ASMSU President Blake Bjornson said that student government plans to use the results from a recent survey to help inform its decison-making. Last fall’s student needs assessment, the first effort of its kind in several years, sought to capture students’ attitudes towards various ASMSU programs and services.
Survey results indicate a relatively high satisfaction with ASMSU programming and services, while concluding that student government could do more to improve its communication efforts with students.
Most respondents, over 80 percent, said they were satisfied with their representation by student senate and the ASMSU executive branch, but the majority said they did not know how to contact elected student leaders. The survey also provided comparative data between specific ASMSU programs, such as Campus Entertainment and the Marga Hosaeus Fitness Center.
Student government worked closely with MSU graduate student Teresa Borrenpohl, a former student body president, to create the survey. After identifying various stakeholder groups around campus, Borrenpohl collaborated with ASMSU to formulate survey questions.
The voluntary, online survey was accessible to students through a link sent to student e-mail addresses and the ASMSU Facebook page. Around 3 percent of the student body, 435 students, responded.
The assessment acknowledged that the format encouraged respondents who were likely to be already engaged with student government, potentially creating sampling bias even though ASMSU offered gift card incentives to attract broader participation. Nevertheless, Bjornson said, he is confident that the respondents are sufficiently representative of the student body.
Digesting the Data
Bjornson said the survey was carried out not only to gather student opinion, but to use the results to initiate conversations within student government to help make decisions that accurately reflect students’ wants and needs.
The goal,” he explained, “is to use it to inform our budget decisions,” adding that while “we can’t do everything for everyone, we can at least do something.”
He said he hopes the survey will be considered by student senators as they allocate program budgets for next school year in the coming months. Programs with lower ratings may be examined more closely to determine whether they are serving students in the best way possible.
Bjornson cited ASMSU’s art gallery, the Exit Gallery, as an example of a program that senators may choose to discuss in regards to student funds. Around 63 percent of respondents said they believe the Exit Gallery is a good use of student funds, the second lowest among ASMSU programs after the Campus Entertainment committee’s comedy offerings.
Bjornson explained he does not believe the Exit Gallery should be closed, but said that “I do think the people who are responsible fiscally have to take that into account.”
“Those are hard, hard choices, he added. “I don’t envy the senators who have to make them.”
In addition to using survey results to make budgetary decisions, Bjornson hopes to look at increasing public relations efforts for services that are less well-known.
