How important are high response rates for college surveys?

Abstract

How important are high survey response rates for estimating population statistics related to the college experience? Given a general decline in survey participation rates among college students, the answer to this question has broad implications for institutional researchers who often use surveys. Survey methodologists have found that low response rates do not necessarily bias results. This study tests this proposition using results from about 250 colleges and universities that administered NSSE. Findings indicate that survey population estimates based on simulated low response rates are very similar to those based on actual high response rates.