ETAP PI Satisfaction Survey

Principal investigator system user satisfaction survey

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Email invitation
Seeking to expand its monitoring and evaluation capacity, and fueled by congressional calls for greater accountability in
federal investments*, the National Science Foundation (NSF) contracted Mathematica to develop and pilot test a new
data collection system: The NSF Education and Training Application (ETAP). We are writing to you because you
participated in this pilot.
We hope you can take a few minutes to respond to a survey about your experience with the ETAP system so
far. We value your opinion and hope your feedback can help inform NSF’s next steps. If someone else in your
Site/Project—for example, a co-principal investigator or a manager—would be in a better position to answer questions
about the data system, please forward the survey link to them. The survey is here.
We thank you once again for participating in the ETAP pilot and sharing your thoughts through the survey.
Warmly,
ETAP help desk team
*See, for example, the America COMPETES Reauthorization Act of 2010 and the recent Evidence-Based Policymaking
Act of 2018.
__________________________________________________________

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ETAP System Pilot – Principal Investigator feedback survey
Note that your responses are confidential and will only be reported in the aggregate.
Your experience with the ETAP System
1.

Which system functionalities did you use? Please check all that apply.

 Provided information about my Site/Project through the principal investigator’s module
 Downloaded data files with information submitted by students
 Downloaded PDF copies of students’ applications or supporting information
 Uploaded information for several students at once using bulk upload
 Reported admissions decisions

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2.

Overall, how satisfied are you with the ETAP system?

 Very dissatisfied  Somewhat dissatisfied  Neutral  Somewhat satisfied  Very satisfied
3.

What was most helpful about the data system?
Text box, xxx

4.

What was least helpful about the data system?
Text box, xxx

5.

How likely are you to recommend using the ETAP system to colleagues?
 Unlikely  Likely  Very likely

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6.

Did you contact the help desk for assistance?

 Yes
 No
7.

How satisfied were you with the support you received from the help desk?

 Very dissatisfied  Somewhat dissatisfied  Neutral  Somewhat satisfied  Very satisfied

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Suggestions for system changes and enhancements
Help desk inquiries helped us identify several potential changes to the system. We welcome your input to
help us prioritize the improvements that are most useful to you.
8.

Please describe the revisions or improvements you would like to see in the ETAP system.
Text box, xxx

9.

How important are the following enhancements to the common application?

a. Being able to do a single bulk
download of all applications—
that is, download all PDF
applications with the push of a
button
b. Allowing reference writers to
submit letters that are tailored to
my Site/Project
c. Allowing applicants to submit a
statement of purpose tailored to
my Site/Project
d. Allowing students to withdraw
their application to my Site if
they have already accepted an
offer from another Site/Project
e. Adding functionality to
communicate admissions
decisions to students through
the system
f. Adding functionality to
communicate with students (not
restricted to admissions
decisions)

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Not at
all
importa
nt

Low
importan
ce

Neutral

Importa
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Very
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Participation during the [year] application cycle
10.

If the ETAP System were offered “as is” for the upcoming application cycle, would you use it
again?
 Yes
 No
 I am not sure

b. If there were one system enhancement that could ensure you will
use the system for the next application cycle, what would it be? Please describe it here:
Text box, xxx

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Invitation to debrief
11.

Check the box below if you are interested in a quick follow-up conversation to provide additional
feedback or suggestions for improvements. We will contact you to schedule a 30-minute call soon.
□ Yes, let’s talk! Here’s my contact information to schedule the call:
Name:
Email:

Text box, xxx
Text box, xxx

SUBMIT YOUR
SURVEY
Thank you for your time!
On behalf of NSF, we thank you again for being part of the pilot and taking the time to provide feedback.

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