Demographics
As depicted in Table 1 below, of the 514 students who participated in the project,
just over 60% were women and a little under 40% were men. The majority of
students were undergraduates (85% n=437) between the ages of 18 to 25 years of
age (79% n=407).
Table 1: Demographics of the survey population
Gender
Response %
Response Count
Male
Female
Other
TOTAL
38.70%
61.10%
0.20%
100.00%
199
314
1
514
Age
Number
18-25
26-35
407
65
3645
24
46-55
15
5665
2
65+
Length of service and role
Reflecting the annual election of office bearers, 302 (67.7%) respondents had held
their position for less than one year; 136 (30.5) had been in office for one to three
years and eight students (1.8%) had held their leadership role for four years or more.
The roles of the participants varied, see Table 2, with 37% holding formal roles
within the university such as a faculty or School based representative, staff/student
liaison officer or leader of a student association, and 26% holding less formally
recognised roles such as leading sporting and cultural clubs or other roles (32%).
Table 2: Current leadership role
Leadership roles
President or deputy president of a student association
Faculty or school-based student representative
Class or unit student representative (e.g. formal or informal)
Special interest club or society representative (e.g. sporting or cultural
society)
Informal leadership role (e.g. individual student voice via survey or direct
conversation)
Student ambassador (e.g. student and staff liaison)
University committee/board student representative
Other
Response %
13.2%
14.6%
4.9%
8.5%
4.5%
14.6%
8.1%
31.6%
1
Student leadership roles prior to starting university
(for example, at TAFE, Primary or High School)
The majority of participant shad held some form of leadership role prior to starting
university and thus had some notion of the time commitment involved in a
leadership role.
Table 3: Participant had previously held a leadership role
Held student leadership role previous to university
No – no position held
Yes – position held
Response %
38.0%
62.0%
Motivation(s) to become a student leader
The motivation(s) for becoming a student leader varied; most participants wanted to
help their peers and believed a leadership role would promote their interpersonal
skills, enhance their learning and improve their employability prospects.
Table 4: Motivation(s) to become a leader
Motivation(s) to become a student leader
I believe that it would improve my employability
I would like to help my fellow students
I would like to include a leadership role in my resume
I have genuine ideas on how the university can improve
I have always been a leader and would like to develop these skills
I felt the role would help improve my learning and interpersonal skills
My lecturer or an academic staff member encouraged me
My university advertised student leadership roles
Other
64.0%
83.3%
54.2%
48.3%
43.1%
68.6%
19.6%
25.2%
9.6%