Overview

 

The Curriculum Quality Surveys (CQS) are found under the Surveys tab and include the Graduating Student, Faculty, Alumni, and Preceptor surveys. The intent of the surveys is for colleges and schools of pharmacy to use them as both a curriculum assessment tool and to provide data during an accreditation review.


All four surveys are open for a period of four months. It is the responsibility of the college/school to administer the survey during the specified months.

  • The Graduating Student and Faculty Surveys Administration Period: Open the first Monday of March and close at the end of June.
  • The Alumni and Preceptor Surveys Administration Period: Open the first Monday of May and close at the end of August.

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Features


The four surveys can only be administered through AACP's online centralized survey system. Note: Colleges/schools of pharmacy are not permitted to copy or disseminate the surveys.


  • Open/Close: Open or close the survey as needed. 

  • Add participants: Enter participant data here.
  • Invite Newly Added Participants/Send Reminder Message: A message to invite or remind participants to complete the survey. A unique survey link is included in the email sent.
  • External Survey Link (optional): A link to an external survey administered by the institution. 
  • View Participants: A list of participants and their survey status (not started, in-progress, or submitted).

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Optional Features


  • Summary Reports by Campus: The ability to receive separate summary reports by campus. In order to utilize this feature, an institution must include a campus in the 'campus' field of the file imported or manually enter into the survey. In order to uphold AACP’s Data Policy, at least five students and/or faculty must be surveyed at each campus location. Note: If any campus locations do not have at least five respondents by the close of survey then the ability to download campus-specific reports will be restricted.
  • Link To Additional Survey Questions: The ability to add a link to the end of the AACP surveys requesting that respondents answer additional questions relating specifically to the institution. The link directs the respondents to an online survey instrument developed by your institution using a survey tool such as SurveyMonkey or Qualtrics. Tip: The additional questions do not need to be approved by AACP prior to their administration. Note: AACP is unable to link user responses from the AACP surveys with user responses from your institution’s survey instrument.
  • Save a Message Template: The ability to save message templates. AACP provides standardized text for the invite and reminder e-mails; however, each school has the ability to change the text. The default message will populate when you select 'Invite Newly Added Participants' or 'Send Reminder Message'; however, a custom template can be saved to the default invitation or reminder message by selecting ‘Save Template’ at the bottom of the email text box. Once saved, the template can be selected from the drop-down menu under “Use Template” and by clicking on 'Apply'. The message will populate into the email text box. Templates can be edited and reviewed by selecting 'Manage Templates.'


How to Administer the CQS:


AACP sends an e-mail to the survey administrator and school users assigned to the survey(s) when the survey administration period opens. At least one reminder e-mail of the survey closing date is also sent. It is the responsibility of the college/school to administer the survey by determining a timeline, opening the survey, sending the invite and reminder emails, closing the survey, and downloading reports.


Once logged in:

  1. Select the ‘Surveys’ tab.
  2. Click on the desired survey to administer.
  3. Select ‘Open Survey’ if the survey is not already listed as open. This will change the status to Open and allow participant information to be added.
  4. Select ‘Add Participants’ to enter respondent information [first name, last name, email address, and campus (optional)]. Participants can be manually entered or imported via a list using the sample spreadsheet provided in the system as a template. Note: Please include only one e-mail address per participant.
  5. Use the ‘Invite Newly Added Participants’ link to send an email to all respondents on the list. Note: Do not enter an email address in the 'From' field. An email address can be included in the body of the message for contact purposes. The online survey system creates a unique survey link for each participant, which is used to access the survey. This assures that the participants complete the survey only once. 
  6. Use the “External Survey Link’ button if needed (optional). This link will direct survey takers to a school-specific survey at the end of the AACP survey. Note: Most schools will skip this step.
  7. Use the ‘Send Reminder Message’ link to send an email to all respondents with a status of ‘Not started’ or ‘In progress’ to remind them to complete and submit the survey. Note: Do not enter an email address in the 'From' field. An email address can be included in the body of the message for contact purposes. Once access should be closed to the survey, select the ‘Close Survey’ button. 
  8. When the survey is closed, a summary and data report of responses to the survey can be downloaded using the ‘View/Download Summary Report’ and ‘View/Download Raw Data Report’ links in the survey system.

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FAQ


Why am I running into issues uploading my excel file to import participants?

  • Try the following if you are running into error messages while uploading participants: Tip: the survey system error message can give insight into why the file is not uploading. 
    • If using an excel file, convert to a csv file.
    • Download and use the sample csv file. Note: Do not edit the name or order of the columns. 
    • Check the email field and remove any rows with duplicate email addresses. Tip: Check this Microsoft article for instructions on how to find and remove duplicates.
    • Check each of the columns and remove any extra spaces or characters. Tip: Use the trim function to remove extra spacing.


Can I download a copy of the survey(s)?

  • PDF copies of the surveys are available for review under the 'Resources' tab and listed below the Curriculum Quality Surveys section. A Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) page and a user’s guide about the surveys and administration are available on the AACP web site.


How should I respond to survey participants that are unable to access the survey using their survey link?

  • If a survey taker receives an error message that the survey they are trying to take is no longer available or that the user is not found in the system, the survey taker most likely has not copied the full survey link into the address bar of their web browser; please ask them to copy and paste the entire survey link to a new browser. 


Who should be participants for each of the surveys?

  • Graduating Student survey: All students graduating from your Pharm.D. as a first professional degree program should be included.
  • Faculty survey: All full-time and/or part-time faculty at your college/school of pharmacy with teaching responsibility for the Pharm.D. as a first professional degree should be included.
  • Alumni survey: The alumni survey is intended to be administered to alumni no more than five years post-graduation.
  • Preceptor survey: All preceptors that have precepted students in the current academic year


How can I try to increase the response rates for our school's surveys?


There are many potential ways to boost the response rates for your surveys. 

  • First, make sure that you have planned a timeline in advance of administration that allows for at least two reminder messages to be sent. We recommend beginning survey administration at least four weeks prior to the close of a survey. 
  • Second, make sure that the list of survey takers that you upload into the system is as clean and accurate as possible. Consider partnering with other departments on campus to ensure that you have the best contact information, particularly for alumni and preceptors. 
  • Third, consider representative sampling for the Alumni and Preceptor surveys so that you can better target individuals with reminders to complete the survey. 


Why was the demographic section in the CQS expanded and how will these data be reported?


For the 2022 surveys, AACP expanded the demographic section to include questions on race, ethnicity, first-generation status, and English language proficiency. These came as an addition to the expanded the gender identity item and sexual orientation items included in 2018. These changes were made in the spirit of inclusivity and clarity.  In order to not be intrusive, an option of “prefer not to disclose” is available as one of the selection options for these questions. These changes support the AACP Core Values of Inclusiveness and Learning and the AACP Diversity Statement. Only authorized AACP staff and staff at your institution will have access to these data. Data collected on social identity and language proficiency will provide AACP and your institution with meaningful population data and also provide schools with necessary data for targeting resources and other student and faculty support services.  

  • For the Faculty Survey, these data will only be reported in aggregate within the summary report to protect the confidentiality of respondents. These data will not be available in the raw data report. 
  • For the Graduating Student, Alumni, and Preceptor Surveys, these data are available within the raw data report.

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Why can't I see any, or all, of the surveys?

  • The list is based on the surveys(s) assigned to your school user account and the survey(s) open and available to administer. If you cannot view a survey, you may not have appropriate permissions setup for your account. Please contact your school administrator to request the desired permission level(s). Alternatively, email the Survey System Helpdesk using the subject heading User. Tip: If you know your school administrator, cc them in the e-mail as we will need their authorization on any account changes. The school administrator is often the CEO dean at your institution.


Who is my school administrator?

  • School administrator roles typically default to the dean at each institution; however, the dean may designate an alternate to serve in these roles. If you are unsure about who your school administrator is, email the Survey System Helpdesk.


For additional help or feedback, email the Survey System Helpdesk.