Click any of the section titles (Institutional, Departmental, Regulatory, or External) to expand and view the section contents.
| Samuel Merritt University Evaluation Cycles and Data Collection Tools/Processes | ||||||
| Data Collection Tool/Process | Purpose of Evaluation | Survey population | Methodology | Frequency | Implementation Timeframe | Results and Report Availability |
| Institutional | ||||||
| Dashboard of Institutional Performance | A visual display conveying at a glance a summary of the most important information about SMU's performance | N/A | N/A | Monthly | Monthly | Mid month |
| Course and Faculty Evaluations | Student evaluation of a course and the instructor | Students enrolled in a particular course | Online and Paper (in class) | Semester | September-January (Fall), January-April (Spring), May-August (Summer) | End of semester, mid semester |
| SMU Faculty and Staff Services and Resources Survey | Measure employee satisfaction with - Offices, Services and Resources Leadership Provide qualitative data to support satisfaction measures Provide data for self evaluation, improvement and strategic planning at institutional, program, and department level | Faculty and Staff (0.5 FTE and above) | Online | Every two years | January-February | March |
| SMU Student Campus Services and Resources Survey | Measure student satisfaction with - Academic experience Offices, Services and Resources Learning achievement Provide qualitative data to support satisfaction measures Provide data for self evaluation, improvement and strategic planning at institutional, program, and department level | All enrolled students as of March 1 | Online and Paper (in class) | Annual | March-April | May |
| Alumni Survey | Employment conditions of SMU graduates Professional competencies Satisfaction with SMU experience | Graduates of SMU 1,3 and 5 years back | Online and Paper | Annual | May-August | October |
| Employer Survey | Employer satisfaction with Alumni performance Employer ratings of SMU graduates' professional competencies | Employees of SMU graduates who graduated 1,3 and 5 years back | Paper | Annual | May-August | October |
| SMU Campus Experience Survey | Measure satisfaction with - Campus atmpshpere Diversity Provide qualitative data to support satisfaction measures Provide data for self evaluation, improvement and strategic planning at institutional, program, and department level | All students, faculty and staff (one for each group, 3 surveys total) | Online | Annual | September-October | November |
| Fact Book | Report Comprehensive University Facts - Internal audience | N/A | N/A | Annual | Annually | December |
| Fact Sheet | Report Summarized University Facts - External audience | N/A | N/A | Annual | Annually | July |
| Enrollment Census Data | N/A | N/A | N/A | Semester | Fall, Spring and Summer | N/A |
| EOW (Experience of Work) Survey | Assess work conditions, build employee engagement, identify priorities for improvement, benchmark and track progress over time | Faculty and Staff (0.5 FTE and above) | Online and by phone | Annual | November | January |
| Departmental | ||||||
| Survey of Admitted Applicants who did not enroll | Reasons for not enrolling | All admitted students who chose not to enroll | Online | Weekly Ongoing | January-December | January |
| Survey of Applicants who Declined Interview | Reasons for not coming to interview | All DPM students who were invited for an on campus interview but declined | Online | Weekly Ongoing | January-December | Immediate real time results as responses come in |
| Entering Students Survey | Assess admission and registration experience Improve SMU services to students Determine which sources of information are most useful to students' decisions to apply to SMU Main reasons for choosing SMU | Newly enrolled students | Paper | Fall - All Programs, Spring - ABSN, BSN and MSN-EL (Sacramento), Summer - ABSN | Fall, Spring and Summer | Fall - October Spring - February Summer - June |
| Orientation Evaluation Survey | Improve the new student orientation program | Newly enrolled students | Paper | Fall - All Programs, Spring - ABSN, BSN and MSN-EL (Sacramento), Summer - ABSN | Fall, Spring and Summer | Fall - November Spring - March Summer - July |
| Program exit surveys | Survey preparedness of exiting students | Graduating students | Online | Annual | As required | As required |
| Regulatory | ||||||
| Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) surveys for National Center for Educational Statistics (NCES) | Mandatory reporting of University Facts | N/A | Online | Annual | September-October (Fall), December-January (Winter), March-April (Spring) | IPEDS Feedback Report available in June |
| WASC Annual Report | Mandatory reporting of University Facts | N/A | N/A | Annual | N/A | N/A |
| External (please contact IR for complete list of external surveys) | ||||||
| Peterson's Annual Survey of Undergraduate Institutions | Report University Facts | N/A | Online | Annual | January | N/A |
| National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN) | Report University Facts | N/A | Online | Annual | February | N/A |
| Peterson's Annual Survey of Graduate and Professional Institutions | Report University Facts | N/A | Online | Annual | March | N/A |
| American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) Annual Financial Benchmarking Survey | Report University Facts | N/A | Online | Annual | June | N/A |
| Association of Independent California Colleges and Universities (AICCU) Enrollment Survey | Report University Facts | N/A | Online | Annual | June | N/A |
| Peterson's Interim Update of Undergraduate Institutions | Report University Facts | N/A | Online | Annual | August | N/A |
| Fiscal Operations Report and Application to Participate (FISAP) | Report University Facts | N/A | Online | Annual | September | N/A |
| California Postsecondary Education Commission (CPEC) | Report University Facts | N/A | Online | Annual | October | N/A |
| American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) | Report University Facts | N/A | Online | Annual | October | N/A |
| Advanced Education Nursing Traineeship (AENT) | Report University Facts | N/A | Online | Annual | October | N/A |
| College and University Professional Association for Human Resources (CUPA-HR) Survey | Report University Facts | N/A | Online | Annual | November | N/A |
| Peterson's Nursing Schools Online Survey | Report University Facts | N/A | Online | Annual | November | N/A |
| Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education (CAPTE) | Report University Facts | N/A | Online | Annual | November | N/A |
| Board of Registered Nursing (BRN) Survey - Pre-Licensure Programs Survey | Report University Facts | N/A | Online | Annual | November | N/A |





