximately 30 minutes to complete the paper-and-pencil Institutional Priorities Survey. The web version takes approximately 20 minutes to complete.

When do most institutions administer the survey?

Use of the survey is appropriate at any time during the academic year. However, we suggest you avoid surveying during intensive testing times (e.g., mid-terms and finals) or during the first three to four weeks of the term. In general, we recommend administering the Ruffalo Noel Levitz surveys during similar timeframes during the academic year, or within a few weeks. This ensures that data from multiple instruments (especially the combination of the SSI and the IPS) will be gathered from a nearly identical campus environment. You may also want to plan to survey at the same time period over multiple years for appropriate benchmarking.

How do I select my survey sample size?

If at all possible, most institutions will want to survey 100% of their faculty, staff, administrators, and board members. If that is not possible, you will want to survey at least 25-50% of your full- and part-time campus personnel. The sample should represent each personnel segment’s relative size. Also, you may want to over-sample faculty and other personnel segments that interact with students on a regular basis. Groups to consider surveying include:

Faculty representing all majors, programs, and departments, president, chancellor, and vice presidents, deans and directors, professional staff, board members, advising/counseling staff, student services staff, library staff, registrar’s staff, business office staff, and bookstore/student center staff.

Please see our implementation guidelines for further details on selecting your sample.

Does Ruffalo Noel Levitz print my 10 additional supplemental items onto the paper-and-pencil survey?

To keep turnaround times quick and costs low, Ruffalo Noel Levitz does not print the custom items on the paper-and-pencil surveys. Instead, we ask that you simply list your items on a separate sheet of paper and number them accordingly. This also applies to the campus-defined demographic items. For IPS custom items, we recommend that you use items with parallel language to your campus items on the SSI. It is not necessary to inform us of the items you include in the customized sections because results for these sections will be identified by item number only in your campus report. (However, if you do provide us with a copy, we will keep it on file for future reference.)

For web versions, Ruffalo Noel Levitz will work with you to customize your online account. Contact Julie Bryant of Ruffalo Noel Levitz for more details on how to set up your online account at least one to two weeks prior to when you want your online survey available for your students.

Where do I send the completed inventories for scoring?

Send all completed paper inventories to Ruffalo Noel Levitz at our Iowa City address: 1025 Kirkwood Parkway SW, Cedar Rapids, IA 52404. To ensure that your inventories can be scored, please do not fold or staple them. To avoid delays, remove any inserts and make sure the inventories are all facing the same direction. Be sure to include your Scoring Request Form or a cover memo with your completed inventories. Package separately any batches you want us to score separately and clearly label each batch. We recommend shipping via a trackable method to ensure that completed surveys are not lost in transit.

No shipping is required for web versions of our surveys. Simply coordinate with Ruffalo Noel Levitz to close your web survey and the data set will automatically be transferred to our processing center.

How long will it take Ruffalo Noel Levitz to deliver my campus report after receiving my surveys for processing?

Your scored results will be available approximately seven business days after we receive your completed surveys. Results are delivered in electronic documents to a password-protected safe mail account. You will be notified by email with a link to the results when they are ready to access. Paper copies of the results are available for an additional fee and are generally delivered within 10-12 business days after we receive your completed surveys.