This article walks through how to create, configure, and send surveys in Messages XR Enterprise, including supported question types, survey settings, and distribution channels.
💡Quick answers
- Creating a new survey from scratch? Navigate to Messages Surveys, click the Add button in the bottom right corner, and select the option to create a new survey.
- What question types are supported in surveys? Surveys support numeric value, yes/no, true/false, agreement scale (1-5), multiple choice, multiple choice - all that apply, and freeform text or audio responses.
- Can surveys be sent via multiple channels? Yes, surveys can be distributed by phone, email, social media, or through your school mobile app.
- Can a survey link be forwarded or shared? No. Each email, mobile app, and phone link is tied to one recipient and represents that recipient's single response. Anyone who opens a forwarded link responds, or edits an existing response, as the original recipient.
- Can a survey be sent by text message (SMS)? No. Surveys are distributed by phone, email, mobile app, and social media only. Survey links are generated individually for each recipient, so they are not available through the SMS channel.
- Copying an existing survey to reuse its structure? In the Create Survey window, select the option to copy an existing survey and choose from your previously created surveys.
- Does the survey tool support automatic translation? No, the survey tool does not currently support automatic translation - to send a survey in multiple languages, you must create a separate version for each language.
Surveys overview
Surveys are a great way to gather feedback and insights from your community. Some common types of surveys that you might want to consider are:
- School Climate Surveys: Assess the overall environment and culture within the school, including safety, relationships, and learning conditions.
- Parent/Family Satisfaction Surveys: Gather feedback from parents and families about their satisfaction with the school's programs, communication, and overall experience.
- Student Surveys: Include feedback on teaching methods, school facilities, extracurricular activities, and social-emotional learning.
- Teacher/Staff Surveys: Collect insights from teachers and staff regarding their work environment, professional development needs, and satisfaction with school leadership.
- Community Engagement Surveys: Aim to understand how well the school is engaging with the broader community and gather suggestions for improvement.
- Needs Assessment Surveys: Identify the needs and priorities of students, families, and staff to inform planning and resource allocation.
- Strategic Planning Surveys: Gather input for long-term planning and decision-making processes, such as setting goals and priorities for the school or district
Question types you can include are:
- numeric value,
- yes/no,
- true/false,
- agreement scale (1-5),
- multiple choice,
- multiple choice - all that apply, and
- freeform (text/audio) responses
⚠️ Important Note
The survey tool does not currently support automatic translation. All survey questions and response options will be delivered exactly as typed in the "Create a survey" window. If you need to send a survey in multiple languages, you must create a separate version of the survey for each language.
Here's how it works:
Step 1: Navigate to Messages Surveys
Navigate to the Surveys tab in the Messages area. If you have already created surveys, you'll see a list of the existing surveys to be able to open and manage. If you do not see any surveys, you can start creating them anyway!
Step 2: Click Add to create a new survey
Locate the Add button in the bottom right corner. Click to start creating a survey.
Step 3: Create your survey
Once you click the Add button, a new window will open up where you will add your details to create a survey. You can create a new survey or copy an existing survey.
Create a new survey
- Survey name: Create a unique name for your survey.
- Check the box next to Evaluation if this survey is tied or connected to a calendar event or date.
-
Add Question: Start adding questions to your survey.
- Enter the text that will introduce each question.
-
Choose One: This dropdown allows you to select the response value for the question text you entered into the previous box.
- The Response values are:
- Numeric Value
- Yes/No
- True/False
- Agreement Scale
- Multiple Choice
- Multiple Choice - all that apply
- Freeform (text/audio)
- Change survey order: Decide you want your questions to appear in a different order? Check the box next to questions you'd like to rearrange and click Move Up or Move Down.
- Remove question: Check the box next to a question you'd like to delete.
-
Preview: Once you're finished, would you like to see a preview of your survey open up into the window?
Real Life Survey Question Example
Here is one example of a survey question to help you get started:
- Text: Independence High School would like you to take a brief 5 question survey concerning the school climate at Independence High School. Would you be available to take this survey?
-
Response Value dropdown: Select Yes/No.
Copy an existing survey
Here's a great timesaver for you! Instead of starting from scratch, copy from a previously-used survey and edit or modify the text and questions to make it a new survey.
- Instead of clicking Add, check the box next to the survey you would like to copy and reuse.
- Click the Copy button that appears.
- A new survey will appear with the word "(copy)" next to it. Click to open up the new copy.
- Survey name: Change the name
- Decide if this survey will be tied to a calendar.
- Open up any questions you'd like to reword.
- Check the box next to a question then click Remove to delete.
- Return to Create a new survey to learn more about your options.
Step 4: Send out your survey
Surveys can be sent by phone, email, your mobile app, or social media (Facebook or Twitter). A link to the survey is sent in the email, mobile app, and social media apps.
⚠️ Important Note
Survey links are unique to each recipient, and link behavior depends on the channel the survey was sent through.
- Email, mobile app, and phone: Each recipient receives an individual link that represents a single response. Results show the name of the recipient the link belongs to, and a recipient's phone and email responses are recorded together as one response.
- Social media (Facebook and X): The post contains one link that is shared by everyone who sees it. These responses are recorded as Anonymous in the results. After a response is submitted, returning to the link on the same device shows that the survey has already been completed.
Recipients should not forward or share a survey link. A link stays tied to its original recipient no matter who opens it. If a recipient forwards a survey email to three people, the first person to complete it creates a response recorded as the original recipient's, and the other two see that response and can change it while the survey is active. Forwarding never creates additional responses; it hands over control of the original recipient's single response.
- Navigate to the Create message tab.
- Click to open up Saved messages.
- Expand out the Survey folder.
- Select the Survey you'd like to send out.
- Once selected, you will see the body of the survey appear in the Message text box.
- Complete the message as you would with any other message.
- Click Send message when you are ready to send out your survey.
Step 5: View survey results
Recipients may respond by telephone, through a user account by responding to an email survey, or through a link shared on social media. Results are immediately available for viewing and are updated as each recipient responds. Responses submitted through a social media link appear as Anonymous, since that link is shared rather than issued to a specific recipient.
- To view survey results, navigate to Messages Surveys tab.
- Select the box next to the survey whose results you'd like to view.
- Click the button View Results.
- Export Results will download your results from that survey into a .csv file.
- Want to start the survey over? Click Clear Results to wipe out any existing responses.