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Qualtrics is the campus-wide survey platform which allows campus programs, departments, and individuals to create, distribute, and analyze survey results.  Whether you want to collect data for research, design a test/quiz, or for experimental design with your students, Qualtrics will work for you. 

Data retention and privacy policy

Starting July 1, 2025, ITS will be turning on Qualtrics data retention and privacy policies to better protect Centre data and for protecting any surveys that may contain PII. Any survey data and distribution lists that are older than 2 years will automatically be deleted and you will not be able to retrieve the survey data. Only the survey data, directories (contacts) and libraries are removed once we turn this feature on. However, it is best practice to always make a copy or export your survey, just in case.

As part of the Qualtrics data retention and privacy settings and we are able to allow survey responses to be kept for 2 years from the last survey response.  We can also allow a survey to be exempt.  If this is something you feel you need, please reach out to helpdesk@centre.edu by June 15, 2025.  This policy will run on a quarterly basis, so it is best practice to export your survey data when your survey closes.  Once data is deleted, ITS has no way of retrieving the data back.

Please follow the best practice below on exporting your non PII data and saving out your surveys.  Remember, when you create a Qualtrics survey you should not ask for personally identifiable information (PII) such as home addresses, birthdates, financial, passport photos, etc. If you have this data within a Qualtrics survey, please delete the data immediately. 

Step 1: Exporting your survey data
In the Data and Analysis tab, you can export your raw survey data as an excel file, .csv file, and more.  By clicking Data and Analysis and choosing the Export & Import option < Export data < you can then choose which file type to export your data as.  The default is a .csv file which can be opened in Excel.  This is your raw data and contains all the answers your respondents have completed from the survey.

Step 2: Saving out your survey
In the survey design, click on the Tools option < Import/Export option < and choose how you want to export the survey. Your options include exporting as a Qualtrics file (.qsf), exporting as a Word document, and printing the survey (which can then be saved as a .pdf file).  I recommend you export all of your surveys out to at least one of these options. 

Once your survey and data are exported, you can then delete your surveys.  If you delete a survey, you will not be able to get it back, so it’s important to export your data, as well as the survey.  If you plan on reusing the survey again, I recommend making a copy of the survey.

Step 3: Deleting older directories and libraries
It’s important to clean up and delete any directories and libraries that are older than 2 years. Directories (formerly known as contact lists) and libraries (which are email messages, reminders, and thank you messages).  Directories and libraries older than 2 years will get deleted once we turn on Qualtrics data privacy and retention.

What if I am not the owner of a survey?
If you are working with students and they are the owner of a survey, then you would need to export the survey and survey data.  You can also request to the helpdesk@centre.edu about transferring ownership of a survey.  Student owned surveys are deleted 1 year after graduating from Centre.

Sending out a survey

• Qualtrics libraries

• Anonymize survey responses

• Partial completion

Data and Analysis

• Data and analysis overview

• Exporting response data

• Combining responses from two surveys

• Cross tabulation – comparing questions