[nagdu] Another Reason for Having Your Own Harness

[Julie J]

Tami,

I think the ideal situation would be for someone to contact graduates by 
phone or perhaps email to get the survey questions answered.  This way we 
would have a better chance of reaching more graduates in a reasonable amount 
of time.  for example the survey could be done once a year with one month 
being randomly chosen.  All graduates from all programs would be the 
potential pool of respondents.  Of course this means working closely with 
all of the programs to get the information out, since graduates would need 
to initiate the contact for privacy reasons. It could be as simple as a 
postage paid card that the graduate could drop in the mail with his/her 
preferred method of contact filled in.  The interviewer could then follow up 
within a set amount of weeks from graduation.

This would keep the information current, with a more evenly distributed pool 
of respondents and make it possible for everyone to participate no matter 
what their internet ability.   It would eliminate people who had an issue 
with a particular program 20 years ago.  It would also ensure that each 
individual was only able to respond once each survey cycle.   If the survey 
was done by phone or the participants preferred method of communication it 
would drastically reduce the amount of error associated with lack of 
familiarity with filling out forms on the internet.

the survey/report could be done yearly for a few years to accumulate enough 
information to be useful.  then it could be done every two or three years to 
keep it updated and relevant.

Just some thoughts,
Julie