Senate to purchase new software program

A resolution passed by the Tufts Community Union (TCU) Senate last week will allow for the purchase of a new software program that will make it easier to survey the student body on a wide range of topics.

The aim of this software is to produce surveys that will be sent to all undergraduates via the Internet. The software would theoretically produce more scientific results, and be a more formal and more accurate method of gathering data than what currently exists.

The Senate has not been allowed to use University resources to conduct polls. The administration has run polls in the past which addressed student concerns with dining halls, the library, the administration, and the telephone system. The Office of Institutional Research (OIR) _ which gathers and analyzes survey information for the University _ is not allowed to work with students on this type of undertaking.

However, the OIR has agreed to help draft the surveys which the senate will use with the new program.

Although the Senate had purchased a large amount of expensive equipment for a similar purpose in the past, it is no longer suitable for their current needs, said freshman Dave Baumwoll, the senator spearheading the project.

Efforts made by past senates to conduct polls ended after a lack of sophisticated software made the projects too difficult, Baumwoll said.

"[The Senate] wants to get more connected to the will of the student body and sometimes when we don't know what people are thinking, we just have to go by what we hear. This software is going to be the way to do it," Baumwoll said.

Aside from giving students the opportunity to voice their level of satisfaction with university services, Baumwoll adds that the surveys will likely alert the Senate to possible concerns, such as the school's alcohol policy. "With this, we can get figures so that we can focus our efforts a lot better, and not just pull ideas off the tops of our heads," he said.

The specifics of the software are not yet known, but it will include templates for setting up surveys, programs that enable the surveys to be sent via email, and should be easy to use.

The cooperation between the Office of Institutional Research and the Senate on this project is an unusual approach, since OIR is normally restricted from contact with students. But the office's Executive Director Dawn Terkla has agreed to work with the Senate to screen the proposed surveys for bias and straightforwardness before they are administered.

Survey construction consultation is one of Institutional Research's main missions, along with designing, executing, and reporting projects for the University. The office also habitually finishes marketing research, outcome assessment, and policy analyses.

Past survey topics have included undergraduate matriculation, graduating seniors, the Tisch Library, retention rates, Tufts in Talloires, graduate school alumni, and health care.

Baumwoll is also interested in forming a Senate Surveyors Board, responsible for the creation and distribution of the surveys, but development for that is not yet underway. A public relations committee _ which would consist of three individuals to aid with organization _ is also in the works.

The estimated cost of the software is $1,350. Baumwoll is confident that the Senate has sufficient funds set aside for such an investment, citing that the decision to put the course guides online this year saved them money.

"The leftover money from [the online course guides] has helped us out a lot, and we will budget for future years as well," Baumwoll explained.

Student opinions are mixed on the subject and whether or not they think this is a positive investment.

"Yes, I think it's worthwhile because this is a good way to get complaints addressed that are otherwise ignored," freshman Ilya Lozovsky said.

Others are more quizzical. "It depends on how much money is spent in relation to the budget, who decides that?" freshman Bradley Scott said. "What do they hope to accomplish? It's hard to gauge how good an investment will be when you don't know what the outcomes are or what's going to be achieved."