How to administer an Exchange Students’ Survey

For your own familiarization with the questionnaire please take the survey yourself, http://www.youthexchangesurvey.info but use “9999” as the sending/sponsor district number, so we can filter your responses from the real ones.  To proceed from page one please answer all questions marked with *: i.e. insert just a letter into the box, or any 4 digits (numbers) for the “host district number“ or tick a box to make a choice – and continue.Ask erwinzeller@speed.at to provide you with a link to perform a survey for one group of students.

From the first 1000 reports we have learned about:

1. How to address the students in order to get a high return rate?
   
   Make it clear to your students (Outbounds or Inbounds) at orientations that they need to reply to any questions, mails from their hosting or sending district without delay (within a day).
   
    - Who should address the students?
   Ensure that someone sends the SurveyMonkey (SM) link to the students (Outbounds or Inbounds) who had prior good personal contact with them (e.g. at selection, orientation, language training, etc.). Students will appreciate their help to make their own exchange come true. Their feeling of “I owe you something in return” will increase their willingness to answer the survey.
   - Multi Districts:
   Don’t send out the survey form to students of all districts by the Multi District office. Let every district do it (the way as advised above).
   
2. When to ask for the survey?
   
   Try to send out the survey before the end of the exchange, i.e. May, June (or December for the southern hemisphere).
   Students appear to be more inclined to fill in the survey form while they still enjoy their exchange.
   Midterm Survey:
   You may get information on your current exchanges in order to take remedial action halfway during the exchange.
3. Which students should be questioned: Inbounds or Outbounds?
   
   - Inbounds:
   Recommended. Those results give you information about conditions of exchanges within your own District. You can take action yourself on shortcomings, if required.
   - Outbounds:
   Results will tell about conditions in the host district. These could be influenced by your own preparation of your Outbounds – Selection, Orientation, Language Preparation, Influence from Parents, etc. However, it is difficult to influence conditions abroad and students may be surveyed twice, by you and by their Host District.
4. Final Report sent to you
   
   Our SM-webmaster will conclude the survey when no more students’ reports come in and send the result to you. This report includes names of reporting students; however, you/we cannot trace back the answers to them individually (confidentiality obligation).