Increasing attention on quality assurance, a decentralisation of responsibilities and need for quantitative data in accountability and decision support led to the development of a student satisfaction monitoring instrument at Utrecht University (UU). Initially marketing worked as a catalyst activity to prove the added value. At a later stage the instrument was brought under the responsibility of the Institutional Research department. The instrument is now supporting planning and control, institutional policy, quality assurance and marketing. In order to achieve optimal effects of the instrument, commitment from both the board of the university and the heads of department proved essential.