SERU survey…and
more!
Dr. Jeanna Mastrodicasa
Assistant Vice President for Student Affairs
Division of Student Affairs
jmastro@ufl.edu
A Sample of Usage Tracking by
Student Affairs Departments
• 108,115 student volunteer hours (valued at $2.3M)
• 34,963 unique students who participated in Recreational
Sports
• 37,076 student attendees to Gator Nights
• 5186 students used the Counseling and Wellness Center
• 2414 students in distress/crisis
• More than 1600 student employees within the Division of
Student Affairs
• 1168 students registered with the Disability Resource
Center
• 1175 students in Conduct cases
• 985 registered student organizations
Graduation Exit Survey:
All UF students
• Began Spring 2012; mandatory
Summer 2012
• Collects plans post-graduation,
including location, salary, and
job or graduate school status
• Spring 2012: 60% of all UF
students, both undergraduate
and graduate, at graduation in
Spring 2012 intended to work
full or part-time jobs. 29%
indicated they would continue
onto graduate school.
Trends we see:
• More students seeking mental health counseling and with
more severe cases
• More UF students choosing to join sororities and fraternities
(19.5% of undergraduates currently)
• Gator Nights: attendance is spread out across classes, lots of
graduate students and families
• More student organizations, more interest in recreational
sports and intramurals, increase in culturally diverse student
organizations
• Interest by graduate students in more support from the
university
What is SERU?
Student survey began in the University of California
system: Student Experience in Research Universities
Developed by UC Berkley Center for Studies in Higher
Education
Tailored to research universities and opened to AAU
members outside California in 2009
Surveyed all undergraduate students – not a sample!
Hours studying per week
35.00%
30.00%
Percentage of students
25.00%
20.00%
15.00%
10.00%
5.00%
0.00%
UF
AAU peers
0
0.50%
0.50%
1 to 5
17%
12%
6 to 10
30%
26%
11 to 15
22%
23%
16 to 20
14%
17%
21 to 25
8%
10%
26 to 30
4%
5%
30+
5%
6%
Hours participating in student
organizations per week
45%
40%
Percentage of students
35%
30%
25%
20%
15%
10%
5%
0%
UF
AAU peers
0
26%
34%
1 to 5
41%
40%
6 to 10
16%
14%
11 to 15
8%
6%
16 to 20
4%
3%
21 to 25
2%
1%
26 to 30
0.80%
0.40%
30+
2%
1%
Hours exercising/
recreational sports per week
60%
Percentage of students
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
UF
AAU peers
0
8%
12%
1 to 5
44%
49%
6 to 10
28%
25%
11 to 15
11%
8%
16 to 20
4%
3%
21 to 25
2%
1%
26 to 30
0.90%
0.50%
30+
2%
0.90%
Hours partying per week
45%
40%
Percentage of students
35%
30%
25%
20%
15%
10%
5%
0%
UF
AAU peers
0
29%
34%
1 to 5
40%
41%
6 to 10
16%
16%
11 to 15
7%
5%
16 to 20
3%
2%
21 to 25
2%
0.90%
26 to 30
0.70%
0.30%
30+
1%
0.60%
Hours working each week
70%
60%
Percentage of students
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
UF
AAU peers
0
58%
50%
1 to 5
6%
7%
6 to 10
8%
13%
11 to 15
9%
12%
16 to 20
8%
8%
21 to 25
4%
4%
26 to 30
2%
2%
30+
4%
3%
UF SERU results: UF student views in 2009 and 2011
Satisfaction with (satisfied or very satisfied)
2009
2011
change
Academic experience
62%
61%
-1%
Social experience
67%
67%
0%
Value of your education for the price
70%
63%
-7%
Faculty quality
67%
65%
-2%
Advising by school/college staff
48%
51%
+3%
Access to small classes
43%
47%
+4%
Availability of courses for graduation
53%
58%
+5%
2011 results: UF compared to AAU peers
Satisfaction with (satisfied or very satisfied)
UF
AAU
peers
Difference
Academic experience
61%
62%
-1%
Social experience
67%
61%
+6%
Value of your education for the price
63%
52%
+11%
Faculty quality
65%
68%
-3%
Advising by school/college staff
51%
49%
+2%
Access to small classes
47%
45%
+2%
Availability of courses for graduation
58%
53%
+5%
UF SERU results: UF student views in 2009 and 2011
2009 2011 Change
Experiences (have done or now doing)
-- Research project, creative activity/paper in course
79%
83%
+4%
-- Course with international or global focus
66%
42%
-24%
-- Know at least one faculty well enough for reference
81%
80%
-1%
-- Study 16 or more hours per week
26%
31%
+5%
Would still choose to enroll again (agree or strongly
agree)
78%
77%
-1%
Feel that you belong at your institution (agree or
strongly agree)
75%
74%
-1%
Important to graduate in four years (very important or
essential)
48%
48%
0%
Intend to go to graduate or professional school after
graduation
59%
56%
-3%
2011 results: UF compared to AAU peers
UF
AAU
peers
Difference
-- Research project, creative activity/paper in course
83%
87%
-4%
-- Course with international or global focus
42%
42%
0%
-- Know at least one faculty well enough for reference
80%
86%
-6%
-- Study 16 or more hours per week
31%
38%
-8%
Would still choose to enroll again (agree or strongly
agree)
77%
72%
+5%
Feel that you belong at your institution (agree or
strongly agree)
74%
69%
+5%
Important to graduate in four years (very important or
essential)
48%
60%
-12%
Intend to go to graduate or professional school after
graduation
56%
42%
+14%
Experiences (have done or now doing)
Activities Giving a Sense of Belonging as a Gator (significantly or extremely)
Activity
2009
2011
UF’s athletics/sports events
68%
55%
Academic achievement as a UF student
58%
63%
Socializing with friends (w/o alcohol)
50%
64%
Participating in student organizations
36%
40%
Living on-campus
36%
43%
Socializing with friends (with alcohol)
35%
43%
Access to on-campus exercise facilities
30%
37%
Participating in sororities or fraternities
22%
26%
Leadership in student organization(s)
21%
32%
Living off-campus
21%
28%
Other data from SERU 2011
• Students who are officers or members of student
organizations have higher GPA’s than those who are not
involved (3.44/3.43 v. 3.21)
• Students who live on campus have higher GPA’s than those
who do not (3.3 v. 3.2)
• Sorority and fraternity members are the most satisfied with
their UF experience: 46% v. 25% are very satisfied with their
overall social experience
• 77% agree or strongly agree that they would choose to enroll
at UF if they had to do it over again
Students of My Race/ Ethnicity Are
Respected on Campus
Percentage of students who agree or strongly agree
UF 2009
100%
83%81%86%
UF 2011
64%66%
59%
50%
53%53%55%
42%
37%
32%
0%
White
Hispanic /
Chicano / Latino
Black / African
American
Asian / Pac.
Islander
Other AAUs
2011
Students of My Sexual Orientation
Are Respected on This Campus
100%
Percentage of students who agree or strongly agree
88%
83%
87%
UF 2009
50%
38%
24%
0%
Heterosexual
Gay / Lesbian
43%
UF 2011
Other AAUs 2011
Sorority and Fraternity Members’
Satisfaction with Overall Social Experience
non-Greek
Greek
46%
39%
37%
25%
23%
12%
8%
2%
3%
0.80%
(1) Very dissatisfied
3%
1%
(2) Dissatisfied
(3) Somewhat
dissatisfied
(4) Somewhat satisfied
(5) Satisfied
(6) Very satisfied
I feel that I belong at this campus.
non-Greek
Greek
All UF students
50%
36%
36%
37%
39%
33%
18%
17%
12%
5%
2% 1% 2%
2% 1% 2%
5%
2%
(1) Strongly (2) Disagree (3) Disagree
disagree
somewhat
(4) Agree
somewhat
(5) Agree
(6) Strongly
agree
Use of Campus Support Services
Academic Advising
87%
Recreational Sports
77%
Off Campus Tutoring
55%
Student Health Care Center
54%
Student Financial Affairs
43%
Center for Student Activities and Involvement
33%
Career Resource Center
30%
Sorority and Fraternity Affairs
26%
On Campus Tutoring
26%
Counseling and Wellness Center
19%
GatorWell Health Promotion Services
18%
Housing and Residence Education
18%
Study Abroad Services at International Center
16%
Dean of Students Office
10%
Support Services with programs (FOS, AIM, OAS)
7%
Center for Leadership and Service
7%
Institute of Hispanic/Latino Culture
6%
Institute of Black Culture
5%
Veterans Services
3%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
Mean helpfulness of campus support services
Off Campus Tutoring
4.24
Recreational Sports
4.23
Sorority and Fraternity Affairs
3.91
Study Abroad Services at International Center
3.8
Support Services with programs (FOS, AIM, OAS)
3.8
Center for Student Activities and Involvement
3.64
Center for Leadership and Service
3.55
Institute of Hispanic/Latino Culture
3.45
Counseling and Wellness Center
3.44
Academic Advising
3.43
Veterans Services
3.43
Institute of Black Culture
3.42
Dean of Students Office
3.41
Student Health Care Center
3.39
GatorWell Health Promotion Services
3.37
Career Resource Center
3.33
Student Financial Affairs
3.26
On Campus Tutoring
3.26
Housing and Residence Education
3.16
0
0.5
1
1.5
2
2.5
3
3.5
4
4.5
Use and Helpfulness (1-5 rating scale) of
Student Services
Area
Use
Helpfulness
Rank of helpfulness
(out of 19 services)
Academic Advising
87%
3.43
10
Recreational Sports
77%
4.23
2
Off Campus Tutoring
55%
4.24
1
Student Activities and Involvement
33%
3.64
6
On Campus Tutoring
26%
3.26
18
Counseling and Wellness Center
19%
3.44
9
Advising by School/College Staff
Student Satisfaction with Advising by School/College Staff
(satisfied/very satisfied)
Percentage of students
52%
50%
48%
UF
46%
AAUs
44%
42%
40%
38%
2009
2011
Topics of Responses to
Open Ended Question
What is the SINGLE, MOST IMPORTANT thing that your campus
could realistically do to create a better undergraduate
experience for students like you?"
study space/classroom experience
Tuition/expenses/block tuition
Financial aid/loans/scholarships
faculty/teaching/teaching assistants
parking
jobs/internships/career
advising
sports/athletics
sororities and fraternities/Greek
dining/food
transfer student issues
tutor/tutoring
freshmen student issues
diversity/race/gender/foreign
student government/politics
partying/drugs/alcohol
counseling
0
200
400
600
800
1000
1200
1400
1600
Open ended comments about advising:
Common themes:
• More advisors, less wait time
• Impersonal feel to advising; designate an
advisor to be assigned to student to build
relationships
• Require advisor meetings each semester
• More advising for freshmen and
sophomores, especially exploratory majors
• Want more consistency with answers
between advisors
Open ended responses about advising
• The most important thing that has kept me in school is an
advisor who is a member of the faculty and is personally
invested in the undergraduates in her program.
• Academic advisor help with facts that aren't buttered up. We
deserve to know the truth about what is going on with our
academic careers and what steps we have to take to get
where we want.
• Hire advisors who get paid JUST to advise instead of making
reluctant professors advise because they do a horrible job.
• Provide a more structured and organized advising service for
those in their freshman and sophomore years.
Open ended responses about advising
• The University of Florida can establish better advising for
undergraduate students, so they don't come here feeling lost
and unsure about their education desires.
• Provide better advising for undergraduate students on which
classes to take. The advisors here are pretty good, but I didn't
feel prepared to make my own schedule each semester
because they never gave me any further direction than that
one semester.
• I think that it would be helpful if incoming freshmen were
required to have an individual advising session before they
attend the University. In this session the advisor should offer
basic information that every new student should know.
Open ended responses about advising
• Perhaps having advising offices open later, until 5 or 6. Many
times classes are later than others and it's difficult to be able
to sit down for an extended period of time with an adviser
before 4 p.m.
• Don't bombard first-year students with too much information
at once, especially during orientations and advising sessions.
We have plenty to think about and figure out as it is.
• Academic advising should focus less on getting the students in
and out and more on successfully answering their questions.
We attend advising hours to gain knowledge of our classes
and the path we should be taking to reach our future
endeavors.
SERU Summary
• Students have capacity to study
more
• Involved and engaged students
perform better academically
• Students prefer off campus
tutoring to on campus tutoring
• Students have lots of opinions
about their academic experience
• Students appreciate the value of
their education for the price
• Graduating students have plans
for their future
For more information…
• Student Experience in Research University
(SERU) results: ir.ufl.edu (sortable by college and
major)
• Graduation Exit Survey: ir.ufl.edu
• Student Affairs: ufsa.ufl.edu
• Contact Dr. Jeanna Mastrodicasa,
jmastro@ufl.edu, 392-1265, 155 Tigert Hall