NSSE Shorts is locally administered. Each campus is responsible for administering the survey to their undergraduate students. A campus can choose to survey groups of students (e.g., first-year and sophomore students) or all of their undergraduate students.

The fall surveys open September 1, 2025 and closes December 15, 2025. The winter/spring surveys open January 19, 2026 and closes April 30, 2026. You can administer the surveys at any time during these period.

Schools can administer the survey to students using email, LMS, group administration. See Using Student Portals & Learning Management Systems for more details about uploading student-specific links to LMS. Also see the "IRB Documents" below for approved promotional text if you choose to use promotional materials.

1. Using the institution-only specific survey URL with no personally identifiable student information
Data and results using this survey URL will provides the institution with summary results and data downloadable in real time. The institution will also be able to filter results by student responses to demographic questions (if applicable). Student responses using the institution-only specific links will be anonymous.

2. Student-specific links using masked student ID's
Student-specific links will contain a student identifier. This identifier created by the institution must be a masked student identifier that corresponds to the real student identification that is maintained in a crosswalk file by the institution. The campus also has the option to include up to 3 grouping variables associated with each student survey response. For example, an institution can include major, academic advisor, and Pell Grant status for each student response. These custom fields should be maintained in the same crosswalk file with the masked/real student identification.

NSSE Shorts will create and post to the dashboard the student-specific links for a campus to download. See the instructions in “Administration” dashboard page for more details uploading a student list to create unique survey urls.

With student-specific links, the institution will be able to monitor survey completions and follow up with only those who have not yet responded. The data also provides the institution the opportunity to reach out to students in a timely manner. For example, the campus can reach out to those students who are not sure they will return the next fall or are experiencing academic difficulties.

Data and results will provide the institution with summary results and data that are downloadable in real time. The institution will also be able to filter results by student responses and "grouping variables" (if applicable).

3. A combination of the two options above
A campus can also use both URL formats. For example, an institution may use student-specific links for its first-year students and institution-only specific links for all other students.

Email Invitation Message Templates
The email invitation templates are located in the NSSE Shorts dashboard. You can customize the invitations. For instance, if using option 2 above, you may merge in the student’s name rather than using the default, “Dear <institution name> student:”. You may also change who the email is sent from or the subject line. Any other modifications may not convey a message that the survey is required or mandatory, or in any way, implicitly or explicitly contradicts the informed consent statement that is located on the first screen of the survey. The NSSE Shorts contact information must remain intact and unaltered.