Creating effective surveys for obtaining feedback from stakeholders as a basis for continuous study program improvement

A well-educated workforce is one of the key assets, maybe even the primary asset, of modern (developed) countries in terms of competing internationally. This holds in particular for smaller countries where, quite often, the know-how/skills are the only significant resource available. However, even for larger countries with an abundance of natural mineral resources, highly qualified personnel are almost a guarantee of sustainable technological development. Universities play a central and decisive role in generating knowledge, and for preparing their graduates for the requirements of the labour market. Due to different factors, even universities increasingly find themselves in competition for students on not only a regional basis, but also internationally. After graduation, students also face similar competition in the labour market and therefore have strong ambitions to secure an excellent university education. Given the situation outlined, universities have the incentive to identify key stakeholders that are important for universities in seeking to increase the attractiveness of their institution, and to ensure they are involved in a continuous process of study program improvements. In this paper we (1) identify the key stakeholders to be considered in this process, (2) and we argue that online surveys are the preferable method of data collection for this purpose. Following on from that, the focus of this paper (3) is to address what needs to be considered when planning such surveys, through the asking of key questions and by providing guidelines based on practices and experiences at our institutions. We conclude (4) by outlining some common pitfalls that should be avoided when preparing such surveys