On Monday, every Boston University undergraduate student was sent an email from the office of enrollment inviting them to take a survey on the University, posing questions on subjects that ranged from college selection to academic advising to financial aid.
Despite many students’ complaints about the length of the survey, more than 1,900 students have already submitted a finished version and almost 4,000 have started the survey, according to Anne Shea, the vice president of enrollment.
The number of respondents is high compared to the 10-15 percent response rate the survey has generated in previous years, she said.
“Ten percent is a good response rate; we’ve already surpassed that this year,” Shea said.
However, College of Arts and Sciences sophomore Ethan Clay, president of BU Free, suggested shortening the survey to get a better response.
“I jumped around and skipped some questions that were pertinent to me just because it was so long,” Clay said.
In past years, the survey has helped to create changes the students requested, Shea said. A change in the meal plan, including food offered in the dining halls, was made as a result of an early survey. The survey also caused BU to make academic advising a necessity for professors and had an affect on housing and dorm life, according to Shea.
“10 Buick St. was created as a direct result of the survey,” she said. “The students really designed it.”
Other changes in services due to feedback from the survey include the creation of the student link, the Academic Resource Center and the University center, according to Shea. The University center was an idea formed by the Office of Enrollment, but was created after students expressed a need for the college equivalent of a high school guidance counselor.
“The survey is so important because gives the administration ideas about what the students want instead of getting other information from smaller groups who don’t represent the entire student body,” Shea said.
While the enrollment office gives examples of improvements made because of feedback received from the survey, many students said they don’t think completing the survey will bring about change.
Jennifer Coe and Amanda Ernst, College of Communication freshmen, took the survey but didn’t see it at useful.
“I can’t really see anything productive being done with the answers,” Ernst said.
“I think it’s important that they get information about what the students want, but I don’t know what they will do with it,” Coe said. “Besides, they can’t really get a feeling for our opinions by asking us to rate the school on a one to five scale.”
In the section for written comments, Coe and Ernst said they expressed their frustration with the housing process and dissatisfaction with the Guest Policy.
Clay also made his concerns about the Guest Policy clear on the survey.
“They left that part out, probably because they don’t see it as a problem,” he said.
“The questions dealing with housing and campus life aren’t complete,” Clay said. “They dodge the problems with questions, but I tried to convey my problems in the other sections.”
The surveys are handed out periodically, but this year seemed like a good time to administer the questionnaire, according to Shea. She noted the effects of Sept. 11 as a reason to get students’ opinions of the school now.
“Students are thinking more about their being away from home now, and even though the recession is over, people are still feeling the effects,” she said.
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