University of West Florida
Student Leadership Diversity Survey: 2003-2006
Cumulative Review
Prepared by: Jim Hurd, Associate Vice President for Student Affairs
Introduction
During the Fall Semester of 2003 discussions were held concerning the
accessibility of student leadership opportunities for minority students at the
University of West Florida. It was suggested, anecdotally, that student
leadership participation at the University was not reflective of campus
demographics. As a result of that discussion an annual survey was initiated to
determine the degree of minority participation in student leadership. The report
that follows represents the third iteration of that review.
Method
The first survey (2003-2004) gathered information from eight key student
groups that might commonly be considered representative of student leadership.
These groups were the Campus Activity Board, the Student Ambassadors,
Student Government at Pensacola, Student Government at Fort Walton Beach,
the Freshman Committee, the Homecoming Committee, the Resident Assistant
Staff, and the Orientation Leaders. The second survey (2004-2005) was
conducted in the Fall Semester of 2004 and included these eight groups plus
Athletic Team Leadership (captains and co-captains) and a sampling of
Registered Student Organization (RSO) leadership. These groups were added
to increase the number of student leadership positions reported and thereby
increase the validity of the survey. The third survey (2005-2006) was conducted
in the Fall Semester of 2005. Data was not collected from the Student
Government at Fort Walton Beach due to organizational issues with that group.
Data was collected on the Voyages leadership program participants. The
University Commons staff increased the response rate from RSOs giving a
broader picture of leadership participation in student clubs and organizations.
In order to be comparable to enrollment data maintained by the University,
the survey continued to identify gender (female or male) and ethnicity (Asian,
African-American, Hispanic, Native American, White, Non-Resident Alien, and
Not Declared). Raw number responses were organized on a spreadsheet and
________________________________________________________________
Annual Student Leadership Diversity Survey
University of West Florida
1
then converted to percentages to facilitate comparison to the University’s gender
and ethnic representation. Due to the timing of data collection, survey results
have been compared to the University’s previous year’s annual aggregate
demographics as reported by University Planning in the online Fact Book.
Findings and Observations
The table below provides a cumulative view of survey results (in
percentages) for the past three years. Note that results are rounded to the
nearest whole number so some rows may not add to 100 percent.
In general, survey results suggest that student leadership at UWF has
been and continues to be diverse. Specifically, in 2004-2005 the percentage of
minority leadership participation is higher than the percentage of minority
enrollment in both aggregate and (with the exception of Native Americans)
categorical numbers. A review of distribution by group reveals that:
 Six of ten groups reported minority representation notably above (more
than 5 percentage points) the campus overall: the Pensacola Student
Government, the Resident Assistant Staff, RSO Leadership, the Athletic
Team Leadership, Orientation Leaders, and the Voyages Participants.
 Four of ten groups reported minority representation at a level similar
(within 5 percentage points of the campus average) to the campus overall:
the Campus Activity Board, the Student Ambassadors, the Freshman
Committee, and the Homecoming Committee.
 The Student Ambassadors reported the largest positive change in
representation. (This is not including the Homecoming Committee which
has such a small n that such comparisons are not appropriate.)
 The RSO Leadership reported the largest negative change in
representation but still above the campus percentage. It is likely that this
year’s larger sampling in this group moved the results toward the campus
percentage.
Conclusions and Recommendations
This ongoing assessment effort is designed to capture a snapshot of
leadership participation. Clearly, membership in student organizations, even at
the leadership level, is often a moving target. As a snapshot, a broader
perspective of the particular organization’s history and characteristics must also
guide any assumptions about trends or issues.
The data presented in the attached table and discussed above continues
to suggest that minority access to student leadership opportunities is not a
systematic problem at UWF. Although not a systematic problem, achieving and
________________________________________________________________
Annual Student Leadership Diversity Survey
University of West Florida
2
maintaining diversity in student leadership is an issue requiring ongoing attention
and deliberate action. It is recommended that each group included in this survey
evaluate their particular demographics and determine how they might achieve a
greater degree of diversity in both leadership and membership. By establishing
and regularly monitoring recruiting and leadership development goals within the
organization, current leadership and advisors can help facilitate continued
opportunities for participation and leadership.
Table: Student Leadership Diversity Survey 2003-2005 Cumulative Review
Gender
Female
Male
72%
28%
65%
35%
54%
46%
n
69
43
52
White
74%
74%
79%
Non-Res. Alien
0%
0%
0%
Student Ambassadors
2003-2004
2004-2005
2005-2006
37
33
37
62%
70%
78%
38%
30%
22%
3%
3%
0%
14%
3%
14%
3%
3%
3%
0%
0%
0%
81%
91%
84%
3%
0%
0%
0%
0%
0%
22%
9%
16%
FWB SGA
2003-2004
2004-2005
2005-2006
12
12
*
50%
67%
*
50%
33%
*
17%
17%
*
17%
8%
*
0%
0%
*
0%
8%
*
67%
67%
*
0%
0%
*
0%
0%
*
33%
33%
*
Pensacola SGA
2003-2004
2004-2005
2005-2006
35
37
40
49%
51%
50%
51%
49%
50%
0%
0%
3%
6%
11%
13%
14%
11%
13%
0%
0%
0%
80%
76%
68%
0%
3%
3%
0%
0%
3%
20%
24%
30%
Freshman Committee
2003-2004
2004-2005
2005-2006
9
9
9
78%
78%
67%
22%
22%
33%
0%
0%
0%
11%
22%
22%
22%
0%
0%
0%
0%
0%
67%
78%
78%
0%
0%
0%
0%
0%
0%
33%
22%
22%
Homecoming Committee
2003-2004
2004-2005
2005-2006
5
5
5
80%
60%
60%
20%
40%
40%
0%
0%
0%
0%
0%
0%
0%
0%
20%
0%
0%
0%
100%
100%
80%
0%
0%
0%
0%
0%
0%
0%
0%
20%
Resident Assistant Staff
2003-2004
2004-2005
2005-2006
57
54
39
42%
56%
59%
58%
44%
41%
2%
4%
8%
16%
19%
18%
5%
13%
10%
0%
0%
0%
75%
61%
62%
2%
2%
0%
0%
2%
3%
25%
37%
36%
RSO Leadership
2003-2004
2004-2005
2005-2006
*
176
258
*
66%
63%
*
34%
37%
*
13%
5%
*
15%
15%
*
7%
5%
*
1%
1%
*
64%
70%
*
1%
2%
*
0%
2%
*
36%
28%
Athletic Team Leadership
2003-2004
2004-2005
2005-2006
*
20
26
*
60%
54%
*
40%
46%
*
0%
0%
*
5%
12%
*
5%
15%
*
0%
0%
*
70%
62%
*
20%
4%
*
0%
8%
*
30%
31%
Orientation Leaders
2003-2004
2004-2005
2005-2006
21
22
22
38%
50%
50%
62%
50%
50%
0%
5%
5%
0%
9%
9%
14%
14%
14%
0%
0%
0%
81%
73%
73%
5%
0%
0%
0%
0%
0%
19%
27%
27%
Voyages Participants
2003-2004
2004-2005
2005-2006
*
*
28
*
*
18%
*
*
82%
*
*
0%
*
*
36%
*
*
4%
*
*
0%
*
*
61%
*
*
0%
*
*
0%
*
*
39%
245
57%
59%
43%
41%
3%
5%
11%
10%
9%
4%
0%
1%
77%
76%
1%
2%
0%
2%
24%
22%
% OF TOTAL 2004-2005
Compare to UWF 2003
411
63%
60%
37%
40%
8%
4%
12%
10%
8%
4%
0%
1%
69%
77%
2%
2%
0%
3%
30%
21%
% OF TOTAL 2005-2006
Compare to UWF 2004
516
58%
59%
42%
40%
4%
4%
15%
10%
7%
5%
0%
1%
71%
76%
1%
2%
2%
2%
28%
21%
TOTALS
% OF TOTAL 2003-2004
Compare to UWF 2002
Asian
4%
5%
2%
Ethnicity
African-American Hispanic Native American
12%
12%
1%
9%
12%
0%
12%
8%
0%
Year
2003-2004
2004-2005
2005-2006
Campus Activity Board
Not Declared % minority
0%
29%
0%
26%
0%
21%
________________________________________________________________
Annual Student Leadership Diversity Survey
University of West Florida
3