By Joana Karoshi | Staff Writer
“If you could change something about Baylor’s campus, what would it be?”
That is the question San Diego sophomore Noah Seroter asks in a reel Baylor Student Government posted on Instagram last week, urging students to complete a new survey about campus improvements.
Seroter, chair of Baylor Student Government’s Campus Improvements and Affairs Committee, developed the survey in partnership with Baylor’s Institutional Research and the University Survey Coordination Committee to gather student feedback on campus priorities.
The survey, which opened Aug. 24 and closes Friday, asks students to rank past student government projects and identify areas they want improved, including academic spaces, outdoor spaces, fitness facilities, event venues, Wi-Fi and the Student Union Building.
While 3,000 randomly selected students received the survey directly by email, Student Government hopes to reach the broader student body through social media, QR codes and tabling on Fountain Mall.
The survey is intended to give Student Government information it can use when advocating for changes with university administrators and campus partners.
“I would measure success from the survey in student government informing a whole bunch of our campus partners in the university administration of the direct needs of students,” Seroter said. “I want to make sure that the student voice is fully heard.”
Seroter said the results will primarily inform Student Government’s advocacy this year. His committee regularly communicates with campus partners, including Facilities, Interior Design and Campus Recreation, and could use survey responses to support requests for changes or larger projects.
If Student Government has funding left after completing its other projects, Seroter said it may also consider funding proposals identified in the survey.
For Aquilla sophomore Nick Gonzalez, who completed the survey after seeing several reminders in his email, the questionnaire was useful but could have focused more heavily on academics.
“I kind of wished to focus a little bit more on academic stuff,” Gonzalez said. “It was kind of really all over the place.”
Gonzalez said he would like to see more improvements to older academic buildings such as Draper and Burleson, particularly compared with newer buildings on campus.
Gonzalez was initially skeptical about whether his response would make a difference.
“I was a little bit skeptical … because I was like not really sure what actually mattered,” Gonzalez said. “I think it’s good that they are getting the opinions of students since we are the ones enjoying the improvements.”
Seroter said students should not assume their responses will be ignored.
“This is your chance to tell us specifically what you want,” Seroter said. “We’re not just going to brush it off to the side. We’re going to examine every request.”
Institutional Research will provide the results to Student Government, after which Seroter said he plans to share them with relevant campus partners.
Student Government also hopes the survey can identify concerns that university officials may not already know about.
“The big thing would just be making everyone aware of the university administration and student government of maybe needs that we didn’t know existed, and now we do,” Seroter said.
