This page also available for download as a PDF document.
Q: How are the students contacted using the NCHA-Web?
A: ACHA contacts students to participate in the ACHA-NCHA through a letter of
invitation/consent sent via blast e-mail. You provide the text of the letter of invitation to ACHA
as well as the subject line you want included with the e-mail. The ACHA-NCHA Program Office
staff is then responsible for programming your school’s individual survey. After you decide who
you wish to survey (e.g., all registered students, 10% of registered students), you must also
supply ACHA with a list of student e-mail addresses in the first column of an Excel spreadsheet
file. If you choose to sample only a percentage of your students, ACHA has the ability to select a
random selection of students from a larger list (e.g., all student e-mails) and will do so for no
additional charge. Additionally, you may want to personalize the electronic letter of
invitation/consent sent to each student with the student's first name, such as “Dear Mary”. If so,
add the first name corresponding to each e-mail address in the second column of the
spreadsheet file. This information can usually be found at your Registrar’s Office or Office of
Institutional Research. After receiving the Excel file with the e-mail addresses, ACHA generates a
unique ID for each student. This unique ID number is imbedded in the survey URL sent to each
students. Unique IDs are downloaded with student responses and allow us to prevent duplicate
responses and contact non-responders. Unique IDs may also be used to distribute incentives to
survey participants. Once survey data are downloaded, ACHA deletes Unique IDs from our
records.
Q: Does ACHA send reminder messages to all students or just those who have not
responded to the survey?
A: ACHA tracks survey responders via the unique ID. ACHA contacts only non-responders with a
reminder e-mail. Although you may use your initial letter of invitation/consent and subject line
to contact non-responders, many schools choose to compose a different letter of
invitation/consent and use a different subject line when doing so.
Q: Is the NCHA-Web considered anonymous or confidential?
A: The web version of the survey is confidential. E-mail addresses are never physically attached
to survey responses. The unique ID number is attached to student e-mail addresses solely for
the purpose of contacting non-responders and awarding incentives. Once the surveying is
completed, the spreadsheet file holding the e-mail addresses and unique IDs is erased. Unique
IDs are also deleted from the downloaded survey data.
Q: What if my school will not allow me to provide ACHA with students’ e-mail addresses?
A: If your campus makes student e-mail addresses public via a published student directory, they
will likely approve e-mail access by ACHA to administer the ACHA-NCHA. If your campus
prohibits the exchange of e-mail addresses, you may still administer the NCHA-Web without
providing student e-mail addresses to ACHA. ACHA will assign your institution unique IDs based
on the number of students you intend to sample. Then, your campus IT department will have to
match e-mail addresses to unique IDs and write computer code that will provide a unique URL
to each student based on the unique ID generated by ACHA. Thus, each student will still receive
her/his own unique URL in the e-mail invitation sent from your school. You would then be
responsible for contacting non-responders. ACHA can provide your school with a list of
submitted unique IDs so they may be eliminated prior to re-contact.
Q: My campus will not allow ACHA access to student e-mail addresses and my IT
department has told me that they can only blast e-mail “static messages” (identical
messages). The e-mail messages cannot be personalized with a unique ID imbedded in the
URL nor in the greetings. Is there another way to administer the ACHA-NCHA Web?
A. If there is no way to remedy this problem on campus, ACHA can provide a “static” URL for
your campus survey submissions. However, without unique IDs imbedded in the URL, ACHA
cannot control for multiple submissions, cannot track non-responders, and cannot identify
respondents to award incentives. While this methodology has been implemented with success,
it is not recommended as it introduces a possible source of error not present in the standard
methodology.
Q: Do I have to use the ACHA letter of invitation/consent as provided in the User’s
Manual?
A: ACHA offers an example letter of invitation/consent in the User’s Manual, which you may edit
to meet the specific needs of your campus or requirements of your IRB. Whether or not you
choose to use the example letter of Invitation/consent, you must provide ACHA with the exact
text of your letter of invitation/consent as well as the exact text you wish to use in reminder
messages sent to non-responders. You must additionally provide a subject line for the e-mail
containing the letter of invitation/consent or reminder letter of invitation/consent. The standard
subject line used is “ACHA-National College Health Assessment (ACHA-NCHA)”, but you may
want to personalize the subject line to include your school name so your students know the
communication is connected with your college/university.
Q: How do ACHA-NCHA-Web survey participants provide consent?
A: The example letter of invitation/consent includes instructions that stipulate students who are
18 years of age or older need only click on the link to the survey to confirm their consent. If
there is additional consent information required by your campus IRB, you may want to include a
link in your invitation e-mail that will direct students to further information, such as a campus
consent requirement. It is recommended that you keep the letter of invitation/consent clear and
concise.
Q: We are a school with a student population of 2,400. How many students should we
contact using the ACHA-NCHA-Web?
A: The ACHA-NCHA User’s Manual presents recommended sample sizes, or you can see the
table of sample sizes listed below. Most ACHA-NCHA Web surveyors experience a range of 10%
to 35% return. The average response proportion is about 25%. Thus, you may want to estimate
the number of contacts based on a 25% return. With a school your size you should survey all
2,400 students with the aim of getting 600 submitted surveys.
The net proportion of returned surveys depends in part on the following: (1) campus-wide prepublicity,
(2) timing of first contact (do not survey just before finals or breaks), (3) contact of
non-responders, (4) accuracy and utilization of e-mail addresses (e.g., do the students use the
campus generated e-mail addresses?), (5) coordination with campus IT department to prevent
interference from spam and/or rate control filters, and (6) incentives.
Student Population
<600
600-3,000
3,000-9,999
10,000-19,999
20,000-29,999
≥30,000
|
Desired Sample Size (Returned Surveys)
all students
600
700
800
900
1,000
|
|
Q. If I sample all students or an entire subset of students (such as all first-year students or
all graduate students) will our data be included in the final national ACHA-NCHA
Reference Group even though we didn’t select a random sample?
A. The purpose of sampling a randomized subset of students is simply to eliminate the need to
sample all students. Thus, sampling the universe is the same or better than selecting a random
subset of students. By sampling the universe of all students your data will be included in the
Reference Group data set and reports.
Q: Can ACHA help us select random respondents to award participation incentives?
A: ACHA tracks ID numbers of participating students. We are able to randomly select ID
numbers from the pool of participating students and provide you with the corresponding email
address from the spreadsheet file. E-mail addresses are never physically or electronically
attached to the survey responses.
Q: Can we add extra questions to the ACHA-NCHA Web?
A: Yes, it is possible to add up to five additional questions for a surcharge of $700. Your
Institutional SPSS Data Set will contain the additional variables (extra questions) and they will be
summarized on your Institutional Report.
The extra questions must be single questions. When asking a general question with an option to
“select all that apply” from a list of responses, each item on the list is individually counted as a
question. For example, the following question is actually five additional questions on the
ACHA-NCHA:
In the last 12 months, did a medical professional ever prescribe you the following
narcotics? (Select all that apply)
a. Codeine
b. Hydrocodone
c. Oxycodone
d. Tramadol
e. Morphine
Individual questions may not have more than 10 response categories. A minimum of three
weeks is required to design the survey additions.
To order more than five questions or any outside of the criteria outlined above, you must
contact Mary Hoban at mhoban@acha.org, and attach a draft of the extra questions.
ADDITIONAL DATA DOWNLOADS
Q: I have access to additional information from the registrar’s office about the students in
my sample. Is it possible to have these data merged with my NCHA data set for each
subject?
A: Yes, some customers choose to merge other variables provided by the registrar’s office (e.g.,
major, school or college, student athlete status, student residence hall) into their NCHA data set.
It is possible to automatically download up to five additional variables for into your campus
NCHA data file. Simply include the additional variables beginning in the third column of the
Excel file containing the student e-mail addresses. The additional variables must be in numeric
form. You are responsible for coordinating and maintaining the codebook of variable values
and numeric codes. For example, if you want to be able to analyze your data by major and the
registrar’s office provides you with the major for each student selected to participate, you are
responsible for developing the code (e.g. electrical engineering = 1) and providing the resulting
numeric code to ACHA in your Excel file. When we return your campus NCHA data set to you, the numeric value for these additional variables will be added matched for each respondent
and added to your campus data set.
All variables sent to ACHA for automatic download into your NCHA dataset must be described
in your IRB application.
Q: What is the cost of implementing the ACHA-NCHA Web?
A: The cost is less for the survey if your school is an ACHA Institutional Member — see the
pricing chart at http://www.acha-ncha.org/docs/NCHA_pricing.pdf. You are charged
for all initial contacts ($0.20 each), re-contacting non-responders ($0.10 each), and an additional
processing fee for each survey that is submitted ($0.25 each).
If your contact list is 3,000, you would pay for each initial contact ($600). First contact of nonresponders
would be about 90% of the 3,000 or 2,700 ($270). Second contact of non-responders
would be about 80% of 3,000 or 2,400 ($240). Final submitted surveys would be about 25% of
the original sample of 3,000 or 750 ($187.50). Report packages are $300 each for ACHA
Institutional Members. The estimated total for this example of 3,000 students would be
$1,597.50.
Q: Why do I need to fill out an Institution of Higher Education Demographic Survey?
A: All colleges and universities that participate in the ACHA-NCHA are required to complete a
demographic survey. The Demographic Survey, which can be found at
http://www.acha-ncha.org/order.html, contains questions specific to your
school, such as number of students, campus location, Carnegie classification,
and survey methodology. ACHA uses this information to report on the aggregate dataset from
each survey period. As ACHA will not process your school’s dataset or reports until this
information is on file, it is recommended that you complete this survey as soon as possible once
surveying has commenced.
Q: Am I required to obtain IRB (Institutional Review Board) approval for conducting the
ACHA-NCHA?
A: Each surveyor is responsible for securing approval for conducting research involving human
subjects from the appropriate campus office, prior to implementing the ACHA-NCHA. The body
that grants approval for such surveys on your campus may be referred to as an Institutional (or
Internal) Review Board, Human Subjects Committee, Grant Review Board, Research Review
Board, or something similar. Many campuses will determine that the ACHA-NCHA presents
minimal risk to the participants and grant an exemption or offer an expedited review of the project. Other campuses will require a full review of your proposed research with the ACHANCHA.
Whatever the case, you are responsible for securing approval for the ACHA-NCHA, any
additional questions added by the campus, and any additional variables you are providing to
ACHA for automatic download into your dataset. A copy of such approval must be provided to
ACHA before your dataset and reports are processed.
Q: Our school does not have an IRB, how can we meet this requirement?
A: If your campus does not have an IRB, we will accept written permission to survey from a
campus administrator (e.g., Vice President/Vice Chancellor, Dean of Students). ACHA must have
this information on file before processing your school’s dataset and report packages. Therefore,
please ensure you have received the appropriate approval prior to inviting your students to
participate in the ACHA-NCHA.
Q: What does the Report Package include?
A: The ACHA-NCHA Report Package contains your Institutional Executive Summary (15 pages of
salient results selected by the ACHA-NCHA Advisory Committee), Institutional Report (50 pages
of frequency distributions for every variable in the survey for all subjects, and by each sex, with a
bar graph), and your institutional data on a CD (SPSS system file with built in codebook). You
will also receive a copy of the prior year’s Reference Group Executive Summary so you may
begin making comparisons with your institutional data as soon as you receive your reports.
After the survey period is completed for all schools involved, you will receive the Reference
Group Executive Summary and Reference Group Report for the survey period. Each report
package is $300 for ACHA Institutional Members and $500 for ACHA nonmembers.
Q: Is it possible to get extra report packages for a subset of my students, and if so, how
much does it cost?
A: Many institutions choose to have ACHA generate extra report packages for a subset of their
students (e.g., graduates, undergraduates, residents, first-year students, students on only one of
multiple campuses). Each additional Reports package is $300 ($150 each for the Executive
Summary and Institutional Report). Please contact Mary Hoban at mhoban@acha.org if you are
interested in purchasing extra reports for your school.
SPAM FILTERS AND RATE CONTROL SYSTEMS
Q: My school uses rate control systems and spam filters that can intercept and block mass
e-mailings from outside organizations. What can we do to prevent our invitations to
participate in ACHA-NCHA Web from being blocked?
A: It is important that you work closely with your IT department to try to prevent this problem.
Spam filters often look for specific words in the subject line and body of a message in an effort
to decrease unsolicited e-mail messages. Words such as “win,” “prizes,” “last chance,” “drawing,”
or even the use of multiple “!!!!!” in a message can trigger a spam filter and prevent the
distribution of the messages. It’s important to test messages against your spam filter before the
survey period begins. Rate control filters tend to block messages from a single IP address once a
predetermined limit has been exceeded.
Please notify the IT department of your survey plans and let them know that that the invitations to participate will originate from webemailer.net (IP address 206.132.28.57). Although the e-mail messages will originate from the webemailer.net domain, they will appear to be from NCHA-WEB@acha.org (IP address 67.151.72.91). Both IP addresses and domains should be “whitelisted” to prevent the rate control system or spam filter from blocking our invitations. Likewise, the IT department may be able to “lift a quarantine” on e-mails originating from, webemailer.net, and acha.org. Lastly, the predetermined limit on rate control systems might need to be increased during your survey period.
Q. Does ACHA host the ACHA-NCHA Web internally on their servers and what kind of
security is provided?
A. ACHA uses WebSurveyor Corporation servers to host the web version and contact students.
WebSurveyor Corporation uses the most advanced encryption, firewalls, backup and 24-hour
service support. As a major survey corporation, the security and access to information of any
kind is under strict regulations and procedures that go beyond the measures taken by most
organizations, agencies, and institutions of higher education. Additionally, ACHA does not
provide any other organizations with students e-mail addresses.
Please see the ACHA-NCHA User’s Manual as well the Security and Downloading Synopsis for
more information at:
http://www.acha-ncha.org/docs/NCHA-WEB_SECURITY_AND_DOWNLOADING.pdf
Q. My IRB wants to know what kind of training ACHA-NCHA staff has with regard to
protection of human subjects in research.
A. All ACHA-NCHA staff have completed the Human Participants Protection Education for
Research Teams online course, sponsored by the National Institutes of Health. Certificates of
completion are on file at ACHA and available upon request.
Q: What do I need to send to ACHA to implement the NCHA-Web?
A: The following materials must be sent to ACHA at least two weeks prior to the desired survey
launch date:
- The NCHA Order form, available at http://www.acha-ncha.org/order.html,
and initial payments for both the total number of student contacts and
report package.
- An Excel file of student e-mail addresses in the first column of the file, the student’s first
name in the second column (if the greetings are to be personalized), and any other
variables to be downloaded (if applicable).
- The letter of invitation/consent and subject line.
- The reminder letter of invitation/consent that is sent to non-responders. To do this
version, simply add to the initial invitation letter a phrase such as, “Recently you were contacted to participate in the ACHA-NCHA. Please consider…"
Please note that if you choose to add additional questions to the ACHA-NCHA, a final list of
questions and all materials listed above much be sent to ACHA at least three weeks prior to the
desired survey date.
Q: What do I need to send ACHA to process the ACHA-NCHA Web and receive my reports?
A:
- ACHA-NCHA Website (www.acha-ncha.org)
- ACHA-NCHA Brochure
- ACHA-NCHA Users Manual
- Mary T Hoban, PhD, CHES
Director, ACHA-NCHA Program Office
410-859-1500 x216
mhoban@acha.org
