From: Sandy Welsh, Vice-Provost, Students
Susan McCahan, Vice-Provost, Academic Programs & Innovations in Undergraduate Education
Date: February 14, 2024
Re: Undergraduate Student Experience in the Research University 2024 (PDAD&C #26)

In the coming weeks, the University of Toronto will be participating in the undergraduate Student Experience in the Research University (SERU) survey. We are writing to request your cooperation in ensuring we secure the highest response rates possible for these important institutional surveys. 

Student Experience in the Research University is a comprehensive survey, targeted at better understanding the experience of undergraduate students at research-orientated institutions. All undergraduate students will be invited to participate and share their experiences in their courses, with faculty and classmates, engagement in research and other high-impact practices, and their plans beyond UofT. This is the second time that we have participated in SERU and we look forward to the data to better understand our strengths and opportunities from the results. The institutional dashboard from our 2021 administration of the survey can be found here.

SERU is scheduled to launch on March 4, 2024 and will close at the beginning of April. Participating students are eligible for one iPad, two $200 gift cards, five $50 gift cards or one of ten $20 gift cards. To help increase participation, we have also put together some promotional materials at uoft.me/SERU that units can use in your communications with students.

Survey fatigue can significantly and negatively affect response rates. For this reason, we ask that you refrain from conducting surveys of undergraduate students during this period as much as possible. Please encourage your students to take part in this important survey and help us improve the student experience at the University of Toronto. If you have any questions about the SERU survey, please contact David Newman, Executive Director, Student Experience at david.newman@utoronto.ca.

Thank you for your cooperation in this matter.