Flinders University is optimising its use of survey platforms to better support strategic priorities and the day-to-day needs of teams. Due to the significant and rising cost of Qualtrics, a review of our survey tools has identified Microsoft Forms (Forms) and REDCap as intuitive, secure and cost-effective alternatives that should play a larger role at Flinders.

In the second half of 2026, Qualtrics will transition to a new portal experience and will remain the preferred platform for academic research and institutional student and staff surveys. Staff administering surveys that are not aligned to these priorities will no longer have access to Qualtrics and will need to transition to Forms and/or REDCap.

Forms is easy to use and is well suited to operational surveys and local feedback collection. REDCap is a research‑grade platform designed for building and managing complex surveys and databases, especially for clinical, health and longitudinal studies. Both tools securely collect and store student, staff and community information.

Copies of Qualtrics surveys will be retained and made available on request if data has not yet been fully extracted before the transition to the new portal.

 

What does this mean for me?

I am…	What I need to do	Qualtrics Access	Survey Tool	Typical use
Research staff	No action required	Retained	Qualtrics	Academic research, high‑impact surveys, advanced analytics, specialised requirements
Professional/ Teaching staff	Export and transition existing Qualtrics surveys, then access no longer available	No longer available (see details below if access is still required)	Forms/ REDCap	Forms: Operational surveys, local feedback REDCap: Longitudinal or medical research
Higher Degree Research Student	No action required	Retained if you already have access for approved academic research purposes (For new access requests, see the process below)	Qualtrics	Academic research, high‑impact surveys, advanced analytics, specialised requirements

 

If you require Qualtrics for academic research or institutional survey purposes, please submit a request with a clear justification to researchengagementsuccess@flinders.edu.au where it will be reviewed and assessed by a working group of senior leaders representing students and staff.

 

Training and support available:

Microsoft offers online learning resources to help you use Forms: Microsoft Forms help & learning and all staff have access to Forms..

REDCap offers a range of training videos accessible from the top of its navigation bar (see below for example). For access to this tool, please add the REDCap app to your OKTA dashboard.

For staff who need additional support in transitioning existing Qualtrics surveys to other tools, please let us know by completing this Microsoft Forms Survey.

Thank you for your cooperation. If you have questions or would like to discuss how this applies within your area, please get in touch with researchengagementsuccess@flinders.edu.au.