Fall Survey outcomes

At the beginning of each Fall Semester, USI employees are asked to complete the annual Fall Employee Survey. Departments and offices across campus submit survey questions to gather information; from the way current programs are run to asking for feedback on ideas for future projects.

This year, USI Today asked the departments and offices who participated in the Fall Survey to share information gathered from the survey. Not all departments were able to share information, but several provided responses.

Historic New Harmony

Historic New Harmony (HNH) offers free tours for USI students and staff with a valid USI ID. Tour information can be found online at usi.edu/hnh/historic-tours. In this year’s survey, HNH wanted to find out how many survey respondents had taken advantage of these free tours—out of the 477 responses, 371 (78%) said they had not taken the free tours. The survey then dived into event ideas at New Harmony to gauge the community’s interest in seeing more at New Harmony.

“Historic New Harmony is interested in offering programming to specifically engage the University community. We provided a list of options which included an evening dance party at the Atheneum, orientation to New Harmony, weekend family-friendly activity, date night, day-long retreat, networking social event and a cooperative game night,” says Leslie Townsend, Director of Community Engagement and Historic New Harmony. “We will share these results with our Advisory Board’s Special Events Committee to look at future programming.”

Rice Library

Key highlights from the responses received by the Rice Library focus on the use of Library resources as course materials. According to the survey, 67% of respondents who teach courses at USI indicated they assign library resources (e.g. ebooks, articles, streaming video, etc.) as course materials for students.

“We at the Rice Library are very intentional about building library collections in a manner that best supports the curriculum,” says Rebecca Neel, Associate Director of Resource Management and User Experience. "So, this relatively high usage percentage is reassuring for us that we're on the right track.”

While the Library’s survey questions provide insight into service and resource rating trends (which Neel says are overwhelmingly positive each year), the staff also pays close attention to the written-in suggestions from employees. Two of the most consistent non-positive feedback elements received year to year, says Neel, are that faculty access to more electronic journals/databases and many respondents simply aren't aware of the services and resources the Library offers.

“This survey feedback prompted us to undertake a collection assessment during which we identified significant subject area gaps in our available resources as well as areas with duplicate coverage,” explains Neel. “Over the past two years, we have minimized duplicate coverage (i.e. the same journal available in multiple databases) in some humanities and social sciences areas. This freed up budget space to acquire high-level multi-disciplinary tools like the Web of Science Core Collection.”

“Likewise, starting in January 2024, we will have access to a new physical sciences package (i.e. engineering, chemistry, physics, etc.) in ScienceDirect (Elsevier). We hope this will help fill some of the longstanding physical science gaps in our offerings,” she adds.

As for raising awareness of Library materials and resources available to the USI community, Neel says the staff has attempted various outreach strategies over the past several years, but none have quite gained traction yet. “This year, we asked survey respondents if they’d be willing to participate in focus groups geared toward engaging our community of users and enhancing the overall library user experience, both in-person and online,” she says. “We’ll be kicking off that focus group work during the 2024 Spring Semester.”

illume Magazine

For illume, USI’s magazine, a broader survey geared toward alumni and friends of the University was sent to magazine readership. A separate, duplicated set of questions was included in the Fall Survey for faculty, staff and administrators providing the opportunity for these key audiences to weigh in on the magazine.

Overall, responses from employees were favorable of the magazine, its content and how it is designed, says Connie Stambush, illume Editor and Senior Writer. The majority noted they enjoyed reading the stories about USI alumni and current students in each issue.

“All the responses will be analyzed, and the input and suggestions, along with those from the alumni and friends survey will be considered in an upcoming refresh of illume in Spring 2024,” says Stambush.

Online Learning

In Online Learning’s section of the survey, USI faculty were asked specific questions regarding the use of online learning tools, including remote proctoring, Blackboard and other tools they may need to meet the needs of learners. “The data is still being analyzed and further discussions with faculty members—with an opportunity for input—will happen this academic year,” says Dr. Brian Crose, Director of Online Learning.

University Marketing and Communication

As a part of its survey results, University Marketing and Communication was able to identify 142 employees who shared they were eager to become USI Brand Ambassadors. These individuals, who will be contacted by University Marketing and Communication soon, will help promote the University’s story and values, says Stephanie Hawes, Associate Director of University Brand and Special Projects. Not only that, but survey results also provided insight into the type of merchandise items employees are more interested in, as well as where they are most inclined to purchase branded apparel.

“The feedback we’ve received is more than just data; it’s a roadmap for positive change within our University,” adds Hawes. The feedback will allow the department to provide the University’s Licensed Vendors with information about specific requests and preferences from the campus community. On top of that, the survey results also directly influence selections for annual branded item giveaways to employees. More developments from the data can be expected as the department moves forward.

“These insights are a testament to the potential that resides within the USI community. We appreciate everyone’s valuable participation in the survey,” Hawes said.

Outreach and Engagement

Outreach and Engagement is currently still processing the final results from the Fall Survey, says Dawn Stoneking, Executive Director of Outreach and Engagement. Once finalized, the department will combine the results with other internal data, as well as data from Career Services and Internships, to formulate the department’s annual strategic plan. “The data will also be used for the Carnegie Re-Classification for Community Engagement application process in 2024,” Stoneking adds.