FAQs
- Why is South Texas College launching the “Spot Check” survey for faculty and staff?
South Texas College’s mission challenges us with providing educational opportunities through excellence. Our jaguar family of faculty and staff consistently commit their time and talents to creating a first-class model in educational innovation dedicated to student success, excellence, opportunity, community, and integrity. Beyond the privilege of preparing our students to be regional and global leaders, employees enjoy an campus community, shared governance, investments in employee success and outstanding benefits, all of which make South Texas College a Great College to Work For!
In response to our institutional goals/values, we have partnered with ModernThink to conduct a customized full-time faculty/staff Spot Check Survey for South Texas College. This survey will assess our progress in these areas, will allow us to develop a plan to strengthen our campus climate, and will reinforce why South Texas College is one of the best colleges to work for in the nation.
- Why did South Texas College select ModernThink to administer the survey?
ModernThink, LLC is a nationally recognized organization specializing in surveys of this kind for higher education. The higher education benchmark data ModernThink will provide will give South Texas College valuable insight into how we compare to other peers across the nation.
The ModernThink Higher Education Insight Survey© is an employee engagement survey derived in part from the ModernThink Insight Survey©, an assessment tool that has been used in over 50 “Best Places to Work” programs with more than 4,000 organizations. ModernThink has surveyed colleges across the country and have accumulated an unparalleled database of higher education benchmarking statistics and best practices using their ModernThink Higher Education Insight Survey©.
- Why is now the right time for this survey?
This College is committed to our employees and needs to hear from our faculty and staff on our direction and our work environment.
The survey will also provide a starting point (or baseline) for future input from faculty and staff on South Texas College priorities and needs. The feedback opportunities provided by the survey will be in the form of a continuous process, not a singular event. This survey will help inform our strategic planning process.
- Who is eligible to participate in the survey?
All South Texas College full-time faculty and staff members are invited and encouraged to participate in the survey.
- Is my participation in the Spot Check Survey optional?
Yes, participation is completely voluntary and highly encouraged.
- Why is my participation important?
As a South Texas College faculty and staff, your voice matters. Higher response rates give a more accurate picture of the college and its individual departments. This is a significant opportunity for you to share your ideas, opinions, and solutions by participating in both the survey and the action planning to follow.
- How is this survey different from other surveys I have completed?
This survey is specifically designed to assess our progress in faculty/staff engagement. This initial baseline survey, will allow us to set meaningful goals, prioritize resources, influence outcomes and measure progress over time to strengthen our campus engagement.
- What type of questions will be asked?
The belief statements address key dimensions of employee engagement, including job satisfaction, institutional pride, communication, and fairness. Examples of belief statements are “My job makes good use of my skills and abilities”, and “I understand how my job contributes to this institution's mission”. Respondents will answer how strongly they agree or disagree on a five-point scale, or they can select ‘not applicable.’ The benefits questions gauge employee satisfaction on a five-point satisfaction scale with a variety of benefits programs provided by South Texas College.
- What areas will the survey focus on?
The survey statements solicit feedback on a broad range of topics focused around several themes.
- How much time will it take to complete the survey? How long is the survey and what is the format?
The faculty/staff survey will have 60 standard survey statements and 2 open-ended questions which measure 15 dimensions reflecting all the employees’ experience. There are 7 demographic questions and 19 benefits questions. ModernThink reports that the average respondent spends 20-30 minutes completing the survey. If you are unable to complete the survey after you begin, you will have the option to save your responses and access them later.
The survey consists of statements that employees/faculty respond to using a five-point agreement scale ( Strongly Agree, Agree, Sometimes Agree/Sometimes Disagree, Disagree, Strongly Disagree). Additionally, there is a Not Applicable response option. The survey instrument also includes item benefits satisfaction component and open-ended questions.
There are several demographic questions at the end of the survey (Gender Identity, Age, etc.). Respondents are encouraged to provide responses, however you have the option of skipping any of the demographic questions if you have concerns regarding the anonymity of your responses. (See also “Will my survey responses and email address remain confidential?” below.)
- What happens to my responses to open-ended questions?
ModernThink will provide South Texas College a summary of all responses to the two optional, open-ended questions at the end of the survey. The report will list all responses to those two questions in alphabetical order by the first letter of the response to ensure confidentiality in reporting. In order to preserve your anonymity, please do not include your name or other identifying remarks in your responses.
- How do I take the survey?
All full-time faculty and staff members will be invited via email to take the survey hosted on ModernThink’s secure website. The survey is available between March 18, 2024 through April 1, 2024 (two weeks).
You will be asked to enter a username and password, which will be provided in an e-mail invitation sent to you directly by ModernThink.
You may take the survey at any time, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, from work or from home. Internet access is required. Employees taking the survey can use the same workstation, as long as each person properly logs into, and out of, the survey.
- Can the survey be done on a mobile device?
Yes. The survey is mobile-friendly and can be completed on a PC/laptop, tablet, or smart phone, and even a public computer.
- Will my survey responses and email address remain confidential?
The purpose of the survey is to get honest feedback. South Texas College is using an external partner (ModernThink) to administer the survey. It is web-based and automated with a secure internet connection.
Each employee will receive an email invitation from ModernThink to participate in the survey. Once you click on the survey link, you will go directly to ModernThink’s website. South Texas College has no access to this website. Your responses will be submitted directly to ModernThink’s database, and all processing will be done by ModernThink. You will not be asked your name on the survey. The email will include unique password information for each user. This information is stored on the ModernThink server. This information is for access only and will not be linked to your individual survey responses.
At no point will your supervisor or any other South Texas College employee see your individual survey results; they are combined and only reported back to South Texas College in the aggregate/grouped format. No one at South Texas College will know if or how you personally responded.
The survey will be completed on ModernThink’s private server. The email address is only used to access the survey and to ensure that only one survey is completed per employee. Emails are purged from ModernThink’ s system once the survey project has been completed.
- Why are demographics asked on the survey?
The demographic information (i.e. Gender, Age, Job Role, School, etc.) will help ModernThink better understand the patterns and themes in the survey data. As the confidentiality of your responses is critical, ModernThink will not report your individual demographic data. Group demographic data will only be reported when there are 5 or more respondents in a particular group. Although the demographics are an optional component of the survey, you are strongly encouraged to provide this information.
- Once I start the survey, can I access it again?
Your answers will be stored each time you select the “Save & Continue” button at the bottom of a survey page. If you get interrupted you can come back to the survey. You will need to log on to the ModernThink survey site to re-access the survey. To protect your confidentiality, you will not be able to access the survey after you click the “Submit” button on the last page of the survey.
- What if I have problems accessing the survey site?
For technical questions or problems with the survey site please contact ModernThink at 888-684-4658 or surveys@modernthink.com, M-F 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. EST. After hours, leave a message and your call will be returned as promptly as possible.
- How many employees does our institution need to respond to the survey to get the data we need?
While a 100% response rate is not necessary, we like to see as high a response rate as possible. Average response rates for ModernThink surveys typically range between 40% and 65%. The survey will be available March 18, 2024 through April 1, 2024. During the two weeks the survey is available we will be sharing our response rate with the community at large. We hope that each of you will use this information and opportunity to encourage your colleagues to participate.
- Once all the results are received, what's next?
The President and Executive Leadership Team are committed to gathering feedback, identifying and prioritizing areas of action, sharing the findings with you, and developing follow-up plans to address survey response themes.
- How often will this type of survey occur?
While the formal timeline for the next survey is not yet established, South Texas College intends to repeat this process bi-annually. This year’s results will provide us with important baseline data so that we chart our progress moving forward.
- Are there any incentives for faculty/staff to complete the survey?
Everyone who completes the survey is making an investment in improving the climate at South Texas College.
- Do I have to complete the survey on my own time?
No. Completing this Spot Check Survey is an important business function of South Texas College. Time spent completing the survey may be considered work time. No South Texas College faculty or staff member will be charged personal time for completing the survey.
- Who can I contact with additional questions about the employee survey?
If you have any questions, concerns or suggestions regarding the survey and/or the survey process, please do not hesitate to contact Dr. Zachary Z. Suarez at 956-872-3726 or zsuarez_4418@southtexascollege.edu or ModernThink Senior Project Manager Liz Flood at (888) 684-4658 or lflood@modernthink.com.
