NIST SURF "Fellow" Feedback Survey

Introduction

OMB Control #0693-0033
Expiration Date: 9/30/2025
Greetings! Thank you for participating in the SURF Program this year. We realize
that you have options for gaining research experience and value your feedback
regarding the NIST SURF Program. Note: Questions with an asterisk (*) are
mandatory.
Click "Next" to get started with the survey. If you'd like to leave the survey at any
time, just click "Exit this survey". Your answers will be saved.
PRIVACY ACT STATEMENT:
Pursuant to 5 U.S.C. § 552a(e)(3), this Privacy Act Statement serves to inform you of
why the U.S. Department of Commerce (the Department), National Institute of
Standards and Technology (NIST) is requesting the information on this form.
AUTHORITY: The National Institute of Standards and Technology Act, as amended,
15 U.S.C. 271 et seq. (which includes Title 15 U.S.C. 272) and section 12 of the
Stevenson-Wydler Technology Innovation Act of 1980, as amended, 15 U.S.C. § 278g1(a).
PURPOSE: The National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST) hosts the
Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) which provides an opportunity
for the NIST laboratories to encourage outstanding undergraduate students to
pursue careers in science and technology. This information collection will serve as
the application and submission process for the SURF program.
ROUTINE USES: The information solicited on this form may be made available as a
“routine use” pursuant to 5 U.S.C. § 552a(a)(7) and (b)(3). The information may be
made available to other federal agencies to assist the Department in connection with
NIST’s management of the purposes stated above; or for other authorized routine
uses.
A complete list of the routine uses can be found in the system of records notice
associated with this form:
NIST-1:NIST Associates. This system of records notices can be found here:
https://www.commerce.gov/opog/privacy/SORN
CONSEQUENCES OF FAILURE TO PROVIDE INFORMATION: Providing this
information is voluntary. However, failure to provide the requested information may
result in an inability for NIST to process, review, and/or act on such requests. In
limited circumstances, NIST may authorize the submission of the requested
information via paper forms pursuant to the requirements in 15 CFR 748.1(d).

NIST Lab

Please let us know which Lab you are in.
* 1. What Lab are you in?
CTL
EL
ITL
MML
NCNR
PML
Other
Prefer not to answer

* 2. Which NIST campus sponsored your appointment?
Boulder, CO
Gaithersburg, MD
Prefer not to answer

* 3. Which format do your prefer for internships?
Virtual all of the time
In-Person/on campus all of the time
Hybrid-Defined as a combination of in-person and virtual experience.
No preference

Overall Program Questions

Please provide us with some information on the general program.
* 4. What will your class standing be as of this coming September?
Sophmore
Junior
Senior
1st year graduate student
Other (please specify)

* 5. How would you rate the program on a scale of 1 to 5, where 5 is “excellent” and 1 is
“poor”?
1 (poor)
2
3
4
5 (excellent)

6. What did you like best about the program?

7. What did you like least about the program?

* 8. Do you plan to apply next year
Yes
Maybe
Not eligible to return, graduating
No. Why Not?

* 9. Would you recommend the program to your classmates?
Yes
No. Why?

* 10. Do you plan to pursue a graduate degree in:
Science or Technical Work (STEM)
Teaching
Not sure
No, or other non-science field. Why not, or which field?

* 11. Please tell us how strongly you agree to the following statements:

Strongly Agree
My experience in the
SURF program was
valuable to my
education and
development.
The SURF program
has influenced my
career direction
The SURF Program
influenced my
decision to pursue a
graduate degree?
I have decided NOT
to pursue a career in
research.

Agree

No Opinion

Disagree

Strongly
Disagree

Research Project

Now we'd like to know more about your research project
* 12. Please choose a statement that most closely reflects your agreement to the statement.
My project was:

Strongly Agree

Agree

Challenging.
Well-defined when I
arrived or soon after.
A good match for my
skill set.
Interesting.
Allowed me to learn
things in areas I did
not know before.
Important.
Structured so that I
spent most of my
time doing research.

13. What did you like best about your project?

14. What did you like least about your project?

No Opinion

Disagree

Strongly
Disagree

Advisor

We'd like to hear about your mentor.
* 15. Please rank the quality of your working relationship with your mentor on a scale of 1 to
5, where 5 is “excellent” and 1 is “poor.”
1 (poor)
2
3
4
5 (excellent)

* 16. My Mentor:

Strongly Agree

Agree

No Opinion

Disagree

Strongly
Disagree

Provided me with a
sufficient level of
supervision
Allowed me
sufficient freedom in
my research project
Gave me a sufficient
level of assistance in
preparing my
presentation
Included me in
group meetings and
seminars

* 17. Did you request your research mentor’s assistance in your preparation for your final
session presentation?
Yes
No

18. What advice would you give to your mentor to prepare him/her for his/her next SURF
student?

19. What did you like best about your mentor?

20. What did you like least about your mentor?

SURF Staff

21. Was the SURF staff accessible and available to address issues you encountered during the
summer?
5 (most accessible)
4
3
2
1 (least accessible)

Social Interactions

There were some opportunities for social interactions. How could social interactions
be improved?
22. Suggestions

Administrative

23. Did you encounter any significant administrative problems (stipend delay, computer
issues etc.)?
Yes
No

24. Please comment on any significant administrative problems that might have occurred
over the summer (e.g., problems with payment, computer issues, etc)

Seminars and Lab Tours

Seminars are an important component of the SURF program. They offer an
opportunity for you to learn more about research outside of your laboratory.
* 25. In general, the technical seminars were useful or informative
Strongly Agree
Agree
No Opinion
Disagree
Strongly Disagree

* 26. How many of the seminars did you attend?
1-2
3-4
5-6
7 or more

27. Suggestions for next year’s technical seminars (speakers)

28. Please provide suggestions for future professional development seminars.

Advertising the SURF Program

How did you hear about the SURF program? Are there better ways for us to advertise
the program to new students?
* 29. How did you hear about the program (check all that apply)?
My undergraduate advisor or other college professor
Career Fair or conference - if you check this box, please identify the career fair in the "Other" box
NIST Employee
A family member
Email sent by one of my school departments
Saw a sign at school
A friend passed on the information
A friend or someone at my school participated in a previous SURF program
I saw the SURF brochure
Surfing the web, I found the SURF webpage
Via NSF website
I viewed the SURF video
Saw one of the magazine advertisements
Other (please specify)

30. How can we better advertise the program at your school?

Applying to the SURF Program

* 31. Applying to the SURF program was straightforward
Strongly Agree
Agree
Neutral
Disagree
Strongly Disagree

32. The general SURF webpage contained enough information to help me apply to the
program
Agree
Neutral
Disagree
No Opinion

33. Please give comments for improvements to the SURF website which could be helpful for
applying to the program.

* 34. The NIST SURF webpages contained enough information for me to appropriately rank
project preferences in my application
Strongly Agree
Agree
Neutral
Disagree
Strongly Disagree
I did not visit the SURF webpages

* 35. How did the SURF program application deadline compare with other research
programs/internships you applied to?
SURF deadline was more than two weeks earlier
SURF deadline was close (+/- 1 weeks) to that of other programs
SURF deadline was within 2 weeks) to that of other programs
SURF deadline was more than two weeks later
Not applicable

* 36. The amount of information that I received before coming to NIST was:
Too much
Just right
Not enough

37. If you answer "not enough", what other information would you have liked to receive?

38. Suggestions

Orientation

* 39. In total, the first day's orientation program was:
Too long
Too short
Just the right length

40. Please list any areas of improvement for orientation.

General Comments

41. Please add any other comments that you think may be helpful to the SURF Program.

42. What is your name? - Not required, however it may be helpful.
Name:

43. What is an email address we can use to stay in communication with you? Not required,
but it may be helpful.

44. If there anything you would like to discuss with the NIST SURF program director, please
leave your name and contact info (email and/or phone number) here.

Thank you for your valuable input to the SURF Program. We hope that you will stay
in contact.

This collection of information contains Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA)
requirements approved by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB).
Notwithstanding any other provisions of the law, no person is required to respond to,
nor shall any person be subject to a penalty for failure to comply with, a collection of
information subject to the requirements of the PRA unless that collection of
information displays a currently valid OMB control number. Public reporting burden
for this collection is estimated to be 20 minutes per response, including the time for
reviewing instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering and maintaining
the data needed and completing and reviewing the collection of information. Send
comments regarding this burden estimate or any aspect of this collection of
information, including suggestions for reducing this burden, to the National
Institute of Standards and Technology, Attn: Cara O'Malley
E-mail: cara.omalley@nist.gov
OMB Control #0693-0033
Expiration Date: 9/30/2025