National Studies
The Center for Student Studies (CSS) has received national attention for its large, multi-campus web surveys of college studies. Our most successful partnerships are the National Study of Living-Learning Programs, the Multi-Institutional Study of Leadership, and the Healthy Minds Study. These studies are a three-pronged collaboration between:
- Researchers exploring issues relevant to higher education
- Colleges and universities interested in assessing their students
- The experts at CSS
We can help you to develop a study plan that advances your research agenda while compensating the participating schools with the high-quality data they need. Collaborating with CSS guarantees that your study is translated appropriately for the web medium and for administration at the national level.
Our services extend beyond study design and data collection; we also manage participating institutions across all levels of the projects, including:
- Recruitment
- Orientation
- Preparing for data collection
- Daily monitoring and reporting response rates during data collection
- Preparing and distributing individual reports
- Assistance with data interpretation
We supply colleges and universities with a dedicated School Coordinator to answer questions and guide them through the participation requirements. CSS also provides comprehensive respondent support, a customized sample management system, and marketing literature. Our efforts allow you to focus on your research instead of the many details of its implementation.
Under this model, each institution pays a fee to participate, and CSS provides the initial funds to launch the project until the school contribution offsets the expense of data collection. We have perfected a stepped model for increasing the study size to the point that it can support itself. If you would like to design a national study but lack funding, please contact CSS about the possibility of conducing your research under a National Studies service.
