Compare Forms Solutions

Oakland University has access to several different services for online fillable and routable forms. Please also review the posted Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) on the left menu.

Please note there is a difference between simple data collection forms and survey tools. Simple data collection forms are intended to capture data, record data for review, and share data with others for information or approval using workflows. Survey tools provide analytics and in some cases statistical tools, but do not route results to others for approval. Please review SurveyTools on the left menu to determine your best tool option.

Neither data collection forms or surveys replace official university records systems. For example, Policy #860 Data Management and Information Security defines Data Stewards who authorize locations for official processes such as employment, student employment, admissions, and processing of transcripts or grades. Forms may not be used to bypass Data Stewards and process authorization.

Please note:

If you are collecting data related to undergraduate, graduate, or professional admissions, your process must operate through one of the university admissions offices.
If you are enrolling students for credit, your process must operate through the Office of the Registrar.
If you are enrolling students for continuing education credits, there is a need for completion records, or you are collecting a fee, your process must operate through the Professional and Continuing Education Department.
If you are enrolling participants for an event or program requiring payment, and without any educational credentials or completion records, your process must operate through Student Business Services using MarketPlace.
Please note that Payment Card data, Credit Card Data, and Social Security Numbers may not be collected on any forms or survey tools.

If your form is for simple data collection, collects only authorized Confidential Data, and does not require routing for approval, your fastest form development tool is Google Forms, within your G Suite access. Login to Webmail, click on the dot grid in the upper right, click on Drive, Click on New, More, Google Forms.

If, after review, you would like a developer license for PerfectForms, please fill out the PerfectForms Developer request form. Make sure you read and agree to the conditions. The form is on the forms.oakland.edu menu under P:

PerfectForms Developer Request (NetID Login)

If you would like to submit a request for UTS to develop a form, submit a Forms Request at forms.oakland.edu, under F:

Form Request

The table below compares simple data collection tools.

Feature	PerfectForms	Google Docs Free Forms Template	Adobe Document Cloud
Subscription Fee	Campus license, no department charge	Campus license, no department charge	Department funded, purchase through Purchasing Department
Data Store	On campus	Off campus cloud	Off campus cloud
Database	Data stored in searchable database	Data stored in table	Data stored on individual form
Workflow Routing	Routing with email notification	No routing	Manual routing
Suitable for Confidential Data	If you use a publicly accessible form, you may only request or use authorized Confidential Data. You may use PerfectForms for pre-populating Confidential Data if the form is designed to require a login before data are entered on the form. Monitor access permissions carefully to confirm who has access to data submitted via the form.	If you use a publicly accessible form, you may only request or use authorized Confidential Data. Forms will not pre-populate data. Monitor access permissions carefully to confirm who has access to data submitted via the form.	No
Integrate Banner Data	Banner data integration may be possible. Banner data integration on a form is limited in use to forms entered by Oakland University faculty and staff. If the form is collecting data self-entered by a student, the form cannot pull data from Banner.	No	No
Form Ownership	Shared ownership, with backup and recovery of the database. If the form originator terminates from the university, the data are preserved.	No controlled backup or recovery. If the form owner leaves the university, the records are deleted.	No controlled backup or recovery. If the form owner leaves the university, the records are deleted.

June 2019