The Importance of Surveys at RU
Ellisa Frantz | Guest Writer

Radford administers many surveys throughout the year. Some are departmental, some are student-run, and some are given to assess the university at regional and national levels. Surveys let the university know how students feel and are responding to different aspects of college and campus life. RU wants your opinions on the renovations you look forward to, on how much of a role technology and computers play in your life, and how you feel about your professors. If it seems like a waste of your time to fill out a survey, consider the influence that results from the following surveys have had on changes and improvements (past, present, and future) at RU:

Heth Student Satisfaction Survey
Generated ideas for future renovations of Heth, which RU is considering, including requests for:
-Movie Theatre
-Cyber Cafe
-Remodeling (taking place now)

University 100 Course Evaluation Survey
-Addition of sections
-Content change
-Switch from Pass/Fail to Graded assessment
-Refinement of living/learning communities
-Are We Making the Grade Survey
-Development of a Quality Enhancement Plan, as part of a pilot-project Radford is involved in to reestablish criteria for future SACS reaccredidation.

Residential Life Student Satisfaction Survey
-Smoke-free Residence Halls/Floors
-Ethernet access in campus housing
-Additional lounge furniture
-Additional lighting in Norwood
-Increased campus lighting (safety)
-Increased # of students living on campus
Changes in Staff Training to improve/develop:
-Roommate contracts
-Staff availability
-Policy enforcement

The more time you put into answering survey questions, the more interest from students the university sees. RU wants to respond to your needs and desires. They want to see improvements made on campus. If you feel the surveys you are currently filling out don’t apply to you, make suggestions for surveys about things you do have an interest in. If you feel RU doesn’t care about your needs, slap them with survey results that will make them respond to an issue seriously. Contact the office of Institutional Research, Planning, and Assessment (x 5864) to see what is already being surveyed and to what extent. Recommend or develop a survey on a particular area of interest, such as:

-Getting more funding for student activities
-Hosting more guest speakers
-Providing more workshops
-Adding more parking lots
-Developing more study areas
-Making community service part of curriculum
-Changing the General Education Program
-Expanding Study Abroad opportunities
-Increasing computer accessibility
-Increasing seminar-based instruction
-Increasing interdisciplinary learning

Try to rally support from professors and other students to make surveys part of coursework. Surveys are great projects, especially for groups. Creating your own survey will guide you through the basic steps of logic and reasoning. It will allow you to generate the questions and decide what issues are relevant. You have the power to affect change on this campus; both by creating surveys, and in the way you choose to answer survey questions.

Don’t just fill in the dots. Your written comments count, too--each one is typed up and distributed into categories. The comments are assessed independently from the rest of the survey. This is the place to address issues left out by the survey-makers. Often, there are major areas overlooked. Bring them to the University’s attention.

If you expect changes made on campus, do something about it. Backing up your request with the support of half the campus (or more) is a great way to start.