At the request of Enrollment Management, ASER, in collaboration with University Analytics and Institutional Research (UAIR), developed an in-house Survey of Admitted Students (SAS), to fill a void left by the discontinuation of The College Board’s Admitted Student Questionnaire (ASQ)®.
Survey Design
Researchers designed two versions of the survey - one for individuals who decided to enroll at UMass Amherst (SAS-E), and one for those who elected not to enroll (SAS-N). The primary aim of the SAS is to gather data that can provide insights about factors that influence admitted students’ decisions to attend - or not attend – UMass Amherst, including:
- Ease/difficulty of deciding which college to attend
- Categories of people who encouraged students to apply to UMass Amherst
- Where the University ranked as a choice among institutions applied to
- The names of other institutions students most seriously considered attending
- The importance of specific characteristics (e.g., academic reputation, affordability, institution size) in students’ decision to attend UMass Amherst
- Perceptions of key descriptors and widely held views of UMass Amherst
In addition, non-enrolling students were asked which institution they chose to attend, how their destination institution compares to UMass Amherst on a variety of dimensions, and what would have made UMass Amherst more attractive to them.
Survey Methods
ASER administered the SAS online in May and June of 2023. Survey invitations were sent via email to 5,575 newly enrolled students and 22,448 non-enrolling individuals. Follow-up reminders were sent to non-respondents to encourage and facilitate participation in the confidential, 3-5 minute survey. The final response rate was a robust 43% (n=2,388) for enrolling students and 27% (n=6,124) for non-enrolling. Social identity characteristics of survey-takers mirrored or closely matched those of the target population.
SAS 2023 Tableau Dashboards
Trained users have access to the interactive SAS 2023 Dashboard on the ASER Tableau site (University sign-in required). View survey results by college/school of admittance, residency status, first generation status, race/ethnicity, sex, and whether UMass Amherst was a student’s first-choice destination at the time of application.