Note: a version of this blog post originally appeared as an email sent to all Hopkins students on October 21, 2024. It has been slightly modified for this format.
Dear Student:
As part of a university wide survey initiative, JHU Student Health & Well-being is inviting all degree-seeking students to participate in the National College Health Assessment (NCHA) sponsored and distributed by the American College Health Association (ACHA). The ACHA-NCHA is a survey designed to assess student health behaviors to provide better services and support for JHU students. You may benefit by knowing you have helped provide accurate information about our campus’s health/wellness behaviors. Data from past surveys have been used to enhance services, create health campaigns, and provide tailored training to school-based faculty and staff on health and wellness topics.
The NCHA-Web is completed online via the Internet. We encourage you to complete the survey in one sitting, which typically takes about 20-30 minutes. All students who submit a survey will be automatically entered into a drawing for 50 $10 electronic Amazon gift cards and five (5) randomly selected participants will have the opportunity to select from one of the following prizes: Apple AirPods Pro, Beats Headphones, Nintendo Switch, or Garmin Fitness Watch.
There may be some personal discomfort with the content of certain questions. For example, there are questions regarding illegal substance use, interpersonal violence, and sexual behavior. If you’d like to talk with someone about issues addressed in the survey, you may contact a mental health provider:
Your participation is completely voluntary and confidential. To ensure confidentiality, e-mail addresses are destroyed by ACHA before data is compiled and shared with JHU. The raw data file that is shared with your school will not contain any unique identifiers. If you feel that answering specific demographic questions might reveal your identity, you may leave them blank. You may answer only some questions, or you may choose not to participate in the survey at all. Any reports or publications based on this research will use only group data and will not identify you or any individual as being affiliated with this project.
By taking this survey, you consent to participate in the study and agree that the purpose of this study has been satisfactorily explained to you. You understand you are free to discontinue participation at any time if you so choose and that the researcher will gladly answer any questions that may arise during the course of the research. Refusing or withdrawing from this study will be at no penalty or loss of benefits to you.
You may contact Caress Roach at [email protected] if you have questions or concerns about the survey. Please add NCHA to the subject line.
Data transmission is encrypted, and firewall securities are in place. After you submit the survey to the secure server, a message thanking you for taking the NCHA-Web will be displayed in your browser window, and you will receive a confirmation email.
Thank you for your participation!
Kevin Shollenberger, JHU Vice Provost for Student Health and Well-Being, & The American College Health Association