I was having a lot of difficulty getting our graduates and their employers to return the program surveys to us when I mailed them out.  So, I decided to do the surveys over the phone.  At the outset of each call, I tell them that it will take about 10 minutes of their time and ask them to be as honest and objective as they can be, then I read out the questions and fill out their responses as they give them to me.  I also paraphrase their comments and read them back to them.  I am pleased to say that we get an almost 100% response rate now and this feedback has really helped improve our program!
Catherine Carolan RDCS RDMS RVT, Program Coordinator, Echocardiology Program, El Centro College, Dallas, TX

My colleague, George Nelson, is the Coordinator of the Invasive Cardiovascular Program at El Centro College.  He too, was having difficulty getting program surveys returned.  George and his adjunct faculty took copies of the surveys and as they did their clinical visits to current students (where many of their graduates were also employed).  They would hand out the surveys to the graduates and the supervisors of the labs and have those individuals complete them while they waited.  George was able to significantly improve his return rate using this technique.
Catherine Carolan RDCS RDMS RVT, Program Coordinator, Echocardiology Program, El Centro College, Dallas, TX

Our program uses a dual approach. We first send graduate surveys electronically and via postal service with a self addressed returned stamped envelope to the college. This has been helpful with getting students to send surveys back and students may choose the method to complete the survey. On occasion our clinical faculty need to hand carry the evaluations to students but we have had good success with the dual approach.
Lois Schaffer, M.Ed. RT(R), RCIS, Program Director, Harrisburg Area Community College, Lancaster, PA