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Student Interest Survey
Student Interest Survey, Fall 2000 and Fall 1999
In 1999 and 2000, the office of Planning,
Budget and Analysis assisted A Matter of Degree program in
surveying new freshmen and transfer students at orientation and
into the first month of classes. The purpose of the survey was to
encourage incoming students to become involved with various
extracurricular activities and organizations on the CU-Boulder
campus, and to help them become involved with student groups and
activities early on in their CU career. As a result of the
surveys, CU-Boulder student organizations and clubs were given
lists of names of students who were interested in that particular
organization and asked to contact them.
In 1999, the questionnaire was a scannable
form that was distributed at orientation to incoming students, and
non-respondents were aggressively followed up and encouraged to
reply through assistance from resident hall advisors during the
first month of classes. In 2000, however, the questionnaire was a
web-based instrument and it was not administered until the first
month of classes, at which time students were already busy and
less likely to respond. See the Survey methods and response rates
section below for a summary of the two survey administrations and
to view both questionnaires.
Given the major differences in the design of
the questionnaires, the differences in response rates, survey
methods and timing, we did not compare results from 2000 to those
of 1999. The data from 1999 served primarily as a pilot to
determine how to proceed in surveying this same constituent in
2000; no formal report was issued. Both the 1999 and 2000 data
were also used to assist A Matter of Degree Program in setting up
a system whereby entering freshmen and transfers could be linked
up with UCB student organizations and clubs in their first
semester at CU-Boulder.
Initially, there were plans to repeat the
survey in 2001 with an enhanced web-based questionnaire. ITS and A
Matter of Degree Program had hoped to produce a web interface that
could provide immediate feedback on the student organizations of
interest to those students completing the survey. However, because
of limited resources in these departments, the plans for
re-administering this enhanced survey were never implemented.
Results from the 2000 survey are
summarized in the tables listed below. For further information
about the results of this survey, contact
Bob Maust, principal investigator for
the A Matter of Degree Program
.
Survey methods and response rates
- In 1999, the survey was distributed at three different time points: at two separate orientation
periods: one mid-summer, one at the end, in August., and one last attempt to get feedback in
the dorms the first week of school, with assistance from the RA’s. The response rate was quite
good, given the captive audience at Orientation and the RA-assistance. 2,008 new freshmen and
transfers responded (out of an approximate 5,500), which was over 1/3 responding.
- The 1999 questionnaire was a scannable form, and the questions
were worded and analyzed differently. For EACH activity, organization or sport, students were
asked to respond on a scale from 1 to 4 (A to D), where 1= "Interested in the activity
for college, but never participated in it in high school," 2=" participated
1-2 years in high school," 3=" participated 3-4 years in high school," and
4="participated in a leadership role, regardless of number of years involved."
- In 2000, the survey was administered completely via the Web, but it was not done until the fall
semester was well underway, near the end of September. Pre-notification letters were sent to all
new freshmen and transfer students, and then an email invitation to complete the survey on the
Web was sent to 6,047 new freshmen/transfers, who had current email addresses. The RA’s help
was also enlisted, and they were asked to encourage students in their dorms to fill out the
survey. The response rate was quite low, with only 655 unique individuals responding -- an
11% response rate.
- The 2000 web-based questionnaire was designed quite differently
from that of the 1999 questionnaire. The college activities were listed separately, and students
checked off all activities they were interested in. They were asked about high school
activities and their leadership involvement in these in a separate section that was open-ended
in format. For instance, they were asked to write in the TOP 3 activities they participated
in in high school, and then to mark whether they had held a leadership role in that activity.
- Issues encountered during the 2000 web survey administration:
The Web is certainly an easier and faster way to collect survey data. However, we
have since discovered that many students do not use their CU email accounts, and so we estimate
that anywhere from 1/4 to 1/3 of the sample members may not have even
seen the student e-memo invitation to fill out the survey. Also, the timing of the survey may
have been another factor in lowering the response rate: e.g., students may have already felt
"connected" to various extracurricular activities and been too busily involved in the
semester to respond; and the length of the survey instrument may have also been a deterrent.
For example, we noticed there were about 1400 hits to the survey entrance page, but only 712
completed surveys.
Results from the Fall 2000 Web survey
Demographics of the respondents
The tables below show certain characteristics of respondents, including the number who responded
from each residence hall. The following summarizes some major findings from these tables. (We did
not try to determine response rates by residence hall, but list this information here to provide
another characterization of the respondents.)
- Females were more likely than males to respond to the survey.
- Residents more likely than non-residents to respond.
- About ¼ of respondents did NOT want their names posted to lists with other students interested
in the same activities.
Fall 2000 Student Interest Inventory Results - Demographics of Respondents
RESPONDENTS: POPULATION:
ENTRLVL Frequency Percent ENTRY LEVEL
------------------------------
Freshman 576 88% Freshmam -- 92%
Transfer 79 12% Transfers -- 8%
GENDER Frequency Percent GENDER
------------------------------
Female 401 61% Female -- 48%
Male 253 39% Male -- 52%
Frequency Missing = 1
REPORTING RESIDENCY
SCD_RES Frequency Percent RESIDENCY
---------------------------------
Non-Residents 228 37% Non-RES -- 45%
Residents 395 63% Residents -- 55%
Frequency Missing = 32
Cumulative Cumulative
RESIDENCE HALL (Self-Reported) Frequency Percent Frequency Percent
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Baker Hall 43 7.3 43 7.3
Cheyenne Arapaho Hall 35 6.0 78 13.3
College Inn 5 0.9 83 14.1
Farrand Hall 37 6.3 120 20.4
Hallett Hall 39 6.6 159 27.1
Kittredge Halls: Andrews 32 5.5 191 32.5
Kittredge Halls: Arnett 29 4.9 220 37.5
Kittredge Halls: Buckingham 32 5.5 252 42.9
Kittredge Halls: Kittredge West 21 3.6 273 46.5
Kittredge Halls: Smith 38 6.5 311 53.0
Libby Hall 37 6.3 348 59.3
OTHER (Kensington, Timber Ridge, Sterling) 35 6.0 383 65.2
Reed Hall 4 0.7 387 65.9
Sewall Hall 32 5.5 419 71.4
The Quad: Aden Hall 13 2.2 432 73.6
The Quad: Brackett Hall 16 2.7 448 76.3
The Quad: Cockerell Hall 9 1.5 457 77.9
The Quad: Crosman Hall 14 2.4 471 80.2
Will Village: Darley North 29 4.9 500 85.2
Will Village: Darley South 12 2.0 512 87.2
Will Village: Stearns East 35 6.0 547 93.2
Will Village: Stearns West 31 5.3 578 98.5
Willard Hall 9 1.5 587 100.0
Frequency Missing = 68
OK To Post Name to List?
Cumulative Cumulative
OKTOPST Frequency Percent Frequency Percent
------------------------------------------------------
No 157 24.2 157 24.2
Yes 492 75.8 649 100.0
Frequency Missing = 6
Number of activities selected by respondents
- On average, the 655 respondents picked about 10 college activities they were interested in.
- The most frequently selected number of activities was between 8. and 9.
- However, these new freshmen and transfer students chose anywhere from 0 to 31 activities.
- 25% of respondents selected 0 to 6 activities,
- 50% selected 0 to 9 activities,
- and 75% of respondents selected up to 12 college activities.
The top 5-6 activities selected by respondents
- There was much overlap in the top 5-6 activities selected by all students, and by each of
the sub-groups.
- All groups (students, females, males, residents and non-residents) selected Study Abroad,
Skiing/Snowboarding, and Habitat for Humanity as ONE of their top 5 choices, but the proportion
selecting each activity varied greatly across groups. (See the table below for detailed
comparisons.)
|
TOP 5-6 College Activities |
|
|
TOP 6 FOR ALL
|
ALL RESPONDENTS |
|
Study Abroad |
59% |
|
Skiing/Snowboarding |
45% |
|
Habitat for Humanity |
38% |
|
Volunteer out of school/own time |
35% |
|
Hiking |
31% |
|
Volunteer Clubs Key Club, etc |
30% |
| |
|
|
TOP 5 for FEMALES |
FEMALES |
|
Study Abroad |
68% |
|
Habitat for Humanity |
47% |
|
Volunteer out of school/own time |
44% |
|
Skiing/Snowboarding |
41% |
|
Volunteer Clubs Key Club, etc |
36% |
| |
|
|
TOP 6 for MALES |
MALES |
|
Skiing/Snowboarding |
54% |
|
Study Abroad |
46% |
|
Hiking |
35% |
|
Frisbee |
33% |
|
Habitat for Humanity |
26% |
|
Fraternities or Sororities |
26% |
| |
|
|
TOP 5 for RES |
RESIDENTS |
|
Study Abroad |
54% |
|
Habitat for Humanity |
39% |
|
Skiing/Snowboarding |
38% |
|
Volunteer out of school/own time |
35% |
|
Volunteer Clubs Key Club, etc |
31% |
| |
|
|
TOP 6 for NON-RES |
NON-RESIDENTS |
|
Study Abroad |
68% |
|
Skiing/Snowboarding |
61% |
|
Hiking |
39% |
|
Habitat for Humanity |
37% |
|
Volunteer out of school/own time |
34% |
|
Outward Bound* (rock clmb, camping) |
33% |
COLLEGE ACTIVITIES -- Overall Findings
- Over half (59%) of all respondents (N=655) mentioned they were interested in Study Abroad, while
almost half (46%) of freshmen/new transfers said they were interested in skiing and/or snowboarding.
- 30% or more of all respondents selected the following top 5 activities as ones they were
most interested in (See Table B-1 for a complete listing).
- Study Abroad (59%)
- Skiing/Snowboarding (46%)
- Habitat for Humanity (38%)
- Volunteering out of school/own time (34%)
- Hiking (31%)
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IR@colorado.edu csk--W:\pba\surveys\special\stuint\index.htm -- updated 9/23/04
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