What if I have problems accessing the survey site?

The purpose of the survey is to get honest feedback. UCF is using an external partner (ModernThink) to administer the survey. It is web-based and automated with a secure internet connection.

Each faculty and staff member 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. UCF 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 manager or any other UCF employee see your individual survey results; they are combined and only reported back to UCF in the aggregate/grouped format. No one at UCF will know if or how you personally responded.

No. 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 faculty and staff member. Emails are purged from ModernThink’ s system once the survey project has been completed.

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.

The university would like to see as high a response rate as possible. Average response rates for ModernThink surveys typically range between 40% and 65%.

No, this survey will not replace the COACHE survey. The COACHE survey captures faculty sentiment on various aspects of the academic workplace, such as teaching, service, research, tenure and promotion, departmental engagement, and collegiality. In contrast, the faculty and staff experience survey aims to understand the experiences of all campus members in support of our strategic plan. This broader survey gathers, summarizes, and synthesizes feedback from a wide range of stakeholders, helping leaders identify key themes, trends, and patterns to make informed, data-driven decisions.

ModernThink LLC is a nationally recognized organization with expertise in conducting surveys for higher education institutions. Their extensive experience in supporting universities to improve work and learning environments ensures that they will provide us with reliable and relevant data to guide our decision-making. Additionally, the higher education benchmark data provided by ModernThink will offer valuable insights into how UCF compares to other universities across the nation.

After the survey period is complete, ModernThink will analyze the data and deliver the results to the university in early Spring 2025. Following this, the President and senior leadership will share the findings with the university community. Action planning will then follow, based on the survey results, to address the identified areas for improvement and implement strategies for enhancement.

While the formal timeline for the next survey is not yet established, UCF is committed to establishing a regular cadence for collecting feedback from faculty and staff and has contracted with ModernThink to administer multiple surveys. This year’s results will provide us with important baseline data, allowing us to track and assess our progress over time.