The Student Satisfactory Inventory will be an opportunity for currently enrolled students to have their voices heard, as well as be entered for some great prizes.

On March 17, students will receive a survey that will assess what educational experiences are important to students and also measure their satisfaction.

Shawna Gisi, a faculty researcher at Simpson College, is leading the survey which will be administered to students in the upcoming month.

“The SSI allows students to rate the importance of and satisfaction with areas such as academic advising, campus climate, campus life, campus support services, concern for students as individuals and several other areas,” Gisi said.

Other areas that will be under evaluation are institutional effectiveness, recruitment and financial aid, registration effectiveness, response to diverse populations, safety and security, service excellence and student centeredness.

A complaint from students all over the nation is that their colleges don’t listen to their needs when it comes to improvement, but the SSI is geared towards providing information to the faculty, staff and administrators, so they may make changes in areas that matter most to students.

On top of giving students a voice that will be heard by the faculty, further incentives are already in place to motivate students to fill out the survey.

“Students who complete the survey will be entered into a raffle to win some incredible merchandise from the Simpson College Bookstore,” Gisi said.

Prizes range from Simpson Camelback water bottles and embossed portfolios, to sweatshirts and blankets.

In addition to prizes, during the first week that the survey is emailed to all the students, Gisi will be hosting a table in the Kent Campus Center where students can complete the survey and receive a coupon for a free fountain drink.

Students must show up early, however, because only the first 75 students will be given a free drink.

“The Student Satisfactory Inventory was last administered at Simpson College in spring of 2013,” Gisi said. “We hope to administer the survey on a three-year cycle so that we can continuously assess the satisfaction and priorities of students.”

From the results of 2013, they found the top three priorities for Simpson students were academic advising, institutional effectiveness and student centeredness.

Optimistically, students reported they were highly satisfied with instruction in their major field, the knowledge of their academic advisor and the value of courses in their field of major.

Even though the satisfaction of students correlated with their highest priorities, there is always room for Simpson to improve.

“Administering the SSI again this year will allow Simpson administrators to re-evaluate the adequacy of current planning and programs, and make changes if necessary,” Gisi said.

Unlike large state schools, the closer relationships that students form with their professors and advisors allows the college to hear the voices of students in a more direct fashion.

“Student input is extremely important in the assessment process, which is why we are hoping that all students take the time to complete the SSI that is being administered in March,” Gisi said.

Follow @ClaytonBowers1