Preparing for Deployment - Student Survey

Thank you for your interest in participating in the Canadian Campus Wellbeing Survey (CCWS). On this page you will find resources that will give you more information about the CCWS for students to assist you with deployment. We recommend reading all documents prior to beginning your Research Ethics Board (REB) application and visiting our Frequently Asked Questions page. Please contact us if you have any questions after reviewing these resources.

Step 1: Pick a deployment window

This academic year we are encouraging all interested institutions to take part in the Winter 2024 deployment so that more comparison options will be available. If your institution, or cohort, would prefer to take part in the Fall 2023 deployment you can choose to do so, but there may be limited comparisons available with other institutions taking part at the same time.

The following timelines provide a general overview of preparations for deployment. Please review the Implementation Checklist for your deployment for additional details. The checklists can be downloaded below or found in Appendix 4 of the Technical Documentation. It is important to begin the ethics approval process early, as unexpected delays and revisions to applications often occur – please do not underestimate the suggested timeline.

The recommended timelines below are meant to avoid any delays in your survey deployment, but there is some flexibility depending on how long each step takes at your institution and whether or not you have taken part in the student and/or employee survey(s) before. There may be some efficiencies if your REB allows one application to be submitted for both surveys, or for the application to be renewed/extended for additional deployments, rather than starting a new application. Please indicate your interest in participating as close to the recommended timeline as you can so that we can hire and train additional data analysts, if needed. Participating at shorter notice may not be able to be accommodated depending on the workload for our data analyst(s). If you have any questions about your timeline please contact us at survey@ccws-becc.ca.

Fall 2023

• By April 1, 2023: Initiate REB applications and approval of service agreement at one’s institution

  • Begin discussions at your institution about additional questions, promoting the survey, and the mail out option that will work best for you and your IT department

  • Request a service agreement for your institution from the CCWS team

• By July 31, 2023: Submit REB documentation and signed service agreement to CCWS

• By mid-September 2023: Submit Fall Implementation Checklist and cohort file to CCWS (stable enrolment date)

  • Implementation checklist must be received at least two weeks prior to survey deployment

• October-December 2023: Typical survey deployment window

• Spring 2024: CCWS preparing deliverables to institutions

Winter 2024

• By June 1, 2023: Initiate REB applications and approval of service agreement at one’s institution

  • Begin discussions at your institution about additional questions, promoting the survey, and the mail out option that will work best for you and your IT department

  • Request a service agreement for your institution from the CCWS team

• By October 31, 2023: Submit REB documentation and signed service agreement to CCWS

• By mid-January 2024: Submit Winter Implementation Checklist and cohort file to CCWS (stable enrolment date)

  • Implementation checklist must be received at least two weeks prior to survey deployment

• February-March 2024: Typical survey deployment window

• Summer 2024: CCWS preparing deliverables to institutions

Step 2: Review service agreement and initiate conversation with your ethics board

Once you have selected a deployment window, the next step is to have your institution review the Service Agreement and begin conversations with your research ethics board to determine if you will have to undergo review (more details about this in the Information Package). Please contact us once you have decided to participate and we will prepare a service agreement for your institution. 

We have provided a Research Ethics Board application template to assist with this process. The Technical Documentation provides additional information on deployment, such as email templates, sample size, mail out options, and cohort file formats.

Please contact us if you would like to access the additional question repository of questions used in previous deployments. The questions and response options have been de-identified so that the PSI(s) who used the questions are anonymous.

Service Agreement

Institutions confirm agreement with these conditions when registering for the survey. ‘Schedule A’ refers to the Information Package. This is a sample - please contact us when you would like to deploy and we will prepare an agreement specifically for your institution.

REB Template

Common ethics application questions and responses for deployment at your institution.

Survey (English)

For a look at questions that will be asked in the CCWS.

Step 3: Submit signed Service Agreement and letter of approval or exemption for your ethics board

After contacting us to prepare a Service Agreement for your institution, it must be reviewed and signed by the appropriate authorities. We advise you to consult with your legal counsel or risk management department if you do not know who has the appropriate level of signing authority. Any requested revisions to the document should be arranged by contacting the CCWS team.

In all cases, documentation will need to be provided to CCWS of the institution’s approval or exemption from their institution’s REB review. In cases where your institution’s REB requires review, or if senior administration requires further guidance for granting approval, support will be provided by the CCWS team to help institutions obtain the approvals that are required for conducting the survey – this could be in the form of template answers for ethics application or assistance with specific ethics questions. Please contact us with any questions or to submit your document.

Step 4: Complete your implementation checklist

Please continue to complete the implementation checklist and prepare related documents for your deployment cycle. Once completed it can be returned to survey@ccws-becc.ca. The Technical Documentation provides additional information on deployment, such as email templates, sample size, mail out options, and cohort file formats. We recommend beginning conversations early with your IT department, registrar’s office, Institutional Research team, or other departments that you may need to connect with to complete the implementation checklist.

Please send your completed implementation checklist and related documents to the CCWS team at least two weeks prior to the survey deployment start date that you have selected to avoid any delays in your deployment. Please contact us if you have any questions or concerns about this timeline.

Please contact us if you require any assistance as you prepare for deployment. We look forward to bringing the CCWS to your institution.