Special Surveys

Gain valuable insights into retention for your employees with customized results.

What Makes Our Survey Different
  • 100% Free to Participate: There is no cost for your institution to participate in the CUPA-HR Employee Retention Survey (ERS).
  • Proven Track Record: The 2027 ERS marks the survey’s fourth iteration, building on successful administrations in 2022, 2023 and 2025.
  • Inclusive Participation: All campus employees — both staff and faculty members — are invited to participate, giving you a complete view of your workforce.
  • Institution-Level Custom Reports at a Much Lower Cost Than Consultants: Participating institutions that meet minimum response thresholds can purchase individual, customized reports. These allow you to view your institution’s retention data alongside aggregate national benchmarks.
  • Simple Process: There is just one single survey link for your entire campus. CUPA-HR handles the logistics, analysis, and even the reporting. You handle the communication.
  • Guaranteed Employee Anonymity: The survey is anonymous. Only CUPA-HR accesses the raw data, and institutions never see individual-level responses — building the trust required for higher response rates among employees.
  • Developed by Experts: The survey is professionally developed and analyzed by Ph.D.-level survey methodologists.
  • Industry-Leading Insights: The ERS is recognized as one of the leading retention surveys in higher education and is one of the very few surveys of its kind dedicated to tracking national higher ed workforce retention.

Ready to see how the ERS can benefit your campus? Review the information below to get started.

Save the Date: April 2027

Mark your calendar: The 2027 Employee Retention Survey opens in April. The survey will gather responses from employees across every role in higher education to help institutions understand what’s driving retention — and what’s putting it at risk.

About the Survey

The 2027 Employee Retention Survey (ERS) is a nationwide survey designed to understand employee retention across higher education. It gathers feedback from all higher ed employees to identify who is at risk of leaving, reasons they are leaving, and how broader workplace environment factors influence retention.

Why it matters for your institution: The results from the 2027 ERS will help institutions understand retention trends and the factors that have the biggest impact on employee retention in the higher ed workplace. The ERS gives HR leaders the data needed to move from a reactive to a proactive retention strategy. By participating, you gain visibility into your workforce and the unique power to benchmark your campus retention trends against national higher education data.

How Can My Institution Participate?

Getting started is easy — just follow these steps:

  1. Express Your Interest Early: Let us know your institution is interested in participating by completing the interest form. The form is not binding, but it will help us ensure you receive important communications and additional details.
  2. Review the Preparation Timeline: To support a smooth survey process, review our preparation timeline below. It outlines key milestones — like securing leadership buy-in, navigating IRB applications, and planning your internal communications — so your campus is ready to participate when the survey opens in April.
  3. Use Our Resources: Take advantage of our ready-to-use resources, including draft email templates, IRB application guides, and promotional toolkits designed to make survey distribution effortless for your HR team.
2027 Employee Retention Survey Timeline

Fall and Winter 2026

Engage Leadership: Discuss the survey with campus leaders to secure buy-in and champion campus-wide participation.
IRB Approvals: Institutions seeking IRB approval to administer the survey to all employees should begin the process several months in advance to ensure timely authorization.
Coordinate Surveys: Check your institution’s survey calendar to avoid survey fatigue and ensure a clear window for deployment.

January-March 2027

Marketing: Review our promotional toolkits, draft leadership messaging, and plan communication strategies.
Communications: Prepare email distribution lists and communication schedules.

April 2027

Launch: Distribute the ERS survey link to employees via email and encourage participation.

Summer 2027

Institutional Custom Reports Available: Institution-specific staff and faculty reports become available for purchase for qualifying institutions.

Fall 2027

National Results: Read the 2027 Employee Retention Survey report to benchmark your campus against national higher ed retention trends.

Survey Administration Resources

Survey process checklist and timeline (pdf)

Institutional Review Board (IRB) Application for the ERS

  • If your institution seeks to obtain IRB approval to administer the ERS to employees, please begin the application process as early as possible, as reviews may take several months.
  • To support your application, we have provided the following resources: Information Needed for Your IRB Form (pdf) and Consent Form (pdf).
  • To request a Survey Outline for IRB submission purposes, please email [email protected].

Draft Email Invitation and Email Reminder Template (with link to the survey) – Available January 2027

Marketing and Promotional Materials – Available January 2027

If you have questions about the survey, contact us at [email protected].

ERS Institutional Custom Reports
Confidentiality and Anonymity
Frequently Asked Questions
Tips for Increasing Your Response Rate
Previous Reports

The Employee Retention Survey was conducted in 2022, 2023 and 2025 as a response to the retention challenges higher ed has faced in the wake of the pandemic. The most recent administration of the survey, in 2025, received over 5,000 responses from more than 500 institutions. The results suggest specific actions that employees and leaders can take to make higher ed a better workplace.

Read our full research disclaimer and terms of use.