Sensor Science Division Short Course Evaluation - Supporting Statement

OMB Control No. # 0693-0031 – NIST Generic Request for Customer Service-Related Data Collections

NIST Sensor Science Division Short Course Evaluation

FOUR STANDARD SURVEY QUESTIONS

1. Explain who will be surveyed and why the group is appropriate to survey.

Students of the Sensor Science Division Short Courses will be invited to voluntarily answer the evaluation questions. These students are the actual participants of the lectures and hands-on laboratory sessions during the short courses.

2. Explain how the survey was developed including consultation with interested parties, pre-testing, and responses to suggestions for improvement.

This evaluation was developed by the organizers of the short courses with approval from management but without any prior pre-testing. After each short course, all of the evaluations are reviewed and discussed by the organizers and staff involved with the short course. The organizers then make assignments for dealing with each suggestion to improve the short course.

3. Explain how the survey will be conducted, how customers will be sampled if fewer than all customers will be surveyed, expected response rate, and actions your agency plans to take to improve the response rate.

All students are invited to respond to the evaluation. Usually about 90% or more of each class (15 or 28 students) respond to the evaluation. The Sensor Science Division does not plan to take any steps to improve the already high response rate.

4. Describe how the results of the survey will be analyzed and used to generalize the results to the entire customer population.

The quantitative ratings of each lecture and laboratory for different aspects are averaged and plotted. These plots and results are used by the organizers to gage which lectures and labs need improvement and which are doing very well. The open-ended questions are collated and summarized so that organizers can see the whole list of best-liked and least-liked aspects, and suggestions for improvement.