You are invited to participate in a research survey being coordinated by Debra Allen and Laura Millay at the University of Maine’s Office of Institutional Research and Assessment in collaboration with staff at The University of Maine. The purpose of this research is to better understand how well the University prepares graduates and, in turn, will help us continually improve the educational experience for our students.
You must be at least 18 years old to participate.
What Will You Be Asked to Do?
- If you decide to participate, you will be asked to answer questions about your current employment, educational status, how prepared you feel for employment or education, the experiences you had during college, and your use and satisfaction with the Career Center on your campus.
- The survey will take about 10 - 15 minutes.
- By agreeing to participate in this research, you are allowing us to access your academic and demographic information, which will be linked to your responses.
Risks
Except for your time and inconvenience, there are no additional risks to you from participating in this study.
Benefits
This research will help The University of Maine to better understand longer-term success outcomes of our graduates. While his research may not have any direct benefits to you, overall this research has the potential to inform future practices and, in turn, benefit future students attending the University of Maine System.
Compensation
In appreciation of your time, we will enter you into a drawing for one of 22 $50 Amazon gift cards (21 for UMaine graduates and 1 for Machias graduates). Your chances of winning one of these prizes depend on how many respond to the survey. The estimated number eligible for the drawing is 1,000 for UMaine and 50 for UMaine Machias. You must reach the end of the survey to be eligible for the drawing, although skipping individual questions will not affect eligibility. We will contact winners through the email we sent the survey to or an updated email if one was provided.
Confidentiality
In order to link answers to your university records, we will collect name and e-mail address and your responses will remain on the Qualtrics survey during data collection. We will delete survey data from Qualtrics in February 2026. Following collection, the only data that will remain associated with you are your primary status (e.g. employed, continuing education, military, etc.), your employer or the institution where you are studying, and your job title or program of study. To ensure your confidentiality, all other responses will be separate from your identifying information and assigned to a 10-digit random code. The key to this random code will be kept indefinitely on a computer with additional security, separate from your responses and accessible only to a limited number of people on the research team. For reporting and publication purposes, all data will be reported in the aggregate and care will be taken to ensure individuals are not identifiable.
Voluntary
Your participation is voluntary. You may decline to answer individual questions or withdraw your consent and discontinue participating at any time.
Contact Information
If you have any questions about the survey or associated research, please contact Deb Allen (debra.allen@maine.edu), Laura Millay (laura.millay@maine.edu), or the Office of Research Compliance, University of Maine (umric@maine.edu, 207-581-2657).
Please indicate whether you consent to participate in this survey.