Improving Response Rates to an Alumni Survey in East Africa
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Date
2017-10-25
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Publisher
Advances in Social Sciences Research Journal
Abstract
Feedback from students and graduates is essential to inform ongoing quality
improvement in higher education. However, African universities often face
implementation issues in alumni surveys, including technological barriers and
difficulties in tracking graduates, particularly those from earlier cohorts and rural
alumni. Innovative strategies are needed to locate alumni and obtain a good response
rate across widely dispersed, rural and remote areas. This paper reports on strategies
used to increase response rates in an East African online alumni survey in a context of
limited computer/Internet access. The survey aimed to assess the impact of nursing
graduates over a 15 year period (2001–2016). Strategies focused on locating and
communicating with graduates and providing solutions to barriers associated with
computer/Internet access. Better engagement with alumni was achieved using mobile
technologies and social media networks. Facilitating access to online surveys by taking
technology to alumni or providing hubs for online access encouraged survey
participation. The strategies discussed in this study are particularly relevant for
clustered or networked alumni populations (e.g. nurses) in low income and limited
resource settings.
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Citation
Mwizerwa, J., Robb, W., Namukwaya, C., Namuguzi, M., & Brownie, S. (2017). Improving response rates to an alumni survey in East Africa. Advances in Social Sciences Research Journal, 4(20), 120.