Thursday, March 1, 2007
University of Kansas students who received an electronic survey last week should not be too quick to send it to the recycle bin. They have a chance to give the University a piece of their minds.
Adrienne Sadovsky, an analyst for institutional research and planning, said the National Survey of Student Engagement was recently sent to 4,000 randomly selected University freshmen and seniors. The survey, which asks students about academic personal experiences, is aimed to help the University improve the undergraduate services it provides.
“We want for them to not just walk away with a degree,” Sadovsky said. “We want them to walk away with a rich, thorough, deep experience.”
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We realized from what we were learning from the students that programs like these energized the students and kept them involved in their schoolwork.
- Lynn Bretz, University of Kansas spokeswoman
Sadovsky said the survey would help the University identify strengths and weaknesses in its programs so it could take action toward improvement. She said it was a quick and easy way students could give back to the KU community.
Jillian Kinzie, associate director of Indiana University’s center for postsecondary research, the institution in charge of the survey, said student responses would help the University.
“The institution is getting direct information from you,” Kinzie said.
Lynn Bretz, University of Kansas spokeswoman, said that results from past surveys had helped produce the University’s global awareness program, undergraduate research certification and service learning certification, which she said helped students get engaged in their studies.
“We realized from what we were learning from the students that programs like these energized the students and kept them involved in their schoolwork,” Bretz said. “It’s really making us reassess the whole freshmen experience.”
Kinzie said she thought the University was a place that took student responses seriously. She said she had been to the University several times to evaluate how it involved students in decision-making, because students had identified that as a strength in previous surveys.
“I think KU does a good job of seeking student input that matters to the institution,” Kinzie said.
Bretz said it was a mutual exchange.
“It’s been, really, a two-way street,” Bretz said. “Students working with us and us working with students to develop these programs.”
Sadovsky said this was the third time the University had commissioned the survey. She said the survey was first given in 2001, and again in 2004. Sadovsky said the 2004 data took about 3 1/2 months to process, but was not sure when the 2007 data would be ready.
Sadovsky said interested students, including those not selected for the survey, could see the survey online at http://nsse.iub.edu/pdf/NSSE2007_US_English_paper.pdf.
“We want our students to be well-rounded and exposed to myriad new situations and experiences,” Sadovsky said. “This helps students to be more successful post-graduation, personally and professionally.”
Kansan staff writer Nathan Gill can be contacted at ngill@kansan.com.
—Edited by Lisa Tilson
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