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Survey Shows Student Satisfaction Is Up Again
By Amy Callahan ccording to the results of an annual survey conducted by the Office of Planning and Institutional Research (OPIR), the majority of undergraduates said they would recommend Columbia to prospective students and are generally satisfied with their experience of college life here.
The survey, conducted last spring, showed increases in satisfaction over past years—an upward trend that reflects the University's efforts to improve undergraduate quality of life, particularly through improvements in student services, facilities and campus activities, according to Associate Provost Marian Pagano. "The areas where we do see increases are the areas we targeted with resources," Pagano said. "We're still not where we want to be in some areas, but we're marching in the right direction." The results were compiled from two surveys: one of the graduating seniors in Columbia College and the Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science; the other of underclassmen. The seniors, who were required to take the survey, produced a return rate of at least 95 percent during the three years it has been administered. Each year more than 1,000 surveys were returned from underclassmen, a 50 percent return rate. Among seniors, areas that reflected significant improvement and overall satisfaction included:
Among underclassmen, the areas showing increases in satisfaction included: social life, cultural activities, athletics, dining and computing. The results are one tool that the University uses to assess and address student needs, Pagano said. "The senior administration looks forward to seeing the results of these surveys each year and uses them when planning and developing their budgets," she explained. "These results are very important," said Vice President for Student Services Mark Burstein. "I use them for training, capital decisions and staff evaluations. The surveys are really the best way to take the pulse of undergraduate student opinion." The surveys were written by the Consortium on Financing Higher Education (COFHE), the membership of which includes the nation's most selective private colleges and universities, and were conducted and analyzed by Pagano's office. The survey has been conducted yearly at Columbia since 1994.
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