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St. Cloud State University
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Students reveal issues
By Nick Hanson
Published:
Thursday, March 27, 2003
The results are in: after recent survey findings, it is apparent that students have plenty on their minds in regards to current issues at SCSU.
The survey, a random phone sampling conducted by the College of Social Sciences, took place throughout February and March. Questions ranged from "the direction the university is heading," to tuition and class scheduling, advising and recent lawsuits.
Diversity and race relations are of high concern on campus. The largest amount of students, 17 percent, said that race relations are a pressing issue facing SCSU. Next followed cost and tuition at 15 percent, and budget and state support at 13 percent.
In light of racial problems, students responded that recent lawsuits have contributed to the problem. Seventy-three percent of students either strongly agree or agree that SCSU's image has been affected by the lawsuits. As for the SCSU image ,compared to other colleges in Minnesota, 58 percent said that it was somewhat favorable and 27 percent said it was somewhat unfavorable.
"We weren't surprised about the lawsuits," a principal investigator of the survey, Steven Wagner, said. "We have had students ask about that issue, especially in classes."
Although SCSU has been in the spotlight for racial issues recently, other campuses deal with the same amount of problems in terms of race relations, said chairperson of the political science department, Steve Frank. SCSU has gotten a bad rap due to media, he added.
"I think we have a reputation of being a troubled school," he said. "What's really gone down is parking. Two or three years ago, parking was the number one problem by far."
Student advising was also addressed in the survey. Some of the results were troubling; 23 percent of first-year students said that advising was helpful to very helpful, but another 26 percent said that advising was not helpful to not helpful at all.
Advising for class requirement has been poor, students say. Thirty-eight percent of students said that they have taken classes they did not need because of improper direction from an adviser.
Those accepted into a major said that advising was a little more helpful; 56 percent said that it is either very helpful or helpful. Only 13 percent said that advising was not helpful or not helpful at all. The average student visits an advisor about 2.5 times per semester.
Tuition increase and form of payment were also addressed. Because of the inevitable tuition hike that will occur over the next few years, the survey asked if it was plausible to change the formatting of credit pay.
In the proposal, students would pay for each credit taken up to 12. Students who took more than 12 credits would also pay the same 12-credit rate. Other universities such as Minnesota State University Mankato have adopted this practice. Sixty-eight percent of students were either strongly in favor or in favor of this proposal, while 29 percent oppose or strongly oppose.
This survey serves as a sufficient model of campus attitude said Steve Frank.
"We've been doing this for a number of years," he said. "This sample is a mirror of what the students are. I feel very confident about that."
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