George Mason University joined the CampusESP family in February 2021, and they launched the Mason Family Connection to over 10,000 families after a seamless four-week implementation.

In George Mason’s very first quarter as a CampusESP customer, we’re pleased to award them the Q2 ESP MVP Award for outstanding use of surveys and forms!

George Mason conducted their Spring 2021 Family Survey in CampusESP, and they achieved a 400% increase in survey responses, compared to the previous semester’s survey in a different platform. Of the 590 responses, 75% of families said the Mason Family Connection is “Important” or “Very Important” to their experience as a George Mason family member.

Collect data and feedback to refine your family engagement strategy

George Mason’s survey gathered family sentiments about:

• What resources and programs are important to families 

• What other programming families would like to see

• How families prefer to be engaged 

• Family connectedness to the college 

• How families can get more involved with the higher education institution

• Student success across academics, mental health, student involvement, and more 

The survey consisted of demographic questions, quantitative rating questions, and open-ended qualitative questions to gather sentiments and overall feedback. With the flexibility of questions in their survey, GMU gathered multiple forms of rich data that they can use to plan for future semesters.

For higher ed institutions that don’t typically offer a family survey, there are other ways to collect valuable information from families in CampusESP. Any time a new user registers for CampusESP, they complete an onboarding form to tell you more about their family, their student, and their interest so institutions can provide a customized experience. 

This same form functionality can also be applied to event registration forms, Parent Council applications, questions for campus partners prior to Orientation, and more!

What’s the benefit of using surveys in CampusESP? 

Daylen Orlick, GMU’s Assistant Director of Family Programs, told us, "Being able to utilize the Survey tool in the Mason Family Connection allowed us to promote and engage with families more than ever before. Within the first 24 hours of launching the survey, we saw more than 200 responses pile in and a wide array of feedback. In addition to using the Survey tool, being able to utilize the Campaigns function to promote in our newsletter, community pages, and general feed allowed us to increase our click through rates and engagement from families.”

A key reason GMU was able to survey responses by 400% was that they had more engagement tools at their disposal to publicize the survey. The Mason Families staff leveraged Campaigns, Announcements, and Newsletters in CampusESP to get the word out.

And the best part? Families are already accustomed to using CampusESP and trust the portal as a place to engage with the institution directly.

So you’ve got survey responses! Now what?

The Mason families team is planning on utilizing this data and feedback to tailor their family engagement strategy to exactly what their families need.

According to Orlick, the Assistant Director of Family Programs, “CampusESP helped us to gather information that will determine our future family engagement strategy both inside and outside of the Mason Family Connection around what families told us they want, need, and already enjoy!”

In George Mason’s survey, 71% of families stated that they feel valued by the Mason community. And now, GMU is even more equipped to make decisions that help families feel even more valued and supported!

Congratulations, George Mason!

Are you interested in increasing your college’s survey response rate as well? Create your own Survey or Form in CampusESP, by checking out our Guide to Creating a Survey or Form!