North Columbus News

The Ohio State University Graduate School has achieved the top national ranking in student survey completions, surpassing the University of Texas at Austin. The biennial Graduate Student Experience in the Research University survey, known as gradSERU, provides insights into students' experiences.

Graduate School Dean Mary Stromberger explained that the survey helps understand various aspects of graduate students' education beyond classroom activities. "It helps us understand what graduate students are experiencing in all aspects of their education," she said.

The Graduate School first conducted this survey in 2023, and according to Stromberger, it provided valuable insights. "I’m excited to see the data this year because not only will we get to benchmark our data with the data of the other universities that participated," she stated.

This year, Ohio State increased its survey completion rate by 5% from 2023 when it had a 15% completion rate. Matt Swift, strategic communications program manager for the Graduate School, detailed methods used to improve response rates. "We dove into response rates and email open rates to see which programs were opening [survey emails]," he said.

Efforts included collaboration with Ohio State’s Council of Graduate Students and using various strategies such as posting signs with QR codes around campus and placing an advertisement in The Lantern student newspaper. A checklist item was also added in BuckeyeLearn to remind students about completing the survey.

In-person events during Graduate Student Appreciation Week helped promote participation. Carly Logan, education program specialist at the Graduate School, noted positive interactions with students: “You started to recognize people... They were excited to see us and were like, ‘I did the survey. Thank you.’”

Andrew Blatter, senior strategic planning analyst at Ohio State's Graduate School, highlighted that while other universities experienced decreased responses, Ohio State saw an increase due to their efforts. In final weeks, reminder emails appealed to Buckeyes’ competitive spirit. Swift mentioned a motivating message sent out: “That last email that we sent... was ‘We are so close to being No. 1 in the nation... Help us beat Texas,’” he said.