FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (FAQ)
What is the Center for Student Opinion Research?
The Center for Student Opinion Research is an organization that designs and fields opinion research studies with prospective and current students at independent, undergraduate, graduate and professional schools. The research is conducted on behalf of educational institutions nationwide with a goal of helping colleges serve students better. The Center for Student Opinion Research is a division of Art & Science Group, and for some projects works in partnership with WBA Research.
Why was I contacted?
We reached out to you gain your perspective on either deciding where to go to school, your experience during school or to learn why you’re thinking about an advanced degree. For more insight into the types of education institutions we work with, check out our client case studies.
In addition, we might reach out to you as a part of a nation-wide study we conduct every year called studentPOLL. You can check out our recent editions here.
How do I participate?
If you are selected to participate in a study, you should have received detailed instructions in an email or phone call from us or one of our researchers at WBA Research. Each study is different, so if you have questions, please feel free to email CollegeSurvey@artsci.com (online survey) or call WBA Research 1-800-383-2324 (telephone survey). Unfortunately, we cannot accept volunteers who have not met our strict inclusion criteria for a specific study.
I was contacted for a research study, now what?
You will receive a project reference code in an email or phone call from the Center for Student Opinion Research. If you were contacted for an online survey, just click the link in your invitation. If you would like to participate in a telephone survey, please call WBA Research at 1-800-383-2324 to schedule an interview time. We’ll also try giving you a call. If you would rather not participate, simply opt-out of our emails or tell us you prefer not to have your input included in the study. However, we really hope you will want to participate as your thoughts and opinions are extremely valuable to the project!
How long do your surveys take?
Your survey invitation will provide our best approximation for how long it should take you to complete the survey. The majority of our research surveys are completed online and take a total of 20 to 30 minutes. We occasionally conduct surveys over the phone that often take 30 to 40 minutes.
What do I get if I participate?
Some of our research studies offer gift cards (to Amazon or other popular retailers) as compensation for your time. The amount of compensation depends on the length and difficulty of the survey. Gift cards for completing our surveys will typically be emailed to you by our incentive partner, Rybbon. Some surveys will allow us to provide immediate delivery of the gift card at the completion of the survey. Others will require days or weeks to process the data and gift cards prior to delivery. We will always strive to get your gift card to you as quickly as possible. Thank you in advance for your patience.
How do you share what I say in my survey?
We only report aggregate data to education institutions. That means your specific thoughts and what you tell us will remain totally confidential and anonymous. Your individual responses are only seen by our research team during the analysis process.
How did you get my email or phone number?
We obtain contact information from the records at education institutions who we partner with for specific studies.
But I am on the no-call list, so why are you calling me?
We are market researchers, not telemarketers. The National Do Not Call Registry applies only to telemarketing companies. This means we might call you even if you have registered with the National Do Not Call Registry; however, if you tell us you do not wish to participate in the research, we will not call you again. Click here for more information.
Is this a scam?
Definitely not! The Center for Student Opinion Research has been conducting research studies since 1994 and has worked with hundreds of institutions, including schools, colleges, universities and graduate and professional schools, to improve the education landscape.
But, to ease your mind, you can see data on what actual participants say about us on the “Participating in a Research Study” page.
Is my data protected?
Absolutely! We do not share or sell any private or confidential data under any circumstances. Click here for more information.
If you have any additional questions or concerns, please email them to CollegeSurvey@artsci.com.