Isn't it great that they care?

It has been a thrill over the past couple weeks for us to witness how our Flagler students have helped the Library by providing excellent feedback to us in three different surveys that we hit them with during that time. Many of these same students had just finished taking the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) and/or the Student Satisfaction Survey. We waited patiently until these important College administered surveys were completed, and then we released our own library satisfaction survey (routinely administered every other year) and a short instruction assessment survey. Not only have we been pleasantly surprised by the numbers who completed our surveys, but also by the care taken in providing us with excellent written comments -- some positive, some negative but always in an honest and very constructive manner. And what's amazing is that they answered these surveys in the last weeks of the semester, when final papers were due and when they were starting to prepare for final exams.

We then further complicated their lives by hitting them with a third survey even before the other two were closed out. Early results of our satisfaction survey indicated that there could be a potentially serious noise problem within Library that we want to address before the next semester begins, if it is truly a problem. We decided to ask the students’ help first to clarify the impact of noise in the Library on each one of them, and second to offer suggestions to us on how we might improve the situation. The electronically administered survey (SurveyMonkey) consisted of only one question plus space for comments and suggestions, and we were amazed at how rapidly the responses came back to us on this particular survey. About half of the respondents provided substantial comments typically running from four to eight lines long. It is obvious in most of the comments that the students wrote them with care and concern for the success of the Library, and many students even indicated that they were pleased we asked for their help.

I only regret that I am not able to take immediate action on all the excellent suggestions offered in all three of the surveys we administered, but we will be paying close attention to all of them and many changes will be acted upon this summer before classes begin again in the fall. I will report these changes to students in this blog and in other Flagler communication channels. Equally important, the students will see many changes when they return in the fall.

Isn’t it great that they care?