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Student Experience SurveyPrepared and Administered by

The Office of Institutional EffectivenessFall 2016

The 2016 Student Experience Survey surveyed how students experience the campus. It was administered as a pen and paper questionnaire to 143 randomly sampled respondents. The survey instrument included open-ended questions and several batteries of questions on a range of issues, including rankings of offices, student life, athletics, and academic support. The results are of interest to strategic planning, institutional assessment, and efforts to increase retention.

Principle InvestigatorAndrew Stuart Abel, Ph.D.

Assisted byTravis TostenAlexander Toms

CONTENTS

3 Executive Summary

4 Introduction to the Survey

4 Methods

4 Survey Participants

5 Results

5 What Attracted Students to Wilson

6 What Would Students Change?

7 Student Services Offices

8 The College Experience

9 Athletic Facilities and the Athletic Experience

10 Fitting In: The Campus Experience Questions

11 Gender Effects

12 Conclusion

13 Additional Materials

December, 22, 2016 Wilson College | Student Experience Survey, fall 2016 |

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Executive SummaryThe 2016 Student Experience Survey was completed by 143 students. The response rate was exceptional overall, although freshmen were under-sampled due to their clustering in FYS classes. The data collection design employed a classic cluster sample approach, with a random sample of classes, followed by administration to students in the classes sampled. The survey was administered in the fall of 2016 to elicit students’ impressions of the college, compare their responses to the campus offices that serve them, and prompt complaints and recommendations.

Key Findings In explaining Wilson’s attraction, use of the the word “small” was pronounced; the size of the College attracts

students.

With the exception of the VMT program, students were not drawn to Wilson for its programs any more than

they were drawn by other features.

The 3 most common attractors mentioned are the College’s size, proximity to home, and Wilson’s academic

programs; each of these were relatively equally represented among the responses.

The most negative comments addressed the dining hall, parking, and a lack of things to do.

The Counselling Center and the Career Development Office were most highly rated by students. The Dining

Hall was the lowest rated.

Athletes rated the Dining Hall much lower than other students.

Most students rated highly the overall experience at Wilson.

Of all variables, students’ ratings of clubs and organizations correlated most strongly with the rating of the

overall experience of Wilson.

Male students’ ratings of clubs and organizations were significantly lower than females’

An index of the College’s various offices also related strongly to ratings of the overall experience of Wilson.

Athletes and resident students did not differ from other students on most measures, but were somewhat less

likely to rate the College highly.

Athletes and resident students were also slightly less likely to agree that they feel they belong at Wilson.

Surprisingly, athletes’ ratings of the athletic facilities did not correlate to their ratings of their experiences as

athletes.

Most students report feeling they “belong at Wilson,” although there are indications that some racial/ethnic

groups do not feel they fit in well.

Results suggest that students’ relationship to Wilson’s traditions is mixed.

The low number of freshmen is an outcome of the random sampling approach employed. In the fall

semester, freshmen attend FYS classes, and this can effect sampling outcomes. Hence, in the future, when

samples are constructed on the basis of classroom clusters, the fall semester should be avoided if possible.


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INTRODUCTION TO THE SURVEYThe 2016 Wilson College Student Experience Survey was conceived as both a student satisfaction survey and as a means to assess the effectiveness of institutional services and organizations. The survey supports analysis of students’ attitudes toward Wilson College and its traditions and is relevant to efforts to support increased retention/persistence.

MethodsThe initial draft of the survey instrument was developed by Alexander Toms, with feedback on content and areas of interest from the IE Directory, the Dean of Academic Affairs, the Dean of Students, and members of the student services staff. Some questions were developed so as to overlap with National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) survey items. The survey was pretested on several Workstudy students, and the final preparation of the questionnaire was completed by the IE Director, with assistance from Travis Tosten.

The data collection method employed cluster sampling of students in randomly selected courses. As a form of random sampling, cluster sampling is highly effective and allows the added convenience of administering to groups of students in classrooms. The sampling universe included all students in all cohorts, although online, FYS, and extra-curricular courses, such as Billboard and theater courses, were not included in the sampling frame. From the list of all remaining courses, a purely random sample was selected via coin toss, with very few adjustments on the basis of course availability, other sections of the same course having more students, and in two instances a change in sections for practical purposes. Of the 23 courses selected, two adjunct professors never responded and one professor refused, for an 87.0% response rate at the course level. In the classes, the response was perfect; there were 143 total respondents, or a response rate of 100%.1 Given the response rate, and the positive attitude of the students, the respondents’ desire to contribute feedback as a means to improve the Wilson experience can be described as obvious.

Survey ParticipantsGiven the use of random sampling and the response rate, the survey sample can be assumed to be highly representative. However, freshmen were under-sampled, due to their participation in FYS classes. Although random sampling is the gold-standard, sampling bias can occur under special conditions. For instance, random samples of the national population often undercounts immigrant groups due to their tendency to reside in certain cities. A sample that did not include New York and Los Angeles, for instance, would almost surely undercount Asians. Yet it is a mistake to disparage a sample based on the representation of just one group. The General Social Survey (GSS), for example, notwithstanding its reputation as one of the best surveys ever produced, routinely undercounts some racial/ethnic groups. Moreover, given the subject matter of the Wilson survey—how students experience the College—the impressions of freshmen who have been at the college for a few months is arguably of less value. This is especially true give the College’s use of the NSSE which specifically targets freshmen. Hence, this survey’s outstanding response rate suggests the findings are generalizable. Indeed, the results to this survey are probably among the most representative of all surveys conducted over the past ten to fifteen years at Wilson.

The students were distributed among student types as follows:

Student Type N %Freshman/first year 13 9%

Sophomore 32 23%

Junior 42 30%

Senior 45 32%

Other/non-degree 9 6%

CohortsOf the participants, only 3.6% were from cohorts earlier than 2013. Of the 2013 and more recent cohorts, there was relatively even participation.

Gender

1 In a few classes surveyed, students who had taken the survey previously followed the directions and recused themselves.


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All participants answered the gender question and the ‘other’ option was not selected by any respondent. The distribution by gender was remarkably representative, with 17.5% male.

RaceResponse to the question on race was excellent; there no abstentions, which is quite rare these days. Most respondents were White (81.8%), and due to the small sample this allows only White vs non-White comparisons. Nonetheless, the sample is representative of the racial populations at Wilson:

Race N %Hispanic/Latino 7 4.9%

Asian 3 2.1%

Black or African American 8 5.6%

Native American or Pacific Islander 1 0.7%

White/Caucasian 117 81.8%

Other 7 4.9%

AgeThe majority of respondents were 19, 20, or 21 years of age. 71.7% were 22 years or less.

Commuters vs ResidentsThe respondents were evenly mixed; about half (51.1%) were commuters.

Car OwnersThe car ownership question was directed toward residential students. Of these, 73 respondents answered this question, or approximately half of the respondents. Of these, 76.7% reported having a car.

Other Demographic Questions 83.7% of the respondents claimed full-time status. The overwhelming majority of students were traditional undergraduates or ADP. One third were athletes. 6.3% claimed legacy status

RESULTSWhat Attracts Students to Wilson?Central to the construction of the survey is the issue of what students like about the College, and so respondents were asked via open-ended question what attracted them to Wilson. Of interest here is the relative representation of different possible items. Would most students claim to be attracted by the beauty of the campus? Are most here due to program availability? Is athletics a major attraction? What about the attraction of the VMT program? Are there other, less well understood attractive qualities that might serve the marketing and recruitment process? The complete set of responses is appended as “What Attracted You?”

Word Frequency Counts and the Word “Small”Analysis of word frequencies in the responses to this attraction question found a high number of references to the campus, the community, and the people here. The ‘niceness’ of the people was a repeated theme; of the 131 total responses to this question, there were 19 instances of the word “friendly,” for instance, and 21 instances of the words ‘help’ and ‘helpful.’ The strongest reference was to the teaching staff, with the single most commonly used word being “professors” at 34 references. Related terms, such as “faculty,” “instructors,” and “teachers” brought the total to 56 references.

The most intriguing finding was the frequent use of the word “small”; it was used in 34 comments, making it the second most commonly used term to praise Wilson. The word was used in relation to three things: small classes, small campus, and small community. Community was also otherwise linked to terms suggesting intimacy, such as “size,” “close” and “close-knit,” terms that likewise relate to smallness. That the single word ‘small’ occurred in approximately one quarter of the responses to an open-ended question of this sort is striking. It suggests that this


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word is likely to function as a key trigger in marketing messages and would support the recruitment of students who would be most likely to appreciate Wilson.

Programs as AttractorsTo what extent are students selecting Wilson on the basis of academic programs? The question cuts to the heart of how the college is to be marketed and how students are to be recruited; should Wilson present itself to potential applicants mostly as a pathway to particular occupations or mostly as a liberal arts college? The findings from the survey do not provide simple answers; the results are complex, yet nonetheless telling.

When considering survey response to items relating to decision making, self-presentation effects must always be considered. It is well established that respondents develop rationalizations after the fact, whereas actual decision making tends to be intuitive and affect driven. In the face of the bounded rationality in which most decisions are made, people routinely describe their decisions as rational and sure. Yet, careful analysis finds that explanations of decisions fit into patterns, especially cultural patterns. We should begin by assuming that what our students tell us about their decisions to study at Wilson should not be taken at face value. We should assume that their behavior follows patterns of discourse found in all aspects of human behavior, and it is worthwhile to consider other social contexts to better understand this phenomenon.

Researchers studying marriage and religious conversion, for instance, must take into account the strong likelihood that survey respondents will present reasonable sounding explanations that may have little relevance to their actual choices. For example, the preference to exaggerate differences between partners in explanations of choice of spouse is widespread, despite most marriage partners’ strong preference for partners who share the same social and economic status, educational levels, political orientations, and so on. Spouses may claim “I married the exact opposite!” but they rarely do. Similarly, in self-reporting on religious conversion, survey respondents tend to speak in terms of the common narratives of their religious groups. For instance, reports of miracles or supernatural aid almost inevitably fit into highly stereotyped patterns. Respondents’ claims about virtually any aspect of their lives will tend to fit normative expectations for self-presentation, and this is true even of responses given in anonymous surveys. Thus, we should assume that the respondents to this survey would be likely to describe their decision to attend Wilson in relation to how such decisions are presented in mainstream American culture.

The survey responses are to the attraction question do not appear atypical of college applicants. At a time when choosing colleges on the basis of particular programs is considered savvy, both in terms of consumer behavior and as a means to self betterment, respondents might prefer to see themselves as having made “smart” decisions. Thus, while at first glance attraction on the basis of programs appears strong, we must be careful.

Of the 137 total responses to this question, 76 individuals (55.5%) mention a program that attracted them to the college. This response, especially to an open-ended question, can be taken to suggest strong attraction on the basis of specific programs. However, more than half of these responses mention VMT or pre-vet, which means that aside from VMT the attraction on the basis of programs is weak. Moreover, even among the students who list a particular program as an attractor, whether VMT or some other, many also cite attributes that can easily be understood as reasons to study a program at Wilson, as opposed to somewhere else. For instance, one might study history or business at almost any college, whereas programs like VMT and the equestrian programs are less common.

Hence, although it was most common for respondents to name a program in response to the attraction question, given the high proportion of these comments that reference VMT, the normative expectation to describe college choices on the basis of programs, and the availability of many majors elsewhere, it is likely that Wilson’s programs are a meaningful but not an overwhelmingly strong impetus to apply.

Size, Proximity, and ProgramsWhen VMT as a programmatic choice is excluded, the number of responses that reference programs drops to 36, which is close to the two next common references: the location of the college (36 references) and size (37 total references, mostly using the term ‘small’). It thus appears that three main aspects of the College, all of which are more or less equally potent, are most likely to attract students to Wilson: 1) programs, 2) the small size of the college, and 3) convenient location.

What Would Students Change?One question asked students if they could change one thing what would it be. The responses were varied, and many students listed more than one item. Given the variety of comments, it is worthwhile to read the appended table of comments. The most common complaint was parking. Of the 130 responses to this question, 52 (40%), mentioned parking and two others used the expression “commuter friendly.” (Note that this survey was conducted weeks after completion of the new parking enhancements.)


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The second and third most common complaints concerned food and things to do on campus; there were 28 (21.5%) and 20 (15.4%) comments for these items, respectively. All of these are longstanding student criticisms, which undergirds another, more generalized complaint: the ineffectiveness of the College in responding to student concerns. As one survey respondent put it, “I feel like the complaints of students fall on deaf ears. Despite complaints on parking, dining hall, handicapped accessibility, I see no improvement.”

Student Service OfficesThe survey also assessed students’ interactions with student service offices. Here, again, student dissatisfaction with the Dining Hall2 is evident, as this is the lowest ranked of the areas surveyed. The other results are difficult to assess, due to the different functions these offices provide. For instance, some are offices that have to say “no” or deliver unpleasant news. Others provide support to troubled students. However, the lower ratings for the Business and Financial Aid offices match earlier findings of negative comments in the results from the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE), and word of mouth reports from students. Hence, students’ low rating of the Business Office suggests a continuing pattern of customer service not meeting students’ preferences and expectations.

The high ratings for the Counselling Center and the Career Development Office deserve special mention, as these areas correlate to positive retention outcomes and timely graduation in search of employment.

Office CommentsIn addition to the ratings of the various offices they are likely to interact with, the offices section concluded with an open-ended question: “In the space below, please help us out by providing comments on one or more of the offices listed above.” Once again, the response was excellent, with students taking the time to provide useful commentary. There were 92 written responses, all of which are appended below as “Office Comments.” Some of the responses were difficult to categorize, and some were quite ambiguous. However, most were clear and can thus be codified and tabulated. Although there were many positive comments, more were negative. Five offices drew the most comments:

2 Although not technically an “office,” the Dining Hall is included here because it provides a service to students, much as do the other offices compared in this section.


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Dining Hall, Business, Financial Aid, Registrar, and Security. Note that some comments list more than one aspect and some mention no single office in any specific way.

Most Comments PositiveNegativ

e N%

NegativeDining Hall 4 31 35 89%

Business Office 4 21 25 84%Financial Aid Office 10 8 18 44%

Registrar's Office 6 12 18 67%Security 2 8 10 80%

The Dining Hall received the highest percentage of negative comments (89%), followed by the Business Office. The Financial Aid Office drew more positive than negative comments, and the Registrar’s Office also received meaningful praise.

The Dining Hall and AthletesResponse to the Dining Hall was weak across all categories, but the response by student athletes was especially poor. Among 47 respondents who self-designate as athletes in the relevant demographic question, more than one quarter ranked the Dining Hall as a 1 of 7, the lowest possible response. Among non-athletes only 8.5% of the respondents ranked at that level. Clearly, there is a problem. One issue is that athletes who have way games and return late miss dinner, and this is an issue due to the lack of alternatives on campus.

The College ExperienceHow do students feel about their lives at Wilson College? Do they fit in? Do they participate? Do Wilson’s traditions mean much to them? Such question, needless to say, are integral to any attempt to understand the college experience Wilson provides. The survey addresses such questions in different ways, as we will see.

One question is particularly direct: students were asked to rate on a scale from 1 to 7 their “overall experience at Wilson.” This, the ‘overall rating’ question, provides a useful basis for comparison. The correlations between the results to this question and other ratings were compared to gauge which aspects of campus life best predict ratings of overall experience. While no single measure should be taken as definitive, the results of this analysis allow us to determine which aspects of campus life are of greatest importance to our students and most affect how they feel about Wilson.

Correlates to RatingsWhat correlates most directly with students’ rating of Wilson College? Is it interactions with faculty or the various offices? Is it the participation in traditions or sports? The social life on campus or the residential life experience? Actually it was none of these. The strongest correlation was with students’ ratings of the College’s clubs and organizations. Although the quality of social life was also a strong predictor, what apparently matters most for students is participation in organized activities of some sort, the kind of participation that clubs provide. The more positively students see Wilson’s clubs and organizations, the more highly they rate the College, and the relationship is very linear, which is to say direct (corr. coef. = .74). Put simply, students who like Wilson’s clubs like Wilson.

Another strong correlation exists between overall rating and ratings of offices. To compute this, the ratings of all the individual offices, such as Counselling and the Registrar’s Office, were combined into an index and compared against the overall rating of the College. The results indicate that students’ interaction with offices on campus affects the overall rating of the College (corr. coef. = .64).

Athletics, Commuters, and Overall RatingAthletic programs can contribute much to school spirit and can improve students’ sense of connection to a college. As members of teams, athletes are likely to put down roots in a campus community, and this can influence others as well. Wilson’s athletes play a special role at the College and may after graduation continue their sense of connection as supportive alumni/ae, so it is important to consider their impressions of the College and to survey them at regular intervals so as to remain aware of how they are faring.

A second group that is expected to develop special ties to the campus community are Wilson’s residential students. Because they do not reside on campus, commuter students are expected to relate to Wilson differently. Residency requirements at colleges across the nation are not merely intended to secure profits from room and board; residential students tend to develop stronger ties to their alma maters and to have more in the way of school spirit.


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The special status of athletes and commuters, notwithstanding, did these groups respond differently on the survey? How do Wilson’s athletes and residential students rate the College? Do they see the College more positively than non-athletes and commuters? Are they more likely to feel they belong here?

It is an important finding of this survey that these groups responded very similarly across many survey items; what different outcomes were obtained tended to be statistically insignificant. Yet in terms of the overall direction of these separate findings, a pattern emerges over the totality of the results, rather than at the levels of individual tabulations. Which is to say, although the results on individual tables may be insignificant, the larger pattern is. The relationship between overall ratings and athletics and residency shown in the following table, for instance, is not significant as presented, yet the results are illustrative nonetheless, especially since they do not conform to expectations.

As can be seen in the table, survey respondents’ ratings of the College are mostly positive, with all respondents averaging well above 5 out of 7. Yet the responses are unexpectedly lower for both athletes and residents; among the 34 respondents who self-designated as both athletes and residents, for instance, the average rating drops to 4.82.

Overall Rating by Athlete & Residency

Athlete Commuter ResidentTota

l

non-AthleteAve

. 5.50 5.14 5.37N 58 35 93

AthleteAve

. 5.15 4.82 4.91N 13 34 47

TotalAve

. 5.44 4.99 5.21N 71 69 140

A similar pattern was found in response to the statement “I feel that I belong here at Wilson College,” a Likert scale question coded from 1 to 4 on the basis of the response options.3 Once again the athletes and residents tended toward less positive responses, and the 33 individuals who were both athletes and residents and who responded to this question averaged just slightly above the “somewhat agree” level or 3.12 out of 4. Again, as with the table above, this outcome is not statistically significant when compared against the average of non-athlete commuters (3.35 of 4), yet this outcome fits the larger pattern.

Belonging by Athlete & Residency

Athlete Commuter ResidentTota

l

non-AthleteAve

. 3.35 3.21 3.3N 57 34 91

AthleteAve

. 3.31 3.12 3.17N 13 33 46

TotalAve

. 3.34 3.16 3.26N 70 67 137

Athletic Facilities and the Athletic ExperienceWilson’s aging athletic facilities are not ideal, yet the question of athletes’ preferences can be more complex. While it is likely that new or modernized facilities would be attractive to potential applicants, even this should not be assumed without evidence.

3 The response categories are strongly disagree, somewhat disagree, somewhat agree, and strongly agree.


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The survey results suggest that the experience of the athletic program is not merely dependent upon facilities, and we should remain open to the consideration of some level of disconnect between facilities and how students actually feel about their experiences as athletes. An unexpected finding from the survey is that the responses show no meaningful relationship between the athletic facilities and the overall athletic experience of Wilson’s athletes.

The following scatterplot presents the responses to two questions: the question that asks students to rate the quality of the athletic facilities and another eliciting response to the “overall experience as an athlete.” The scatterplot limits the responses to only those respondents who self-designate as athletes, although similar results obtained for all respondents.4 As can be seen, there is no pronounced pattern; students who rate the facilities poorly do not necessarily rate their athletic experiences poorly. That is, students who disparage the facilities may appraise their overall experience very highly, and vice versa.

However, although there was no relationship between athletes and and their ratings athletic facilities, gender was relevant, with males rating the facilities noticeably lower (see the Gender Effects section below). The positive t-test outcome in this regard is surprising given that there are not many males in the sample and several of them did not respond to this question.

The lack of a relationship between athletes and athletic facilities is unexplained on the basis of this survey; there are no explanatory relationships with other questions that might shed light, beyond the gendered outcome, and so this finding should be explored in future research. Possible survey questions might address the relationship between student athletes and their coaches, how the lack of adequate facilities may foster adaptive responses that end up being fun and fulfilling, and the extent to which the present survey instrument or method of administration may have led to these unexpected results.

Facilities & the Athlete Experience—No Relationship

Fitting In: The Campus Experience QuestionsA series of survey questions queried students on aspects of campus life and how students feel they fit in. Key results are shown in the graphic below. These questions are important for gauging students felt level of participation and how they experience the College socially.

The high ratings given in response to the questions about fitting in and finding it easy to find friends at Wilson are gratifyingly positive. Students clearly enjoy the social life of the College. This result held across gender groups, for athletes and non-athletes, and for commuters and residents. Interestingly, the average result for commuters was slightly higher, which is surprising given that they spend less time on campus; this finding is not statistically significant, however.

4 Jitter at level 4 was added to reveal the number of individuals at each point on the scatterplot.


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RaceOne concern is the response to these first two questions by different racial groups. Due to the high proportion of Caucasians, it is difficult to compare Wilson’s racial groups. Moreover, the results are mixed by racial group. The 7 persons who self-describe as Hispanic/Latino reported higher rates of belonging than Caucasian students. Indeed, the overall difference between non-Whites and Whites was mostly due to the 8 African American students, three of whom responded with low rankings and only one responded at the highest level (i.e., with a 4). Given the stresses that commonly attend racial difference, together with the greater tendency for Wilson’s non-White students to come from out of state, this finding is worth following up on in future research.

TraditionsDespite a sense of belonging, students’ response to questions on the Wilson traditions was not strong. Two closely related questions were used in different batteries, one positive and one negative. The positive version is “I participate in Wilson’s traditions”; the negative version is “The traditions on campus are not important to me.” The responses to both were middling at best. That is to say, they rank toward the bottom of these questions.

Gender EffectsMale and female students’ responses differ on several items and males’ responses were lower overall, as seen in the table below. In general, Wilsons’ male students appear to be less satisfied. They responded as significantly less likely to appreciate the athletic facilities, for instance. Males also rate their academic advisors lower, which is concerning, given the importance of academic advising for facilitating students’ progress and building a sense of connection to the College.

GenderMale Female

Quality of athletic facilities 3.87* 4.84Clubs and Student Orgs. 4.25* 5.12

Dining Hall 3.17 3.92Bookstore 4.82* 5.50

Counseling Center 5.53 6.07Academic Advisor 5.68* 6.18Chaplain's Office 5.13 5.60


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Residential Life Office 4.78 5.16Overall Experience at Wilson 4.96 5.26

Interactions with Faculty 5.56 5.85Financial Aid Office 4.84 5.09

Interactions with Students 5.20 5.21Overall experience as an athlete 5.20 5.15

Social Life on Campus 4.36 4.31Business Office/Student Accounts 4.72 4.63

Registrar's Office 5.28 4.93Career Development Office 5.89* 5.20

Statistically significant via t-test at the 95% confidence level = *

Males responded more positively than females in the five categories at the bottom of the table, although only one of these was statistically significant. With only 25 males in the survey sample, it is impossible to drill down to compare multivariate effects, such as the interaction of age and gender, which is unfortunate, since some of these findings may be spurious due to the interaction effects of other variables.

Of the findings on gender, two things stand out. One is the extent to which males on campus are athletes and are thus influenced by the quality of the facilities. Given the current situation, methods of recruiting males that highlight athletics may be likely to generate less satisfied male students. For instance, reliance on coaches for recruiting males, which would be entirely appropriate and many colleges, may negatively impact retention here at Wilson.

A second issue is the lower rating males give clubs and student organizations. Because, as was seen previously, this rating correlates strongly with how students rate the College experience overall, the significantly lower response of males is concerning. The secret to strong enrollment of males may lie in how male students are involved in the institutional aspects of the campus life experience.

ConclusionAs with all successful surveys, the 2016 Student Experience Survey raises as many questions as it answers. We should not take these results as the last word, but only as one step on a journey toward better understanding of the College and its students. Moreover, it is important to engage students in explaining the results. Focus group surveys may be needed to understand how students read the survey questions and what they may have had in mind when responding. A first priority will be work with a reporter from Billboard, such that the results may be made known to the campus community. In addition, a presentation and open discussion will be offered as part of the Data & Decisions seminar series.

One issue moving forward is the need for information on freshmen. Because the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) will be administered in the spring and because freshmen are likely to be less aware of various aspects of student life, the under-sampling is not a drawback for this survey. However, it would be preferable to run future iterations of this survey in spring semesters and alternate with the NSSE.


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Additional Materials

Office CommentsColumn1Academic Support Center did not offer help in subject matter. Another time was given help in math and tutor was not helpful and a little rude, late, didn't show, did not have knowledge of materialAcademic support is a fabulous resource for students, highly recommendASC - times are very difficult to schedule with busy class schedule; hope to find tutors that may not be students to help with odd hour appointments/ better timeASC had a great tutor my first year at Wilson that really helped in my math course

Bookstore did not have enough iClickers available at beginning of semester; Residential Life office - it was difficult to do off-campus request - it seemed very extensive just to switch from dorms to living with parents and commutingBusiness office - not pleasant or helpful; career development and Chaplain - try very hard and very nicebusiness office is hard to get in contact with, dining hall has improved greatly since 2 years agobusiness office is hard to work with, not very welcomingBusiness office is inconsiderate of emotions associated with finances

Business Office: Every time I go for one of my clubs that I am in, they tell me that everything will be good if I do this and that and then right at the last minute, I get told that I need something else. Dining Hall: It would be awesome if the dining hall had longer hoursCounseling Center - 5 stars amazing; Res Life won't let students rent on campus with child; wish full-time tuition for ADP was same as part-timeCounseling Office is amazingDining Hall - have more hoursdining hall - unusual food, sometimes not cooked well, slow to help; security - slow to helpDining hall food is not the greatest, student accounts are not always accurate and when you owe money, it's later when you find outDining Hall food started off great at the beginning of the year, but they started reverting back. I know many people who go in there and don't even eat. Bookstore's new incorporation of the café is fantasticDining hall is crap with nothing to eat.Dining hall is understaffed and prepare poor quality food that lacks basic food groupsdining hall needs better food variety, security shouldn't write tickets when there's nowhere to parkdining hall needs better food, it's insane the amount we pay for such terrible food. Lines are now also taking 35+ minutes at the bar stations because they have only one woman working them.dining hall needs to be improved and cleanerDining hall staff is rude about to-go boxes on weekends and doesn't answer complaints but instead makes excusesDining hall would not allow me to purchase lunch because I did not have my student ID with me; Registrar's Office is always rudeeveryone is always available and readyFaculty make some processes difficult (i.e. business office)Financial aid and business office not always friendly or clear, very late and unreliableFinancial Aid has been helpful. ACS tutors could have been betterFinancial Aid has taken care of everything for me and made it easyFinancial aid is so helpful and willing to answer questions anytime, the counseling center is very responsive and willing to work with different schedules.

Financial Aid Office - honestly they weren't helpful (at least the person I talked to), they just kept telling me to look at links, but I wanted to have a discussion to go over options. I felt my questions got rude, short responsesFinancial aid office is extremely helpfulFinancial Aid was always open to assist me with my concernsFinancial aid/business office is terrible. They never know what's going on and always try to over or double charge


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food is nasty, security gives unnecessary ticketsfood sucks, stop trying to make foreign stuff, make normal foodFor the residential life office, the people are rude and do not care about your concerns. The tutors in the academic support center are sometimes not that helpful.I always emphasize how the dining hall should offer more non-pork meats. There is like 5 different porks and 1-2 options of non-pork meat.I feel as though there is a lack of communication between the offices, leaving the student confused and also making it seem that the offices are inefficientI have yet to have a bad experience in the dining hall and the security officers are very helpfulI only take 2 classes per semester, so I pretty much do not have a social life on campus. I mostly contact the office via email.I was directed to another office and then sent back to the same office repeatedly until they spoke. Then they were able to decide which office should handle the matter. They seemed confusedIt would be nice if there was a program to show ADP students the campus and where to go for ID cards and such.management and communication between students and these offices is not good.Most offices need to be quicker in responding to problems the students face with student accounts, food, or registration.My tutor through the Academic Support Center did nothing to help me. The financial aid office has been very helpful during my time at Wilson.

need notifications about money due on student accounts - not always checked, especially after getting a refund check. We get so many unnecessary emails/notifications…a simple email about balance due should be helpful.need to get business aspect more coherent because it takes forever to deal with anything near business office/financial aid (the ladies are extremely kind though)Never experienced Chaplain's Office. Financial aid has more than one person promising many things that they can't follow through with.not very well connected, very individualistic atmospheres per departmentRegistrar good at their job, but not always approachable; Dining hall - lady who scans cards is a little intimidatingRegistrar isn't always approachable

Registrar's Office - rude, difficult to get a direct response, understaffed; Business/Student Accounts - unorganized, understaffed, redirects questions; Financial Aid - difficult to get in touch with, sometimes difficult to understandRegistrar's office never calls back or emails back when you have issues or questions, not approachableRegistrar's office were rude - not the adminstrative assistant when you first walk in - she was nice, the other ladies were rude - seemed impatient with trying to helpRegistrar/Business/Student Accounts?Financial Aid - needs to be earlier with info and not give notification last minute. Dining hall - the food is getting worse, the taste, flavor selectionSecurity - had to wait 30 mins for someone; registrar - rude and talked down to meSecurity - Kevin and Sam are awesome. Business Office - has attitude; Dining hall - need serious improvement on quality of food; food that is good, they ruin with peppers; not everything needs pepperssecurity hung up on my phone callSecurity is always very helpful when needed. Bookstore staff is very friendly, never had any problems with Registrar or Business OfficeSecurity is hardly ever at their desk, the dining hall needs to be open longer/more hours with more choices of food, temp of food/freshness is badSecurity isn't well trained in policy, Res Life is outdated, dining hall feed us things that they don't even know what it isSome of the people working in the registrar's office can be unapproachable at times and the same with the financial aid officeSome of the staff does not seem very helpful/inviting in business office, registrar, etc.

Student accounts - it would be helpful if statements were mailed or emailed to students prior to the point


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where they are considered past due.The business accounts office makes so many mistakes on our bills, overcharge us, and lack communicationThe business office and financial aid office have no notification system besides the portal of student account or tuition changes. An email is appreciated. (no one checks portal on a regular basis)The business office does a great job at giving you no time to pay bills and making you panic. Dining hall is slowly getting better each year.The business office is slow to respond to emails and sometimes they don't respond at all!The counseling center has really helped me stay positive and be able to deal with the stresses in my life without letting it affect my academicsThe counseling center is there to help and all the counselors are really friendly and are easy to talk to.The Dining hall "accomodations" to allergies is slim to none. Half the time, I have nothing to eat there or they have yet to make it which takes 30-45 minutes. Usually I do not have time for that.The dining hall food could be a lot better. Needs more meat/chickenThe dining hall food makes me feel like Wilson does not care about the students or about feeding them properlyThe dining hall food needs to be improved and the hours need to be extendedThe dining hall has a lot of room for improvement, dishes-wise: cleanliness, food preserving, bugs in bagels; and food choicesThe dining hall is not run efficiently. On days with bars/stations, there is only one or two people working there. It's not fair to them and it's not fair to the students and faculty waiting in long linesThe dining hall needs music/TVs to get people's attention or provide entertainmentThe dining hall needs to have a wider variety of food, keep it simpleThe food in the dining hall could really use some improvement. Go simple and don't try to be fancy.the food is horribleThe general interactions with the business office usually occur because of a mistake that has been made to my account, or a charge that is months late in being recorded.The registrar has always been extremely helpful and pleasantThe registrar helped me out by getting me into a class I needed to graduate on time. When I had issues with my financial aid, the financial aid and business office worked together to get it straightened outThe registrar is mean. Financial Aid is so helpful to me. The one lady in the business office is mean, but everyone else is helpful.The Registrar's office doesn't communicate well regarding credit evaluations and degree requirementsthe staff in the registrar, business and financial aid offices are all very friendly and willing to help answer any questionsThe staff was nice and fixed problems in a timely mannerThey are very busy but quite kindThey helped me when I asked questions (Registrar and Financial Aid). The Dining hall staff always have nice greetingsuncircled departments are places I have never been. Registrar messed up transfer credits in the beginning; Dining hall needs more options


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"What Attracted You?"accesibility of the programAll girls school before it went co-ed, and the equestrian departmentAt Wilson, I can get both of my majors and it's close to home. It is a beautiful campus with positive people.athletics, nature on campus, ENV programAthletics, Pre-vetathletics, small campus sizeBSN program, the location toobuildings, courses, transfer counselorcampus size and major availabilityclass sizes, but I came to play basketballclose proximity to our homeclose to homeclose to homeclose to homeclose to home, nursing program doesn't require pre-requisitesclose to home, smallclosest school with TIP programCoach Caleb Davis and the new men's soccer programDance programDivision 3 Athleticseasy study and all the professors are friendlyEquestrian program and beautiful campusequestrian program and Dr. Tukey (past equine director)Equestrian program with ridingEquine programsfield hockey, small classroom sizesFulton Farmgood equestrian program; small, quiet campushands on, offered bachelorshelp with aid and close to homehighly accredited VMT programHow friendly everyone was, also the historic buildings, small class sizeI came for basketball and got stuckI heard they had a great VMT program and it was close to homeIt is a great academic institution.It was a convenient location.It was localit's a tight knit communitylocationLocation (close to home), equine studies are offered herelocation and small class sizelocation in the mountains, small school = small class sizeslocation to my house and worklocation, close to home and the athleticslocation, close to my residencelocation, liberal views, qualified staff


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major availabilityMy mother and the advisor for nursingNursing program and locationNursing program close to homepersonal help from teacherplaying basketballpleasant atmosphere and smallprice and locationproximity to home and the animal studies majorproximity to home, able to register for Fall classes in summer (so could start pursuing my degree ASAP), nursing program, small class sizeresponse of program director, proximity to homescholarshipsingle parent scholar programsingle parent scholar program, small class sizessmall campussmall campus which means smaller class roomssmall campus, athleticssmall campus, equestrian programs, nice location, scholarships offeredsmall campus, small classrooms, opportunity to play soccersmall campus, softball, overall atmospheresmall campus; EFT majorsmall class sizes and welcoming/supportive environmentsmall class sizes, 4 year VMT program, campus sizesmall class sizes; Division 3 athleticssmall class/campus size, 4 year VMT program, hands-on classessmall classes, Professor Raulli, sportssmall college with fewer studentssmaller class sizes, close to home, student-staff interactionssmaller more intimate classessmaller school; very animal friendly; decent dormssoftball and VMT programsports and previous coachSPS programstudy and practice Englishthe 3+1 program for communications and humanitiesthe affiliation and 3:1 program with Vermont Lawthe athleticsThe atmosphere, very unique buildingsThe business management major and the basketball team.the campus, enthusiasm toward traditions, teachers love their jobsthe close and friendly atmospherethe closeness to homethe EFT and equestrian programsthe equine and animal studiesthe equine programThe nursing program, close commute to home and the buildingsthe offering of the TIP program


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The only college within commuter distance that offered a bachelor's degree in my major was Wilsonthe pre-vet programthe programs and the small campusthe scenarythe single parent programthe single parent scholar programthe small campus and small class sizesthe small class sizes and the VMT programthe traditions and originally the VMT programThe Veterinary program that Wilson providesthe VMT programthe VMT programThe VMT program and Equestrian Studies programThe VMT program and the small campus/class sizesThe VMT program. We could have pets in the dormsThey accepted all of my transfer credits and I like the liberal and private atomsphereThey have a nice VMT program and are a small campusTIPTIP programto play soccerunique VMT program, near familyVMT and horses, small school, car as a freshman, riding teamsVMT and soccer, also very close to homeVMT as a bachelor's degreeVMT major and playing softballVMT programVMT programVMT programVMT programVMT programVMT programVMT programVMT programVMT program and equestrian teamsVMT program and equitation/equestrian programVMT program and small campusVMT program provides a 4-year hands-on learning experienceVMT program was hands on and provided a bachelor's degreeVMT program, close to homeVMT program, college close to homeVMT program, small sizeVMT program, smaller campusVMT program, sports VMT/Animal Studies majors


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