Options and Rates

These rates are based on fall Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) total headcount enrollment in credit classes.*

The base price of SENSE covers multiple services related to the survey administration, a dedicated college liaison for real-time support, data analyses, and reporting.

Note: For multi-college institutions vs. single colleges with multiple campuses, pricing is determined by IPEDS/accreditation status.

*For a number of purposes related to our work, it is important that we rely on publicly reported data that will ensure a degree of consistency and reliability across highly diverse institutions. For that reason, we base our survey administration fees and sampling numbers on enrollment data reported by IPEDS. In addition, CCCSE uses IPEDS data on certain variables describing college student populations, including student age, race/ethnicity, full-time vs. part-time enrollment, etc.

Multi-campus institutions that report to IPEDS as single entities and would like to receive campus-level reporting should contact info@cccse.org for administration design and pricing inquiries.

Invoices for SENSE will be sent to college presidents on or around October 1, 2024, with payment due by December 1, 2024.

Costs for Survey Shipments Outside of Continental North America

Colleges outside of continental North America will be sent a second invoice for outbound UPS or FedEx shipping costs. Colleges outside of continental North America will be responsible for return shipping and all associated costs, and for ensuring that surveys reach CCCSE by the administration deadline. Please contact surveyops@cccse.org with questions.

All accredited associate degree-granting colleges are eligible to participate in the CCCSE surveys.

For colleges that award both associate and baccalaureate degrees, the CCCSE surveys are the appropriate choice when the majority of degrees awarded are at the associate level.

If a college is eligible for more than one discount, only the discount of highest value applies.

Commitment to Join SENSE and CCSSE

Administer both SENSE and the Community College Survey of Student Engagement (CCSSE) in either the same academic year or the same calendar year and receive up to a 40% discount on the base price of the second administration of the pair (percentage is dependent upon combination of other discounts, if any). The college will be billed for each survey administration during each survey’s normal billing cycle, unless other arrangements have been made. This discount applies only to a pair of back-to-back administrations of SENSE and CCSSE.

Discount for New Colleges

For colleges that are new to CCCSE surveys (have never participated in either SENSE or CCSSE), we offer a one-time 25% discount on the base fee of the first survey administration. For new colleges that register for the subsequent survey, the base fee of the second survey will be discounted 15%.

Discount for Statewide Consortia

Members of statewide consortia receive a 15% discount on the base price. A statewide consortium consists of all colleges in a state or state system. For statewide consortium colleges that register for the subsequent survey, the base fee of the second survey will be discounted 25%.

Contact us at info@cccse.org or 512-471-6807 for more information about discounts.

Colleges can administer SENSE in randomly selected classes or as a fully online survey. The in-class administration can be done using paper instruments or by having students complete the survey using their computers or smart devices. All administration modalities contain the same survey items.

Online administration: The survey link is shared broadly to a census sample of all survey eligible students. Colleges promote survey participation in various ways, including via e-mail, text messaging, or the Learning Management System. Students typically take the survey in their own time using their personal computers, smartphones, or tablets. Colleges considering an online administration should review the Online SENSE FAQs and the primer for SENSE online administration response rates.

In-Class administration: CCCSE selects a stratified random sample of in-person courses in which the survey will be administered. After the college approves the sample, CCCSE prepares and ships survey packets to the Campus Coordinator for each selected class.

• Paper-Based: The survey packets contain instructions, an administration script, and a paper survey instrument for each student in the class. After reading the script, survey administrators provide a survey to each student in the classroom. Completed surveys are placed back in the survey packets and returned to CCCSE by the November survey deadline.
• Device-Based: The survey packets contain administration instructions, an administration script, and QR code cards with the survey link. Students complete the survey using their own personal computer, smartphone, or tablet (or one provided by the college). Although the college will not need to ship anything back to CCCSE, all surveys must be completed by the November survey deadline. If you have any questions about the device-based administration, please e-mail surveyops@cccse.org.

A consortium is a group of colleges with common interests, characteristics, or locations that wish to participate in a SENSE administration for the purpose of sharing data. Participation in SENSE consortia is free.

All colleges that participate as part of a SENSE consortium benefit from the following:

• The opportunity to administer special-focus modules in addition to the core survey at all colleges in the consortium (fees apply; see details and pricing below)
• Consortium comparison reports

Forming a SENSE Consortium

Select an individual from one of the institutions in the proposed consortium or from the sponsoring organization to serve as the Consortium Leader.

The Consortium Leader is responsible for the following:

• Coordinating communication among participating institutions
• Ensuring all consortium member colleges complete registration for SENSE 2024 by April 26, 2024
• Submitting a Consortium Participation Agreement Form
• Facilitating the development or selection of up to two special-focus modules of up to 12 items each, if the participating colleges opt for this additional service (see pricing below) – the deadline for submitting special-focus module selections is May 24, 2024

Please contact us at surveyops@cccse.org for more information about forming a consortium.

For an additional fee of $750 per module, a participating SENSE college may add up to two special-focus modules of up to 12 items each. Many colleges have found that asking 5-10 well-written and appropriate questions will meet their needs while limiting the extension of survey administration time.

These modules may be chosen from the CCCSE’s collection of standard special-focus modules. Alternatively, a college or consortium may opt to create custom special-focus modules by selecting items from the Additional Items Catalog, developing new items, or submitting a combination of both. When selecting module items, be sure to check items against those on SENSE to avoid overlap.

Colleges participating in a SENSE consortium may add a maximum of two special-focus modules including the consortium’s module and may need to coordinate the addition of a special-focus module with CCCSE staff and/or the Consortium Leader. Please contact us for further information at surveyops@cccse.org.

Fee: $750 per special-focus module per college (in addition to SENSE base price)

Deadline: Finalized module selections are due by May 24, 2024

Reporting: Frequency reports (all students and enrollment breakout); data are also included in raw data file.

Note: Colleges not administering two special-focus modules of their own choosing will automatically receive a 12-item module on Culture of Caring free of charge.

• SENSE Special-Focus Module—Academic Advising and Planning (2016)

  This set of items is designed to help your institution understand the entering student experience with academic advising and planning. The items focus on such components as timeliness of advising, length of advising sessions, and content of advising sessions.

  This set of items was administered broadly in 2016 and informed the national report Show Me the Way: The Power of Advising in Community Colleges.

• SENSE Special-Focus Module—Building Relationships

  This set of items is designed to help your institution learn more about the nature of students' relationships with others (instructors, students, and staff) at the college in the first three weeks.

• SENSE Special-Focus Module—Commitment and Support

  This set of items is designed to help your institution better understand financial and time challenges that may interfere with students' ability to succeed academically.

• SENSE Special-Focus Module—Early Self-Reported Outcomes

  This set of items is designed to help your institution better understand the perceptions students have of their academic success very early in their collegiate journeys. Colleges can use these data to consider whether more early interventions might be helpful.

• SENSE Special-Focus Module—Financial Assistance

  This set of items is designed to help your institution understand students' experiences with the FAFSA and potential reasons for not completing it.

• SENSE Special-Focus Module—Guided Pathways

  This set of items is designed to help your institution gauge students’ early pathways-related experiences. It includes items on engagement with advising, academic planning, transfer, and selection of a program, major, or pathway of study.

  This set of items was administered broadly in 2018 and informed the national report Building Momentum: Using Guided Pathways to Redesign the Student Experience.

  Note: In order to continue to support colleges working on guided pathways initiatives, the $750 special-focus module fee will be waived for colleges choosing this item set.  

• SENSE Special-Focus Module—Promising Practices for Community College Student Success

  This set of items is designed to help your institution explore students' participation in promising practices—such as first-year experience, early alert, and accelerated developmental education—for which there is evidence of effectiveness in strengthening student learning, persistence, and attainment.

  This set of items was administered broadly in 2010 and 2012, and informed a trio of national reports:

  A Matter of Degrees: Promising Practices for Student Success, A First Look

  A Matter of Degrees: High-Impact Practices for Community College Student Engagement

  A Matter of Degrees: Practices to Pathways

• SENSE Special-Focus Module—Student Success Courses

  This set of items is designed to help your institution understand students' experiences with a student success course—and whether they believe the information gleaned in the course will contribute to the completion of their academic goals.

• SENSE Special-Focus Module—Transfer (Only available to colleges administering the survey online)

  This set of items is designed to help your institution understand students' experiences and views on transferring to a 4-year college or university.

• SENSE Special-Focus Module—The Working Learner

  This set of items is designed to help your institution learn more about the paid work that students perform and how it intersects with their academic decision-making and behaviors.

  This set of items was administered broadly in 2019 and informed the national report The Intersection of Work and Learning: Findings From Entering Students in Community Colleges.

If your college would like to submit custom special-focus module items, contact surveyops@cccse.org.

Custom items must be in the following format:

• Multiple choice
• No more than 5 response categories
• One response per item
• Self-contained (may not reference other items)

For examples of custom items, see the Additional Items Catalog. NOTE: When selecting additional items, be sure to check items against those on SENSE to avoid overlap.

Note: The online version of SENSE does not rely on sampling and should be shared with all survey-eligible students. Therefore, an oversample is not applicable to an online administration.

Oversampling enables colleges to survey students not selected as part of the random sample.

CCCSE does not include oversample results in any institutional reports provided via the SENSE online reporting system. Colleges will receive oversample survey results in raw data format only. Special reporting and analysis of oversample data is available for an additional fee. For additional information, see Special Customized Reports or Data Analysis.

Oversampling Option #1

Oversample surveys are provided for use as the college deems appropriate.

Service: CCCSE packs and ships the requested number of surveys to the college, scans and cleans the data from returned surveys, and includes the oversample responses in the college's raw data file. Course-level information for oversample responses is not included in the data file.

Fee: $2.00 per additional survey provided, NOT the number of completed surveys returned

Oversampling Option #2

A random oversample is pulled by CCCSE for a college wishing to increase its random sample size. The oversample is pulled from those courses remaining in the college's course schedule file (CSF) after the primary sample has been drawn. Courses not contained in the CSF are ineligible for Oversampling Option #2.

Service: After consulting with the college contact, we pull the additional random sample of course sections from the college's CSF; creates class survey packets; ships packets to the college; scans and cleans data from returned surveys; and includes the oversample responses in the college's raw data file. Course-level information for oversample responses is included in the data file.

Fee: $200 base fee, plus $2.00 per additional survey provided, NOT the number of completed surveys returned

Oversampling Option #3

This option provides a targeted oversample for a college seeking to survey a subpopulation of courses in order to reach a group of students with common characteristics (e.g., developmental education classes or specific programs of study). The oversample is pulled from those courses remaining in the college's course schedule file (CSF) after the primary sample has been drawn. Courses not contained in the CSF are ineligible for Oversampling Option #3.

Service: After the college contact consults with the research team, CCCSE pulls the targeted sample of course sections (up to a 100% sample) from the college's CSF; creates class survey packets; ships packets to the college; scans and cleans the data from returned surveys; and includes the oversample responses in the college's raw data file. Course-level information for oversample responses is included in the data file.

Fee: $300 base fee, plus $2.00 per additional survey provided, NOT the number of completed surveys returned

Oversampling Option #4

In consultation with the college contact, CCCSE creates a customized sampling design for the college (e.g., a random oversample for each campus of a multi-campus college) enabling the college to analyze SENSE data by campus. The oversample is pulled from those courses remaining in the college's course schedule file (CSF) after the primary sample has been drawn. Courses not contained in the CSF are ineligible for Oversampling Option #4.

Service: The CCCSE research team consults with the college and creates a custom sampling design; pulls the random oversample of course sections (up to a 100% sample) from the college's CSF; creates class survey packets; ships packets to the college; scans and cleans the data from returned surveys; and includes the oversample responses in the college's raw data file. Course-level information is included in the data file.

Fee: $600 base fee, plus $2.50 per additional survey provided, NOT the number of completed surveys returned

For more information on oversampling, contact us at surveyops@cccse.org.

Participation in the optional online add-on is limited to colleges that are administering the paper-and-pencil SENSE. This option allows colleges administering the paper-and-pencil version of the survey in randomly selected classrooms to concurrently administer the online version to their online-only students. Results from the online administration will be included in CCCSE-generated reporting. In addition, colleges will be able to disaggregate results by administration modality through the Custom Reports Request page.

Fee: $1,390/college (in addition to SENSE base price)

Contact surveyops@cccse.org for more information about optional add-on participation.

The Race/Ethnicity Survey is a stand-alone online survey available to colleges participating in SENSE 2024. The purpose of the survey is to help colleges understand their students’ experiences with racism, inclusion, and belonging. Colleges registering for this option with SENSE 2024 can administer the Race/Ethnicity Survey in the fall of 2024, spring of 2025, or fall of 2025. More information is available through the Race/Ethnicity Survey FAQs.

Fee: $1,390 (in addition to SENSE base price)

Contact surveyops@cccse.org for more information about the Race/Ethnicity Survey.

Special reports on survey results, tailored in response to requests, may be provided at an additional fee, starting at $500.

Contact us at data@cccse.org for consultation and pricing.

Invoices for SENSE 2024 and any additional administration options will be sent electronically to the college president (cc: SENSE contact) on or around October 1, 2024, with payment due December 1, 2024. In some cases invoices for additional administration options may be issued separately. Pricing information can be found above on this page. Access to the SENSE online reporting system is dependent upon payment.

If an alternative invoicing or payment arrangement is desired, contact us at info@cccse.org or 512-471-6807.

CCCSE is part of The University of Texas at Austin, and as such the University is the vendor for all CCCSE surveys and services. On the University’s behalf, CCCSE can accept payments via check or ACH/EFT. The University’s Tax ID is 74-6000-203. CCCSE cannot accept credit card payments. E-payment information is available upon request. Please note that due to recent changes in USPS routes, our remittance address has changed. Checks should be made payable to The University of Texas at Austin. Payment instructions also will be included on the invoices.

Should you require a cost estimate in advance of invoicing for budgeting or pre-approval purposes, a W-9, or other vendor paperwork, please contact info@cccse.org.

Please note that while CCCSE does not require purchase orders for the survey administration, many colleges do require a purchase order to procure goods and services. CCCSE will accept purchase orders from these colleges and reference them in respective invoices. If the purchase order includes specific billing instructions, CCCSE will send the invoice accordingly rather than to the college president.

NEW Remittance Address:
The University of Texas at Austin
ATTN: CCCSE
PO Box 301136
Austin, TX 78703

If a college withdraws at any time after CCCSE ships SENSE surveys for an in-class administration or the college distributes the online survey link for an online administration, there will be a cancellation fee equivalent to 25% of the total base membership fee. If payment has already been made, the college may elect to have the appropriate amount refunded or to have the remaining balance applied as a credit toward future services. If payment has not yet been made at the time of withdrawal, the college will receive an invoice for the appropriate amount, as stipulated in this policy.

Please contact us at info@cccse.org or 512-471-6807 with questions about the cancellation policy.