Seniors say they are more willing to donate to Tufts than alumni giving statistics might imply, and students strongly support expanding Health Service's hours, according to the Tufts Community Union Senate's semesterly survey.
The Senate released the results of this semester's survey to the Daily on Sunday. "The survey is really important to us. It's a great way to solicit feedback on our projects," TCU President Duncan Pickard said.
The Senate e-mailed the survey to the undergraduate student body on Nov. 12 and gave the community until Nov. 23 to respond. All told, 1579 students participated for a total response rate of 31.4 percent. Dan Pasternack, the Senate's Student Outreach Committee co-chair, said this was "definitely a good turnout."
The survey's topics ranged from possible new initiatives such as a communal bicycle program to roommate compatibility and satisfaction with the campus center.
The Senate also used the survey to collect a vote on which two area restaurants should be added to the Merchants on Points (MOPs) system, which allows students to pay for delivery from local eateries using JumboCash. The Senate is expected to release the results of that question today.
Several questions asked if students thought adjustments to services and operating hours would benefit them. One asked if students felt that keeping Health Service open around the clock would "improve personal health and safety at Tufts."
Sixty percent of respondents said yes, while 11.6 percent said no and 28.4 percent were not sure. Currently, Health Service is open from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Thursday with more limited hours on Friday, Saturday, as well as the second and fourth Thursdays of the month. It is not open on Sundays.
As to the whether the survey results could lead the university to operate Health Service on a 24-hour basis, Pickard said the student response is only one component.
"The other is looking at the level of service and the cost effectiveness of running the service for 24 hours. We're using results from the survey and other information. We're looking at opportunities working with Health Service to expand the resources that they offer students," he said.
According to Pasternack, questions regarding facilities and services gain significant importance if an overwhelming majority materializes. "We'd have this [data] to go to members of the administration and say, ‘The students really want this,'" he said.
A question posed only to seniors sought to determine soon-to-be graduates' likelihood to donate to Tufts in the future. Pickard thought this question was a good method of gauging student satisfaction with the university.
On a scale of one to five, with five meaning "very likely" to donate to Tufts in the future, 14.6 percent responded with a five and 25.9 percent responded with a four. Tufts' alumni giving rate in fiscal year 2007 was 24.3 percent.
Director of Advancement Communications and Donor Relations Christine Sanni said that if those who called themselves likely contributors become regular donors, and if a good deal of those who checked "three" do the same, she "would be thrilled about that number."
As to why the survey results might differ from actual donation statistics, Sanni said that not all donors give every year, noting that 50 percent of undergraduate alumni have made a donation to Tufts' current capital campaign, Beyond Boundaries.
Sanni added that the university would like to address "the fact that some donors opt in, but then opt out" from year to year.
She also noted that "competition for philanthropic dollars has increased in recent years."
Pasternack said the survey was relatively accurate, but not exact. "I think [the survey] is fairly accurate," he said. "It isn't scientific, so there's inevitably going to be questions that don't give the exact percentages. To say that [a very specific percentage] of the student body [agrees] would be something you wouldn't want to do with the results."
He added, "To say that a majority of the students do feel this way, or something where there are a few questions that have 75 percent of the students thinking this way — something like that would be fairly accurate."
