Overview
Microsoft Forms lets you make surveys, quizzes, polls, and sign-up forms, then see the results right away. Forms is part of Microsoft 365 at UA, so you can use it with your UA account at no cost.
Microsoft keeps its own step-by-step instructions up to date, so this article links to them. Each link has a short summary of what it covers. Read the UA notes first, because they explain how UA's setup and policies affect your forms.
In this article:
- Go to Microsoft Forms.
- Sign in with your UA email address (for example, username@alaska.edu) and your UA password.
UA note: Always sign in with your UA account, not a personal Microsoft account, so your forms are saved in UA's Microsoft 365 and the UA-only audience options are available.
Student education records are protected by FERPA. Under the University of Alaska Data Classification Standards, FERPA data is Restricted data. Before you build a form, think about what you will collect and who can see it.
- Collect only the information you need.
- If your form collects Restricted data, such as grades or other student records, do not choose Anyone can respond. Choose a UA-only option instead.
- Do not share a summary link for a form that collects private information. Anyone with a summary link can see the results, even people outside UA.
- Co-authors can see and delete all responses. Share a form only with people who should see the data.
- Quiz scores are student records. Treat quiz results like any other grade.
To learn more, see University of Alaska Data Classification Standards and UAA Privacy and FERPA.
Microsoft: Create a form with Microsoft Forms
Shows how to start a new form or survey, add a title and description, and add questions. Question types include choice, text, rating, date, ranking, Likert, file upload, and Net Promoter Score. It also shows how to preview your form on a computer or phone before you send it.
Microsoft: Adjust your form or quiz settings in Microsoft Forms
Explains every option in the Settings pane for forms and quizzes. You can set start and end dates, stop accepting responses, add a time limit, shuffle questions, show a progress bar, and change the thank-you message. You can also turn on email notifications for new responses and let people get a copy of their answers.
Microsoft: Choose who can fill out a form or quiz
Explains the three audience options: Anyone can respond, Only people in my organization can respond, and Specific people in my organization can respond. It also explains when you can record respondents' names.
UA note: "Your organization" means people with a UA account. Anyone can respond lets anyone with the link fill out the form without signing in, including people outside UA, and Forms does not record their names. If you need to know who responded, or your form collects private information, choose a UA-only option.
Microsoft: Send a form and collect responses
Shows how to share your form with the people who will fill it out. You can copy a link, download a QR code, embed the form in a web page, or send an invitation in Teams.
UA note: UA email uses Gmail, not Outlook, so the Outlook email invitation option may not work for you. Instead, copy the form link and paste it into a Gmail message or a Teams chat. If you chose Anyone can respond, anyone who gets a forwarded link can fill out your form.
Microsoft: Check and share your form results
Shows how to see a summary of all responses, look at each person's answers, and open your results in Excel. It also covers sharing a summary link, printing a summary, and deleting responses. Deleted responses cannot be recovered.
UA note: Anyone with a summary link can see your results, even people outside UA. Do not share a summary link for a form that collects student or private information.
Microsoft: Add sections to your survey or questionnaire
Shows how to break a long form or survey into sections, or pages, with their own titles. It also covers how to copy, move, and remove sections. Shuffling questions does not work in a form with sections.
Microsoft: Use branching logic in Microsoft Forms
Shows how to send people to different questions or sections based on their answers, so they only see questions that apply to them. You can also send people to the end of the form or reset all branching.
Microsoft: Share a form or quiz to collaborate
Shows how to create a link that lets other people help build your form and review its results. You choose whether the link works for specific people, everyone at UA, or anyone with a work or school account. A form can have up to 100 co-authors.
UA note: Co-authors can see, edit, and delete every response. To keep student data private, choose Specific people in my organization can view and edit.
Microsoft: Share a form or quiz to collaborate (see the section on stopping sharing)
Shows how to remove the collaboration link so people can no longer edit your form or see its results. A removed link cannot be restored. If you still need co-authors, create a new link and send it to them.
Microsoft: Move your form to a group
Shows how to move a form you own into a Microsoft 365 group or team, so every group member becomes an owner. Your existing link still works, and responses are copied to a new Excel workbook in the group's SharePoint files. This is the way to transfer ownership of a form.
UA note: If you are leaving UA, move your forms to a group first. If the owner of a form has already left UA, submit a Support for Surveys and Online Forms request to have the form moved to a group.
Microsoft: Work with colleagues to create, edit, and review forms in Microsoft Teams
Shows how to add a Forms tab to a Teams channel so your team can build a form together, collect responses, or show results. It also covers starting a channel conversation about a form.
UA note: The Microsoft page also describes a connector that posts a daily summary to a channel. Microsoft retired Teams connectors in May 2026, so use the email notification option in your form's Settings instead.
Microsoft: Create a poll in Microsoft Teams
Shows how to post a quick poll in a Teams chat or channel with the Polls app. People answer right in Teams, and you can see the results as they come in.
Microsoft: Poll attendees during a Teams meeting
Shows how to create polls before or during a Teams meeting and launch them while you present. Attendees answer from a pop-up on any device, and results show in real time.
For quick answers about Microsoft Forms, ask Spirit, the AI chat assistant on the UAA Service Portal.
To learn about related tools and policies, see these articles:
For support, requests may be submitted anytime using the appropriate Support for Surveys and Online Forms form. Requests generate a Ticket which will be worked in order received and urgency by UAA Employees with the knowledge and permissions to assist with the request.
For immediate assistance please review the Contact Us page for the appropriate support group.