Data Collection Communications

Appendix B

Data Collection Communications

1. Request for Instructor Survey

2. Request to Instructors for Focus Group & Structured Course Review

3. Request to Instructors for Student Survey Message

   1. Second Request to Instructors for Student Survey Distribution

4. Instructor Request to Remind Students for Survey Email, LMS Posting, and In-Class Announcement Template

5. CCRC Request to Student for Survey w/link

6. Request to Information Technology Liaison for a College ID and Access to Instructor and Facilitator Learning Management System Courses

7. Request to Administrative Data Liaison for Instructor Contact Information & Data Request

8. Request to Administrative Data Liaison for Student Contact Information & Data Request

9. Request to Administrative Data Liaison for Data Collection (student and instructor administrative data)

10. Memo on Data Request for Administrative Data

11. Request for Administrator Interview

12. Request to Facilitator for Interview

1. Request for instructor survey (send two times)

Dear [INSTRUCTOR],

Thank you for your participation in the study evaluating the professional learning course Using Technology to Support Postsecondary Student Learning led by the Community College Research Center (CCRC). This study aims to produce useful research about effective approaches for professional learning in community colleges, and we appreciate your involvement!

It is now time to complete the online survey about your use of technology and digital tools in your teaching and your experiences with professional learning. The survey will take approximately 20 minutes of your time. Please complete the survey by [DATE].

Survey data will be kept confidential by the research team in all analyses and reporting. Participation in the survey is voluntary and will have no positive or negative impact on your employment or standing at the college.

Please use this link to access the survey: [QUALTRICS LINK]. After you have completed the survey, you will receive your second payment of $250 for participation in the study.

If you have any questions about the survey, please contact [NAME] at CCRC.

Thank you!

CCRC research team / [RESEARCHERS’ NAMES/EMAILS]

2. Request to instructors for focus group and structured course review (send two times)

Dear [INSTRUCTOR],

Thank you for your participation in the study evaluating the professional learning course Using Technology to Support Postsecondary Student Learning led by the Community College Research Center (CCRC).

Among participants in the study, you have been randomly selected to participate in two additional research activities: a virtual focus group and course review. These are intended to provide a deeper understanding of how instructors use technology in their teaching and their experiences with professional learning.

The virtual focus group will last up to one hour and will be attended by other community college instructors who are participating in the professional learning course study. In the focus group you will be asked to discuss your use of instructional technology and process for selecting, evaluating, and implementing technology as well as your experience with and perceptions of the professional learning course.

The course review will provide researchers an opportunity to understand the types of technological tools used in community college courses. As part of the course review, researchers will use the college’s learning management system for your focal course to review your course syllabus, activities, assignments, and assessments. Researchers will be granted guest access to the learning management system by the college, and no student data will be collected.

These activities are not intended to evaluate individual instructors, courses, or institutions. What you share during the focus group will be kept confidential. Participation in the focus group and course review is voluntary and will have no positive or negative impact on your employment or standing at the college.

For more detail on the study, you may review the Informed Consent Form using [THIS LINK]. If you have any questions, please contact [NAME] at CCRC.

Thank you!

CCRC research team / [RESEARCHERS’ NAMES/EMAILS]

3. Request to instructors for student survey reminder

First request to instructors for student survey

Dear [INSTRUCTOR],

Thank you for your participation in the study evaluating the professional learning course Using Technology to Support Postsecondary Student Learning led by the Community College Research Center (CCRC). This study aims to produce useful research about effective approaches for professional learning in community colleges, and we appreciate your involvement!

We request your help to remind all of the students enrolled in [FOCAL COURSE NAME/SECTION NUMBER] that an online survey has been sent to their [COLLEGE NAME] email. The survey will ask students about their learning experiences and experiences using technology and will take approximately 10 minutes of their time. Upon completing the survey, students can enter into a drawing for a $100 electronic gift card to a major online retailer. One out of every 200 students who complete the survey will receive a gift card.

The results of this survey will not be used to evaluate you or your students, and you will not have access to the names of students who complete the survey.

Attached is a message that you can use to alert students to the survey and encourage them to look in their college email for the link. All students who were ever enrolled in the course should complete the survey, regardless of whether they are still actively enrolled or participating in the course. We ask that you please send the email twice, first on [XXX DATE] and again on [XXX DATE].

Once you have sent the message both times, please follow this link [INSERT LINK] to receive a $50 gift card to thank you for your time. Please note that receipt of the gift card is not related to whether or how many of your students participate in the survey. If you have any questions, please contact [NAME] at CCRC.

Thank you very much for your help!

All the best,

CCRC research team / [RESEARCHERS’ NAMES/EMAILS]

Attachment: (1) request for student survey email template

Second request to instructors for student survey

Dear [INSTRUCTOR],

Thank you for your participation in the study evaluating the professional learning course Using Technology to Support Postsecondary Student Learning led by the Community College Research Center (CCRC). As a reminder, we are currently recruiting students to participate in a survey about their learning experiences and experiences using technology. This week, please direct your students in [FOCAL COURSE NAME/SECTION NUMBER] to the survey for a second time.

Attached is a message that you can use to alert students to the survey and encourage them to look in their college email for the link. All students who were ever enrolled in the course should complete the survey, regardless of whether they are still actively enrolled or participating in the course.

The results of this survey will not be used to evaluate you or your students, and you will not have access to the names of students who complete the survey.

Once you have sent the message to your students twice, please follow this link [INSERT LINK] to receive a $50 gift card to thank you for your time. Please note that receipt of the gift card is not related to whether or how many of your students participate in the survey. If you have any questions, please contact [NAME] at CCRC.

Thank you very much for your help!

All the best,

CCRC research team / [RESEARCHERS’ NAMES/EMAILS]

Attachment: (1) request for student survey email template

4. Instructor reminder to students for survey email and in-class announcement template (two times)

Dear [STUDENT],

[COLLEGE NAME] is participating in a research study to help instructors learn more about ways to use technology to support student learning. This project is sponsored by the Regional Educational Laboratory Northwest and conducted by Community College Research Center (CCRC).

As part of the study, you are invited to complete an online survey about your experience in [COURSE TITLE, NUMBER, SECTION] this semester. A link to the survey will be sent to your [COLLEGE NAME] email. Please be on the lookout for an email from [RESEARCHER NAME] about the survey.

The survey will take approximately 10 minutes of your time. Once you complete the survey, you can enter a drawing for a $100 electronic gift card to a major online retailer. One out of every 200 students who completes the survey will receive a gift card. Please complete the survey by [DATE].

Survey data will be kept confidential by the research team in all analyses and reporting. As your instructor, I will not have access to your survey responses. Participation in the survey is voluntary and will have no positive or negative impact on your grade or your status at the college.

If you have any questions about the survey, you can contact [NAME] at CCRC.

Thank you for your important contribution!

[INSTRUCTOR NAME]

5. CCRC request to students for survey message with link (approximately three times)

Dear [STUDENT],

As you may have heard, [COLLEGE NAME] is participating in a research study to help instructors learn more about ways to use technology to support student learning. As part of the study, you are invited to complete an online survey about your experience in [COURSE TITLE, SECTION NUMBER] this term. Here is your personalized link to the survey about supporting student learning: [INSERT LINK TO QUALTRICS SURVEY].

Please complete the survey by [DATE]. You are invited to complete this survey even if you have dropped the course. The survey will take approximately 10 minutes of your time. Once you complete the survey, you can enter into a drawing for a $100 electronic gift card to a major online retailer. One out of every 200 students who completes the survey will receive a gift card.

This project is sponsored by the Regional Educational Laboratory Northwest and conducted by Community College Research Center (CCRC). Participation in the survey is voluntary and will have no positive or negative impact on your grade or your status at the college. Your instructor will not have access to information about whether or not you took the survey. Survey data will be kept anonymous by the research team in all analyses and reporting. If you have any questions about the survey, you can contact [NAME] at CCRC.

Thank you for your important contribution!

CCRC research team / [RESEARCHERS’ NAMES]

6. Request to information technology liaison for a college ID and access to instructor and facilitator learning management system courses

Dear [IT LIAISON],

Thank you for serving as the Information Technology liaison for the study evaluating the professional learning course Using Technology to Support Postsecondary Student Learning being led by the Community College Research Center (CCRC). As the IT liaison for your college, you are asked to provide a college ID for [CCRC RESEARCHER NAME] and to access the Learning Management System for two purposes as follows:

1. Guest instructor access to the course where the professional learning course is contained so CCRC can view user data to learn about time spent in the course and completion of assigned activities by the instructors who participated in the course.

2. Guest student-view (audit) access to selected course sections taught in fall 2024. These sections are taught by instructors who have consented to share their course syllabus, activities, assignments, and assessments with the research team. No student data will be recorded during these course reviews.

Attached to this email, please find a list of course sections for which we are requesting access. We request that the researcher have access to these courses no later than [INSERT DATE]. If you have any questions, please contact [NAME] at CCRC.

 

All the best,

CCRC research team / [RESEARCHERS’ NAMES]

Attachment: (1) list of course sections

7. Request to administrative data liaison for instructor contact information and data request

Dear [DATA LIAISON],

Thank you for serving as the data liaison for the study evaluating the professional learning course Using Technology to Support Postsecondary Student Learning being led by the Community College Research Center (CCRC). As the data liaison for your college, you are asked to provide contact information for instructors who meet the eligibility requirements for the study. To participate in the study, instructors must be scheduled to teach one or more courses in the fall 2024 semester. Instructors who are ineligible to participate include those who

• are ONLY teaching exclusively dual enrollment/concurrent enrollment courses,

• are ONLY teaching noncredit courses, and/or

• are ONLY teaching exclusively adult or continuing education courses.

Attached to this email, please find a data template to assist with this request. Please provide the information listed for all eligible instructors meeting criteria described above.

Please transfer the requested information using a Secure File Transfer Protocol in accordance with the terms and conditions listed in our current data sharing agreement no later than [INSERT DATE]. If you have any questions, please contact [NAME] at CCRC.

 

All the best,

CCRC research team / [RESEARCHERS’ NAMES]

Attachment: (1) data request template

Data request for instructor contact information

Please provide contact information for all instructors who are teaching a course in the fall 2024 semester. Instructors who meet any of the following exclusion criteria should not be included:

• Instructors who are ONLY teaching exclusively dual enrollment/concurrent enrollment courses.

• Instructors who are ONLY teaching noncredit courses.

• Instructors who are ONLY teaching exclusively adult or continuing education courses.

File structure

CCRC can accept most file types including Excel, Stata, and text (delimited) files. CCRC’s preferred file type is a file with comma-separated values (.csv). Please do not duplicate instructors, but list each instructor on a single row in the provided dataset.

Instructor contact information

1. Instructor first name

2. Instructor last name

3. Instructor ID

4. Instructor email

8. Request to administrative data liaison for student emails

Dear [DATA LIAISON],

Thank you for serving as the data liaison for the study evaluating the professional learning course Using Technology to Support Postsecondary Student Learning being led by the Community College Research Center (CCRC). As the data liaison for your college, you will provide student IDs and email addresses for students who were ever enrolled in designated study course sections.

Attached to this email please find (1) a data request and (2) a list of study course sections. Please provide the information listed in the data template for any student who was ever enrolled in one of the listed study course sections during the fall 2024 academic term. Please note that this includes students who dropped the course before the college’s census date.

Please transfer the requested information using a Secure File Transfer Protocol in accordance with the terms and conditions listed in our current data sharing agreement no later than [INSERT DATE]. If you have any questions, please contact [NAME] at CCRC.

 

All the best,

CCRC research team / [RESEARCHERS’ NAMES]

Attachment: (1) data request for study course sections (2) data template

Data Request for Study Course Sections

Please provide data for students who were ever enrolled in one of the listed study course sections during the fall 2024 academic term:

1. [LIST COURSES AND SECTIONS]

File structure

CCRC can accept most file types including Excel, Stata, and text (delimited) files. CCRC’s preferred file type is a file with comma-separated values (.csv). For each student, please use a single row of data for each designated course section that they were ever enrolled in. Students who enrolled in two or more designated study course sections should occupy multiple rows in the prepared dataset.

Student contact information

1. Student ID

2. Student email

3. Course title

4. Course subject

5. Course number

6. Course section

7. Date enrolled

8. Date dropped

9. Instructor ID

9. Request to administrative data liaison for administrative data collection

Dear [DATA LIAISON],

Thank you for serving as the data liaison for the study evaluating the professional learning course Using Technology to Support Postsecondary Student Learning being led by the Community College Research Center (CCRC). As the data liaison for your college, you will prepare and transfer instructor- and student-level data to the CCRC using a Secure File Transfer Protocol in accordance with the terms and conditions listed in our current data sharing agreement. 

Attached to this email please find three documents to assist in the data sharing process: (1) a data sharing memo, (2) a data dictionary, and (3) a data template. 

Please upload all requested data no later than [INSERT DATE]. If you have any questions, please contact [NAME] at CCRC.

 

All the best,

CCRC research team / [RESEARCHERS’ NAMES]

Attachment: (1) data sharing memo; (2) data dictionary; (3) data template

10. Memo on data request for administrative data

January 2025

This memo describes data transfer activities for colleges participating in the research study of the professional learning course Using Technology to Support Postsecondary Student Learning. The data described here should be transferred to the Community College Research Center (CCRC) using a Secure File Transfer Protocol (SFTP) no later than [INSERT DATE].

Please direct any questions to [INSERT RESEARCHER NAME AND EMAIL].

Sample

Data for the research study on the professional learning course Using Technology to Support Postsecondary Student Learning research study will comprise administrative records routinely collected as part of colleges existing operations. Data transferred for the study will include information from the following two distinct groups:

• Instructors. The instructor sample includes all part-time and full-time instructors employed by the college during the fall 2024 academic term. No exclusion criteria are associated with these data.

• Students. The student data includes the subset of students who were ever enrolled in a designated study course during the 2024 academic term. To facilitate the identification of these students, the CCRC research team has compiled a list of applicable course sections. Please provide the requested data on all students who enrolled in the specified course sections regardless of their post-census enrollment status.

File structure

CCRC can accept most file types including Excel, Stata, and text (delimited) files. CCRC’s preferred file type is a file with comma-separated values (.csv).

Data lists

Each number in the following list represents a separate file request and describes the data elements to be included in that specific file. The data dictionary provides additional information, including the preferred format and allowed values for each data element. Please reach out to the CCRC research team if you are not able to supply a variable which is listed below.

1. Demographic and employment indicators (instructor level): This data file will include demographic background and employment information for all instructors employed by the college during the fall 2024 term. Each instructor should occupy only a single row of data. For each observation, please provide the following information (column names):

   1. Unique identifier (Instructor_ID)

   2. First name (Instructor_First_Name)

   3. Last name (Instructor_Last_Name)

   4. Course sbject (Course_Subject)

   5. Course number (Course_Num)

   6. Course section (Course_Sec)

   7. College (College)

   8. Birthdate (Instructor_Birthdate)

   9. Gender (Instructor_Gender)

   10. IPEDS race (Instructor_IPEDS_Race)

   11. Full-time status (Instructor_FT)

   12. Years college-level teaching experience—any institution (Yrs_Exp_Any)

   13. Years college-level teaching experience—at current college (Yrs_Exp_Coll)

2. Demographic and academic indicators (student level): This data file will include demographic background and academic information. Each student should occupy only a single row of data. For each observation (row), please provide the following information (column names):

   1. Student college ID (Student_ID)

   2. Name of College (College)

   3. Gender (Student_Gender)

   4. IPEDS race (Student_IPEDS_Race)

   5. Birthdate (Student_Birthdate)

   6. Pell status - Fall 2024 (Pell_Recipient)

   7. Full-time status – Fall 2024 (Student_FT)

   8. Major CIP code (Major_CIP)

   9. Major description (Major_Dsc)

   10. Degree program (Degree_Program)

   11. Ever a dual-enrolled student (Ever_DE)

   12. Cumulative high school GPA (Cum_HS_GPA)

   13. Math placement score (Test_Score_Math)

   14. English placement score (Test_Score_Eng)

   15. Reading placement score (Test_Score_Read)

   16. Math placement test (Test_Name_Math)

   17. English placement test (Test_Name_Eng)

   18. Reading placement test (Test_Name_Read)

   19. Cumulative college GPA—summer 2024 (Cum_Coll_GPA_Su24)

   20. Cumulative college GPA—fall 2024 (Cum_Coll_GPA_Fa24)

   21. Credential attainment—fall 2024 (Credential_Attain)

   22. Persistence to next term (Persist_to_Next)

3. Transcript data (student-by-section level): This file will include enrollment and transcript information for students enrolled in one or more sections of a designated course during the fall 2024 term. Each row of data will contain student-by-section-level data. Individual students may occupy one or more rows of data, depending on how many sections of a study course they were enrolled in during the fall 2024 term. For each observation (row), please provide the following information (column names):

   1. Student college ID (Student_ID)

   2. Name of college (College)

1. Academic year (Academic_Yr)

2. Academic term (Academic_Term)

3. Instructor unique identifier (Instructor_ID)

4. Course subject (Course_Subject)

5. Course number (Course_Num)

6. Course section (Course_Sec)

7. Course title (Course_Title)

8. Course level (Course_Level)

9. Course general education status (GenEd_Status)

10. Section type (Section_Type)

11. Section mode (Section_Mode)

12. Grade received (Grade_Received)

13. Credits attempted (Cred_Att)

14. Credits earned (Cred_Earn)

11. Request for administrator interview (send two times)

Dear [ADMINISTRATOR],

Thank you for your support for the study evaluating the professional learning course Using Technology to Support Postsecondary Student Learning at your college!

We invite you to participate in a research interview to discuss your perspectives on instructor use of technology in teaching and opportunities for professional learning. The in-person interview will be one hour long and will be scheduled for a time and date that is convenient for you. We are hoping to gain a deeper understanding of strategies at [COLLEGE NAME] to support community college instructors to use evidence-based practices with technology in the classroom. We hope you will consider sharing your experiences with us in an in-person interview. Participation in the interview is voluntary, and what you share during the interview will be kept confidential by the research team in all data analyses and reporting. 

If you are willing and available to speak with us, please use [THIS LINK] to schedule an interview. If you have any questions, please contact [NAME] at CCRC.

Thank you! All the best,

CCRC research team / [RESEARCHERS’ NAMES/EMAILS]

12. Request to facilitator for interview (send two times)

Dear [FACILITATOR],

Thank you for serving as a facilitator for the professional learning course Using Technology to Support Postsecondary Student Learning!

We invite you to participate in a research interview to discuss your experience facilitating the professional learning course. The in-person interview will be one hour long and will be scheduled for a time and date that is convenient for you. We are hoping to gain a fuller and deeper understanding of the professional learning course at [COLLEGE NAME], and we hope you will consider sharing your experiences with us. What you share during the interview will be kept confidential by the research team in all data analyses and reporting. Participation in the interview is voluntary and will have no positive or negative impact on your employment or standing at the college.

If you are willing and available to speak with us, please use [THIS LINK] to schedule an interview. If you have any questions, please contact [NAME] at CCRC.

Thank you!

All the best,

CCRC research team / [RESEARCHERS’ NAMES/EMAILS]