GISA Survey 2011-2012
FINAL REPORT
Prepared by the 2011-2012 GISA Board
gisa@graduateinstitute.ch
CONTENTS
FULL LIST OF QUESTIONS .................................................................................................. 3
ACADEMIC RESULTS ......................................................................................................... 7
Quantitative Questions ......................................................................................................... 7
Open-ended Questions ......................................................................................................... 8
SOCIO-CULTURAL RESPONSES......................................................................................... 15
Quantitative Questions ....................................................................................................... 15
Open-ended Questions ....................................................................................................... 16
RESOURCE-RELATED RESULTS ......................................................................................... 19
Quantitative Questions ....................................................................................................... 19
Open-ended Questions ....................................................................................................... 20
LIBRARY RESULTS ........................................................................................................... 21
Quantitative Questions ........................................................................................................ 21
Open-ended Questions ....................................................................................................... 21
CAREER SERVICES RESULTS ............................................................................................. 22
Quantitative Questions ........................................................................................................ 22
Open-ended Questions ........................................................................................................ 22
STUDENT SERVICES RESULTS........................................................................................... 24
Quantitative Questions ........................................................................................................ 24
Open-ended Questions ........................................................................................................ 24
GISA-RELATED RESULTS .................................................................................................. 26
Quantitative Questions ....................................................................................................... 26
Open-ended Questions ....................................................................................................... 27
2
FULL LIST OF QUESTIONS
ACADEMIC QUESTIONS
How satisfied are you with the level of academic quality at the institute? (teaching, course themes, workload)
How satisfied are you with the course offerings of your program?
How satisfied are you with the level of accessibility and support of professors to students?
How satisfied are you with the involvement and performance of teaching assistants?
As a Graduate Institute student, how do you feel you are you coping with stress?
I am satisfied with the academic events offered by the Institute (public lectures, conferences, etc.)
What do you think is missing “academically” at the Institute that you believe we should have?
What (academic) conference themes would interest you the most?
Are your expectations met thus far regarding your program of studies at the Graduate Institute? Briefly
explain.
Would you recommend IHEID to a friend?
SOCIO-CULTURAL RESPONSES
How satisfied are you with the sense of community at the institute?
How satisfied are you with the integration of students between different programs?
How satisfied are you with the student initiatives at the institute?
Agree or disagree: I am well-aware of events happening around IHEID? (student initiative events, academic
events, etc..)
Agree or disagree: as a Graduate Institute student, I fell well-integrated into Geneva
What is missing 'socially' at the Graduate Institute that you think we ought to have?
RESOURCE-RELATED QUESTIONS
How satisfied are you with the technology available throughout the Graduate Institute buildings? (Wi-Fi,
computers, printers, classroom technology)
How satisfied are you with the Graduate Institute website?
How often do you use the student services offered by the Université de Genève? (sports, cultural activities,
medical, etc.)
Agree or disagree: I feel like I know where to go if I have a problem or concern at the Graduate Institute
How can technology improve at IHEID?
LIBRARY QUESTIONS
I use the Library:
How satisfied are you with the library?
How can the library improve?
CAREER SERVICES QUESTIONS
I use career services:
How satisfied are you with career services?
How can career services improve?
STUDENT SERVICES QUESTIONS
I use the student services office:
How satisfied are you with the student services office?
How can the student services office improve?
GISA-RELATED QUESTIONS
How satisfied are you with the work of GISA as a student association? Please explain
How satisfied are you with GISA's offerings of parties and social events for students?
3
How satisfied are you with GISA's offerings of cultural outlets for students?
GENERAL OVERVIEW
Background
The annual GISA survey formally gathers the opinions of students on a variety of Institute
related questions. The 2011/2012 GISA survey was open to all 785 students currently
enrolled at IHEID from November 17, 2011 until December 7, 2011. The survey was
conducted entirely online, encompassing both multiple choice and open-ended questions.
Responses were anonymous; the only identifying information collected from the students
was their program and year of study. The 30.8% response rate is not only exceptionally high
for this type of survey, but also largely representative of the student body, especially of the
Master’s students. Specialized reports targeting individual academic and administrative
units were presented in meetings in early 2012. The full list of responses is available upon
request. This report summarizes the main findings of the survey.
Response rate by program
IHEID program distribution
GISA survey response distribution by program
4
NOTE
PhD students are underrepresented in survey results while MDEV and MIA students are
overrepresented in survey results. However, this distribution is proportionate and
representative of master students and their opinions when normalized for the
underrepresentation of PhDs who are generally difficult to reach.
General Feedback
Given that almost every question was formatted in the same way and given the same range
of possible answers (very positive, positive, neural, negative, very negative) comparison
across different offices provides a good overview of the student opinions.
(Table 1): “Rankings” of offices at IHEID
Office/Area
% of students returning % of students returning
very positive & positive
very negative &
negative
% of students not
expressing an opinion,
or, neutral
GISA
62
8
30
Library
48
29
10
Career Services
47
13
10
Student Services
26
10
29
Technology at IHEID
28
50
21
* = Represents a response of “n/a” on question regarding quality of this office. This choice was available for students who
answered that they had never visited these offices. So, a high score in this column (i.e. Student Services) indicates that
students do not know what this office is or do not use it. Open-ended results support this insinuation.
Extremely positive responses: (2)
Involvement and performance of teaching assistants
Offering of academic events at the institute
Positive responses: (13)
Level of support and accessibility of professors to students
GISA's cultural outlets for students
GISA's offering of parties/social events
How well are you coping with stress?
Sense of community at the institute
Student initiatives at the institute
Awareness of events around IHEID
Course offerings of students' programs
Level of academic quality
Satisfaction with Graduate Institute website
GISA performance
Satisfaction with Career Services
Satisfaction with Library
5
Neutral responses: (3)
Are you well-integrated into Geneva?
I know where to go with a problem or concern.
Satisfaction with Student Services
Negative responses: (1)
Integration of students between different programs
Extremely negative responses: (1)
Satisfaction with technology
NOTE
It is possible to infer from these results that students, if the students did not negatively
affect them, they may have answered “satisfied” rather than neutral. Special attention
should therefore be paid to the open-ended question results in order to fully understand
student opinion.
However, it is also beneficial to look at those questions which are clearly negative, such as
students' satisfaction with the technology at the institute (by far the most negative response
on the survey), as well as the integration of students between different programs. Given the
relative satisfaction with most prompts, it is also prudent to consider “neutral” responses as
negative, including questions on integration in Geneva, student problem-solving resources,
and satisfaction with the Student Services office.
6
ACADEMIC RESULTS
Quantitative Questions
7
Open-ended Questions
What do you think is missing “academically” at the Institute that you believe we should
have? (151/242)
What (academic) conference themes would interest you the most? (182/242)
8
Are your expectations met thus far regarding your program of studies at the Graduate
Institute? Briefly explain. (146/242)
Representative responses
 (First year MDEV) No. Classes are too large and there is little opportunity for
interaction in lectures and even seminars - it feels like the Institute has been letting
more and more students into the MDev programme without increasing teaching and
TA resources, and it's the students that end up losing out.Some of the classes are
poorly structured and taught, though some are good. I was disappointed that the
sustainable development core course was cut from the first semester. I feel like the
MDev programme is moving in a more conservative, economics-focused direction
and I expected to see more critical approaches.

(First year MIA) Yes, apart from the process of how to subscribe for a class (at the
beginning of the semester). Think it was very bad that if one wanted to get into a
specific class and couldn't one had to choose another one in order to have five in the
end and while doing so blocking one place for another student that maybe preferred
the other class. I don't see the point in Global Trends and Diversity - it's all about
environmental issues and we don't really get to learn anything specific.

(Second year Masters International Law)The course selection choice for our program
this autumn semester was really disappointing. Even though the general quality of
seminars is really good, work load and quality of the courses at the institute differ
substantially (even though all are worth the same amount of credits). I have so far
learned a lot, but not all my expectations were fulfilled. I also think that a sense of
student community is really missing. This is mainly related to a missing community
space/a decent cafeteria for students at the institute.

(First year Masters International Economics) Overall my expectations have been met
and I'm happy with the school. However, the course selection process with limited
spaces plus the first-come-first-served plus priority courses is not ideal. And why no
economics student could get into Trade Policy despite the fact that it is listed as a
course given by our department remains a mystery. Plus the workload is often very
heavy. Not really in line with 6 ECTS at other universities.

(PHD International Relations and Poli-Sci) My expectations have been met simply
because I have an amazing supervisor and I've had good experiences with the faculty
here. On the negative side the administration has been so negative and unhelpful it's
rather discouraging. Additionally the Ad Hoc nature with which the programmes and
policies regarding things like programme name, the French test and submission
deadlines and programme expectations are changed have been enough to make me
consider leaving The Institute at various times.
9
Results: Institute-wide
Overall
Overall positive
Overall negative
Overall neutral
Total
Responses
74
49
23
146
(%)
51%
34%
16%
Priority List
Academic Quality (pos)
Academic Approach (neg)
Course registration (neg)
Mandatory Classes (neg)
Academic quality (neg)
Administration and Organization (neg)
Quantity of work (neg)
Lack of French (neg)
Class size (neg)
Professional Success (pos)
29
26
23
20
19
15
13
11
10
7
20%
18%
16%
14%
13%
10%
9%
8%
7%
5%
Results: By Program
MDEV
Year 1
Year 2
PHD
Total
(%)
Total Responses
Overall positive
Overall negative
Overall neutral
27
15
8
4
17
7
7
3
2
46
22
17
7
48%
37%
15%
Academic Approach (neg)
Academic quality (neg)
Social (pos)
Course registration (neg)
Quantity of work (neg)
Class size (neg)
Academic quality (pos)
French (neg)
Mandatory Classes (neg)
Professional Success (pos)
Scholarships (neg)
Administration (neg)
9
5
8
4
4
5
3
4
3
2
4
3
2
15
8
8
7
7
6
6
6
5
3
2
2
33%
17%
17%
15%
15%
13%
13%
13%
11%
7%
4%
4%
1
3
3
1
3
2
2
1
2
1
2
10
MIA
Year 1
Year 2
Total
(%)
Total Responses
Overall positive
Overall negative
Overall neutral
Mandatory Classes (neg)
Academic quality (pos)
Course registration/quotas (neg)
Academic Approach (neg)
Class size (neg)
Professional Success (pos)
Academic quality (neg)
Quantity of work (neg)
French (neg)
Scholarships (neg)
Administration (neg)
25
16
4
5
4
7
6
5
2
3
21
7
10
4
9
2
2
46
23
14
9
13
9
8
5
4
3
3
2
1
1
1
50%
30%
20%
28%
20%
17%
11%
9%
7%
7%
4%
2%
2%
2%
1
1
1
1
2
3
1
International Law
Total Responses
Total
19
(%)
Overall positive
Overall negative
Overall neutral
10
6
3
53%
32%
16%
Administration (neg)
Academic quality (pos)
Course registration (neg)
Professional Success (pos)
Academic quality (neg)
Academic Approach (neg)
French (neg)
Mandatory Classes (neg)
4
3
3
1
1
1
1
1
21%
16%
16%
5%
5%
5%
5%
5%
International History
Total Responses
Overall positive
Overall negative
Overall neutral
Academic quality (pos)
Academic quality (neg)
Course registration (neg)
Quantity of work(neg)
Administration (neg)
Academic Approach (neg)
French (neg)
Scholarships (neg)
Total
15
9
5
1
3
2
2
2
2
1
1
1
(%)
60%
33%
7%
20%
13%
13%
13%
13%
7%
7%
7%
11
International Relations and Poli-Sci
Total Responses
Total
9
(%)
Overall positive
Overall negative
Overall neutral
3
3
3
33%
33%
33%
Academic quality (pos)
Administration/Organization (neg)
Academic Approach (neg)
Academic quality (neg)
French (neg)
Course registration (neg)
5
4
3
2
2
1
56%
44%
33%
22%
22%
11%
International Economics
Total Responses
Overall positive
Overall negative
Overall neutral
Academic quality (neg)
Academic quality (pos)
Quantity of work (neg)
Course Registration (neg)
Academic Approach (neg)
Mandatory Classes (neg)
Total
8
6
2
(%)
Anthropology and Sociology of Development
Total Responses
Overall positive
Overall negative
Overall neutral
Administration/Organization (neg)
Academic quality (neg)
Academic quality (pos)
Course registration/quotas (neg)
2
2
2
1
1
1
Total
3
1
2
2
1
1
1
75%
25%
0%
25%
25%
25%
13%
13%
13%
(%)
33%
67%
0%
67%
33%
33%
33%
12
Would you recommend IHEID to a friend? (148/242)
Representative responses
 Not entirely. Some of the classes are well-taught and stimulating (and I'm sure there
will be more in later semesters), but some are very poor. I have not been impressed
by the administrative organisation of the Institute. The main thing that I like about
the Institute is the diversity and enthusiasm of the other students, who are on the
whole very engaged, critical and have very diverse and valuable experiences - I only
wish there were more opportunities to benefit from/share students' experience and
knowledge!

I would, yes. Especially because the students at the GI come from so many countries.
This is the most enriching experience I've had here so far. In academic matters, I had
very good courses which I would definitely recommend but some were also not that
useful (ie the compulsory MIA courses GTD, IIR)

I would recommend the Graduate Institute, although I would mention the stress I've
been through finding a place to stay in August (I arrived in Geneva homeless
although I filled up application for student housing with month in advance) and the
stress I've been going through now. Seriously, the housing issue makes a huge
difference, and I realize how crucial the issue is when facing the problem personally.

I have been asked. I said if you're willing to put up with courses you don't want to
take your first semester and every now and again, in exchange for the opportunity to
intern somewhere cool like an NGO or an IO in Geneva, then yes the institute is for
you. I also mentioned that the administration is unapproachable and there's a huge
13
barrier between them and the students they're supposed to be servicing. You have
to have appointments to ask a simple question or do it by email and it takes them
ages to respond. If you drop by unannounced they treat you like you were a
nuisance and usher you out. They should have offices, open at hours accesible to
students not just from 9-12:30am and all offices should be accesible to students. The
accounting and finance department doesn't even have a reception. There's no one
there to receive you and direct you if you have a question.
Positive themes
Priority
High academic quality
Quality, accessibility, and prestige of professors
Diversity, international nature of student body
Access to NGOs/IGOs
Geneva environment, international aspect of the city
Internship, job opportunities
School prestige
Bilingual nature of the school
# of Responses
27
17
16
13
13
7
6
4
Percentage
18
11
11
9
9
5
4
2
# of Responses
10
10
10
10
9
6
Percentage
7
7
7
7
6
4
Negative themes
Priority
Administration
Workload
Poor facilities, lack of campus
Low academic quality
Geneva (difficulty finding housing, expensive, etc.)
Class scheduling difficulty
14
SOCIO-CULTURAL RESPONSES
Quantitative Questions
15
Open-ended Questions
What is missing 'socially' at the Graduate Institute that you think we ought to have?
(104/242)
Representative responses
 "It would be good to have inter-departmental links. E.g, if I am an IR student but
minoring in Law, I feel that I am well-integrated with my IR "community", but very
cut-off and isolated on the Law side. Secondly, we should have some ways of
gathering that don't cost too much money. Sometimes dinners are organized, but
even with some subsidies it is still too costly. 30 CHF to have an evening is too much
for a first-year student without a scholarship."
 There are no social spaces. I hope they are being built into the new building. As the
restaurants are too expensive, no students go there so there is no interaction. There
is no informal setting for discussion except for the library lobby and the library car
park. This is shameful.
 More interaction with the University of Geneva. Where the Graduate is too small to
accommodate all of the social and academic interests of the students, there could be
more initiatives to utilize the resources of the University of Geneva. While graduate
students are mature enough to explore options on their own, the lack of French skills
is a barrier to many students who would like to explore academic/cultural/social
options at UniGe. Even if the students know enough French to attend UniGe events,
16
finding those events on the UniGe website and trying to understand all of the details
is difficult and tedious.
17
Student Priorities
Priority
Interaction between departments: neg.
Students feeling connected to Geneva neg.
Common space for students available: neg.
Casual events available for students: neg.
Enough cultural events offered: neg.
Available cafeteria: neg.
Number of GISA events offered: neg.
Number of GISA events: neg.
Enough student connection with UNIGE: neg.
Sense of community at IHEID: neg.
# of Responses
26
26
22
17
11
8
8
5
5
5
Percentage
25
25
21
16
11
8
8
5
5
5
18
RESOURCE-RELATED RESULTS
Quantitative Questions
19
Open-ended Questions
How can technology improve at IHEID? (150/242)
Representative responses
 I now study at UNIMAIL because I need to have access to internet and better
resources.
 The 500 page free printing quota for Masters students is ridiculously low, given the
amount of printing we have to do for courses without a polycopie (and there are
quite a few of the this term).
 Not enough printers, especially in the library; accessibility to a colour printer; WIFI
does not work for hours at a time in the library, this is not acceptable for a library at
a graduate institute
 American community colleges have better IT facilities than the Institute.
 IT services never answers their phone, and rarely replies to emails. Wifi on campus is
also categorically slow and disconnects frequently.
Student Priorities
Priority
Wifi: negative
Printers and photocopiers: negative
Number of workstations: negative
Scanners: negative
Quality of workstations: negative
Printer quota: too small
Helpdesk support: negative
# of Responses
107
46
24
14
13
12
7
Percentage
71.3
30.7
16.0
9.3
8.7
8.0
4.7
20
LIBRARY RESULTS
Quantitative Questions
Open-ended Questions
How can the library improve? (145/242)
Student Priorities
Priority
The wifi works, neg
Library needs to have longer opening hours, pos
The library is too dark, pos
Library should be open Sundays, pos
The library is too noisy, pos
Library should be open later, pos
Have access to enough online journals, neg
The library needs more printer, pos
The library is conducive to studying, neg
There are enough working spaces for students, neg
# of Responses
36
26
23
20
16
14
12
12
12
12
Percentage
25
18
16
14
11
10
8
8
8
8
21
CAREER SERVICES RESULTS
Quantitative Questions
Open-ended Questions
How can career services improve? (77/242)
Representative responses
 Not only focus on private sector and big UN institutions but also academia and public
sector, in Switzerland, e.g. better contacts with smaller NGO's.
 In organizing more meetings between alumni and students, and between
professionals and PhD students.
 The career events and the newsletters are good, but the individual counseling to
students could improve and be more specific to help students more in their efforts
to find jobs.
 Offer more workshops on recruitment interviews. More career events with potential
employers.
22
Student Priorities
Priority
Academic jobs/career: more
Alumni links: more
Newsletter: positive
CV, Cover letter assistance: negative
Job offers: positive
Support/target PhD’s: more
Training programs/information events: negative
Career fairs: more
Job offers: more
Part-time jobs: more
# of Responses
8
8
7
5
5
4
4
4
4
4
Percentage
10.4
10.4
9.1
6.5
6.5
5.2
5.2
5.2
5.2
5.2
23
STUDENT SERVICES RESULTS
Quantitative Questions
Open-ended Questions
How can the student services improve? (42/242)
Representative responses
 What are student services? What do they do?
 Longer opening hours, better communication of basic information (necessary forms,
changes to class schedules, etc.).
 Frankly, the personnel is often not exactly friendly and not always up to date. Just a
bit more patience with students, please!
 Student services has a mix of people, some who are good at dealing with "the public"
others who are not at all. For me, it seems to be a fundamental criteria for the job.
People in "student services" who act like they have no time for students should not
be there.
24
Student Priorities
Priority
Unsure what it is/they do
Opening hours: negative
Approach: negative
Approach: positive
Up to date: negative
Communication of information: negative
Procedures: negative
Personnel incompetent
French test: negative
Price of services: negative
Transparency: negative
Bilingualism: negative
Do not use it
# of Responses
11
10
8
2
4
3
3
3
3
2
2
2
2
Percentage
25
22.7
18.2
4.5
9.1
6.8
6.8
6.8
6.8
4.5
4.5
4.5
4.5
25
GISA-RELATED RESULTS
Quantitative Questions
26
Open-ended Questions
How satisfied are you with the work of GISA as a student association? Please explain.
(72/242)
Representative responses
 GISA seem to work hard but have not managed to engage students as the students
are not on campus enough. Also, we've yet to see any really radical changes taken by
the school as a result of GISA.
 Politically too close to the Institute, at the same time, I can't complain as few people
want to be candidates. But GISA should take a clearer and more autonomous stance.
 I feel like GISA picks and chooses what it feels like dealing with sometimes. For
example the French test.
 I especially liked the welcome week for new students, it was a great occasion to get
to know people.
 We need more information on the academic issues, and more progress. I know it
takes time, but updates that show us that these issues are on the table and being
discussed would boost confidence and credibility.
 I think GISA does a good job of trying to represent the students interests.
Student Priorities
Priority
Communication, updates, and information: negative
Student engagement: negative
Outcomes: negative
Independent/critical: negative
Commitment: positive
Commitment: negative
Active: negative
Community: negative
Visibility: negative
Social and cultural events: positive
Student initiatives: positive
# of Responses
8
5
5
5
5
4
4
4
4
4
4
Percentage
11.1
6.9
6.9
6.9
6.9
5.6
5.6
5.6
5.6
5.6
5.6
27