News

Expanding Research Resources

The need for quality data and timely information in PA education is greater than ever, so PAEA Research is adding new services and improving established ones to expand the ways in which we support programs. Among these enhancements are changes to our previous “Data on Demand: Matriculating Students” program. Now part of our Personalized Student Insights suite of offerings, this program will continue to be an opportunity for programs to apply to receive their own matriculating students’ responses to the Matriculating Student Survey (MSS).

Based on your feedback, we have made the following key changes to expand program access to data:

  • In previous years, all programs had to submit an application by December, regardless of when they matriculate students. We will now accept applications on a rolling basis — they will be due the month prior to your students’ matriculation.
  • Programs may now apply for either identified data (i.e., including consenting students’ names) or deidentified data (i.e., excluding students’ names and other personally identifying information such as ZIP code). The distinction will allow programs to select the option that is most appropriate for their anticipated uses and level of IRB oversight.
  • Programs may now access data if at least 65% of their matriculating cohort participates in the MSS. In previous years, the threshold was 80%. We want to lower programs’ barriers to accessing data while also protecting participants’ privacy.

Joining personalized matriculating student data in the Personalized Student Insights portfolio are personalized student reports. These reports summarize individual programs’ student responses to selected questions from the MSS and End of Program Survey (EOPS) and can be compared to the national data published annually in our By the Numbers: Student Report series. Items were chosen for their relevance to program decision-making, evaluation, and self-study. If this sounds familiar, it may be because we have been providing EOPS reports since 2019. However, this offering has been improved and expanded for our 2021 student surveys: Not only are we updating our template reports with the new ARC Standards in mind, but we will also offer a new report for the MSS. The new 2021 template reports are still under development but check back soon to learn more about how to get these important data for your program. You can read more about how our Personalized Student Insights program works and how to apply here.

Are you looking for information beyond what’s available from our Personalized Student Insights? Our Data on Demand program may have what you need. Raw data and custom reports from our robust surveys of PA programs, educators, and students, as well as from CASPA, are available to support ARC self-study, evaluation, benchmarking, research, and scholarly work. Even if you are already familiar with these offerings — check out the pages now — we’ve recently added more details about the type of data available, eligibility criteria, and how to successfully apply.

PAEA Research is committed to helping programs thrive by offering the best quality data and reports about PA education. Don’t hesitate to contact us at research@PAEAonline.org at any time with your questions. We’re here to support you.