Assessment of Living Learning (ALL Survey)

December 2008

Swing Hall

Response rate

The ALL survey was administered over e-mail and the web using Prezza Checkbox. The survey was sent to all 6654 on-campus students. 1225 residents completed the survey (18.4%). 64% of the respondents were first-year students. 38% were upper class students. 70% of the respondents were female. 30% were male. 88% of the respondents were white/Caucasian. 12% were American Indian/Native American, Black/African American, Asian American,/Asian/Pacific Islander, Hispanic/Latino/a, or other.

All Campus / 6654 / 1225 / 18.4%
Swing Hall / 198 / 26 / 13.1%

Questions about staff

This information is useful to the department as a whole (implications for training and supervision) and for current staff members (implications on current perceptions and performance). Obviously, this data has implications for the staff as a group (unless there is only one academic adviser or head of hall in the building). It is not possible to break the RA data (or multiple adviser) data down to individuals. This data should be combined with the fall evaluations and other means of staff assessment to derive implications.

For the academic adviser questions, FY students were asked to respond regarding their in-hall academic adviser. Upper class students were asked to respond based on their academic adviser in their major department or division.

My academic adviser…

Percentage who answered “strongly agree” or “agree” / all / FY / UC / SWG
My academic adviser was available to schedule to meet with me about academic matters. / 69.8% / 76.8% / 58.0% / 46.2%
My academic adviser asked me questions about my academic goals and major. / 65.8% / 77.9% / 45.9% / 30.8%
My academic adviser helped me understand resources for academic decision making (DARS, Bulletin, Miami Plan, other administrative offices or advisers on campus, etc.) / 68.0% / 79.0% / 49.8% / 34.6%
My academic adviser effectively answered my questions about academic matters. / 67.9% / 75.9% / 54.8% / 46.2%
My academic adviser took a personal interest in my academic success. / 58.7% / 67.1% / 44.8% / 30.8%

My Current RA/CLA:

Agree or Strongly Agree / all / FY / UC / SWG
...available to me and has a presence on my corridor. / 79.0% / 82.3% / 73.5% / 61.5%
...a good resource and can respond to my questions about Miami. / 79.9% / 84.5% / 72.4% / 73.1%
...a good listener and helps when I have a problem. / 73.9% / 79.1% / 65.5% / 53.9%
...a strong community builder on my corridor and in my residence hall. / 68.4% / 71.5% / 63.1% / 50.0%
...a positive role model. / 68.7% / 71.5% / 64.1% / 57.7%
...a good programmer and creates educational opportunities in the residence hall. / 72.8% / 76.5% / 66.8% / 65.4%

My First Year Adviser/Assistant First Year Adviser (first year halls) or Resident Director (upper class halls) is:

Strongly agree or agree / all / FY / UC / SWG
...available to me and has a presence in my residence hall. / 68.0% / 70.9% / 63.3% / 69.2%
...a good resource and can respond to my questions about Miami. / 68.4% / 74.2% / 59.0% / 61.5%
...a good listener and helps when I have a problem. / 59.2% / 65.1% / 49.7% / 38.5%

Frequency of meaningful discussions with other students about…

Meaningful discussions about race / all respondents April 2006 / all respondents December 2006 / all respondents April 2008 / All respondents December 2008 / SWG December 2008
not at all / 33% / 34.2% / 30.8% / 27.0% / 50.0%
very little / 24% / 25.1% / 27.3% / 30.0% / 26.9%
some / 30% / 27.8% / 28.7% / 31.0% / 15.4%
quite a lot / 10% / 8.6% / 8.5% / 8.9% / 3.9%
a great deal / 4% / 3.9% / 4.8% / 3.1% / 3.9%
Meaningful discussions about gender / all respondents April 2006 / all respondents December 2006 / all respondents April 2008 / All respondents December 2008 / SWG December 2008
not at all / 33% / 31.0% / 31.3% / 25.9% / 46.2%
very little / 23% / 24.6% / 26.5% / 28.9% / 26.9%
Some / 29% / 27.9% / 25.9% / 31.0% / 19.2%
quite a lot / 11% / 11.3% / 11.1% / 10.7% / 0.0%
a great deal / 5% / 5.3% / 5.2% / 3.6% / 7.7%
Meaningful discussions about sexual orientation / all respondents April 2006 / all respondents December 2006 / all respondents April 2008 / All respondents December 2008 / SWG December 2008
not at all / 33% / 32.5% / 33.4% / 27.6% / 42.3%
very little / 23% / 25.1% / 26.2% / 31.2% / 34.6%
Some / 29% / 27.3% / 25.6% / 28.1% / 11.5%
quite a lot / 11% / 9.5% / 9.2% / 9.6% / 7.7%
a great deal / 5% / 5.6% / 5.6% / 3.6% / 3.9%
Meaningful discussions about politics / all respondents April 2006 / all respondents December 2006 / all respondents April 2008 / All respondents December 2008 / SWG December 2008
not at all / 25% / 23.4% / 23.3% / 12.2% / 15.4%
very little / 20% / 21.3% / 20.2% / 13.4% / 23.1%
Some / 30% / 31.9% / 31.3% / 37.9% / 30.8%
quite a lot / 16% / 15.1% / 14.8% / 25.9% / 23.1%
a great deal / 8% / 8.3% / 10.5% / 10.6% / 7.7%
Meaningful discussions about class material / all respondents April 2006 / all respondents December 2006 / all respondents April 2008 / All respondents December 2008 / SWG December 2008
not at all / 14% / 9.1% / 12.5% / 9.1% / 23.1%
very little / 8% / 6.4% / 7.1% / 6.5% / 3.9%
Some / 21% / 25.0% / 20.5% / 24.4% / 26.9%
quite a lot / 32% / 34.5% / 37.8% / 36.5% / 30.8%
a great deal / 24% / 25.0% / 22.2% / 23.6% / 15.4%
Meaningful discussions about career issues / all respondents April 2006 / all respondents December 2006 / all respondents April 2008 / All respondents December 2008 / SWG December 2008
not at all / 19% / 15.1% / 17.1% / 10.9% / 19.2%
very little / 12% / 13.1% / 12.3% / 13.2% / 7.7%
Some / 27% / 31.5% / 27.3% / 33.9% / 30.8%
quite a lot / 28% / 27.5% / 28.2% / 30.3% / 30.8%
a great deal / 13% / 12.7% / 15.1% / 11.6% / 11.5%
Meaningful discussions about religion or spirituality / all respondents April 2006 / all respondents December 2006 / all respondents April 2008 / All respondents December 2008 / SWG December 2008
not at all / 25% / 20.0% / 25.1% / 20.7% / 30.8%
very little / 20% / 23.0% / 19.7% / 28.5% / 30.8%
Some / 29% / 31.9% / 26.4% / 31.7% / 15.4%
quite a lot / 17% / 16.6% / 16.0% / 13.1% / 11.5%
a great deal / 9% / 8.7% / 12.8% / 6.0% / 11.5%

Community Standards/Agreements

When someone in my corridor is violating a policy (noise, trash, alcohol for example) to the degree that it bothers me, the first thing I do is… / All respondents April 2008* / All respondents December 2008 / SWG Dec 2008
…go directly to the resident to express my concern / 28% / 30% / 38.5%
…talk with other residents on the corridor / 25% / 24% / 11.5%
…do nothing / 29% / 27% / 34.6%
…talk to my RA or adviser / 12% / 13% / 7.7%
…other / 7% / 6% / 7.7%

*prior to implementation of Community Standards/Agreements

Percentage who strongly agree or agree: / All respondents April 2008* / All respondents December 2008 / SWG Dec 2008
I have a role in setting policies and standards on my corridor and in my hall. / 28.5% / 53.8% / 50.0%
I play a role in holding other residents of my corridor and hall accountable to the policies and standards. / 32.2% / 43.4% / 32.0%
I have a full say in setting the living conditions in my room with my roommate(s). / 65.7% / 81.6% / 79.2%
My roommate(s) and I completed and revised our Roommate Agreement Form. / --- / 77.4% / 69.6%
The roommate agreement process at the beginning of the year was effective. / 38.2% / 57.1% / 36.4%

*prior to implementation of Community Standards/Agreements

Community Council

The role of community council is…
(students were able to check more than one response – percentage of the respondents who checked that item are shown) / All respondents / SWG
…to plan and implement social events / 76% / 69.2%
…to plan and implement educational events / 50% / 46.2%
…to represent student opinions and voices in our community / 68% / 53.9%
…to help set and help residents adhere to policies and standards in the community / 43% / 26.9%
…to provide leadership opportunities for residents in the community / 59% / 38.5%
…I didn’t even know we had a community council / 15% / 11.5%
…other / 5% / 3.9%


Programming

How important are the following types of programs and events to students:

Percentage who answered “high” importance / All respondents / SWG
…recreational / 37.6% / 20.8%
…social / 50.4% / 33.3%
…educational / 37.8% / 16.7%
…diversity related / 16.1% / 12.5%

I am satisfied with the quantity and quality of the following types of programs and events in my residence hall:

Strongly agree or agree / All Dec 2006 / All Apr 2008 / All Dec 2008 / FY Dec 2008 / UC Dec 2008 / SWG Dec 2008
…recreational / 49.4% / 42.5% / 53.6% / 57.7% / 46.8% / 44.0%
…social / 62.7% / 52.2% / 59.4% / 62.7% / 53.9% / 56.0%
…educational / 47.4% / 37.9% / 52.5% / 56.0% / 46.8% / 48.0%
…diversity related / 33.1% / 30.7% / 37.0% / 38.8% / 34.1% / 44.0%
Percentage of those who responded Strongly Agree or Agree: / All April 2008 / All Dec 2008 / SWG Dec 2008
I hang out with students in my community on the weekends. / --- / 65.4% / 52.2%
I know almost everybody who lives in my corridor. / 49.2% / 53.1% / 21.7%
If I am studying and someone is being loud, I feel comfortable asking him/her to be quiet. / 45.9% / 51.5% / 37.5%
Other students on my corridor care about my well-being. / 54.8% / 56.4% / 39.1%
I feel comfortable “being myself” around other people on my corridor. / 73.8% / 70.0% / 73.9%
I am able to study and sleep where I live. / --- / 70.3% (16% neutral) / 75.0% (12.5%neutral)

One-on-one conversations with RA

Did you have a one on one conversation with your RA? / All Respondents / FY / UC / SWG
Yes / 78.8% / 86.7% / 65.9% / 76.9%
No / 21.2% / 13.3% / 34.1% / 23.1%
Of those who DID have a one-on-one discussion with an RA:
My one-on-one meeting with my RA was…
(percentage who responded Strongly Agree or Agree) / All Respondents / SWG
…a good opportunity for my RA to get to know me / 84.1% / 70.0%
…a good opportunity for me to get to know my RA / 81.4% / 65.0%
…a good use of my time / 61.1% / 40.0%
…a time when my RA asked me interesting questions about my experiences at Miami / 72.5% / 55.0%
…helpful to me / 58.3% / 40.0%
Of those who DID NOT have a one-on-one discussion with an RA:
Why didn’t you have a one-on-one meeting with your RA? / All Respondents / SWG
I did not want to meet with my RA. / 17% / 16.7%
We tried but could not get a meeting scheduled. / 26% / 50.0%
My RA did not attempt to meet with me. / 28% / 16.7%
Other / 29% / 16.7%


Other proficiencies from the Residential Curriculum

As a result of living in my community I…
(percentage who responded “Strongly Agree” or “Agree”) / All respondents / FY / UC / SWG
…have developed a sense of belonging in the community and at Miami. / 60.3% / 64.7% / 53.0% / 20.0%
…have a better understanding of how my actions and decisions affect the community. / 53.8% / 57.3% / 47.9% / 32.0%
…have developed a sense of responsibility for my community. / 62.0% / 66.5% / 54.6% / 36.0%
...actively engage with people different from me in the community. / 61.4% / 65.7% / 54.2% / 48.0%
…have had an opportunity to resolve an interpersonal conflict, solve some problem or resolve an issue. / 53.9% / 57.7% / 47.7% / 36.0%
…have engaged in service activities in the Oxford or surrounding communities. / 44.6% / 45.7% / 42.7% / 4.0%
…have identified academic planning components (e.g. DARS, Miami Plan, other adviser and resources on campus) and how to use them. / 66.2% / 77.9% / 46.6% / 36.0%
…understand and uphold standards of academic integrity. / 70.8% / 79.1% / 57.0% / 36.0%
…have developed meaningful connections with faculty both inside and outside the classroom. / 55.0% / 58.4% / 49.4% / 32.0%
…have explored post-graduation experiences and opportunities. / 42.3% / 43.0% / 41.3% / 16.0%
…have made more socially responsible and safe decisions. / 61.8% / 67.2% / 52.9% / 36.0%
…have explored my personal values and social identity. / 67.2% / 72.7% / 58.2% / 40.0%
…have identified my own strengths and areas for improvement. / 69.6% / 74.9% / 60.8% / 40.0%
…have engaged in positive interactions with people of backgrounds different than my own. / 65.3% / 69.5% / 58.4% / 44.0%
…have participated in various cultural events and activities. / 44.7% / 46.2% / 42.1% / 28.0%
…have explored other cultures. / 44.8% / 45.4% / 43.9% / 32.0%
…have contributed to creating a climate within my community where everyone feels welcome. / 66.9% / 71.6% / 59.2% / 52.0%

Written Comments

Academic advising

Hall / Year / Sex / One way I would improve academic advising at Miami would be…
Swing / Sophomore / Female / By making it a requirement that all academic advisers answer emails in a timely manner.
Swing / Junior / Female / Give us academic advisers that know more than just their field...more like the freshman advisers that have a broad knowledge base of classes. Also have us meet with them at least once a year.
Swing / Junior / Female / Have the advisors know all of the college of their division's requirements and exceptions, not just that pertaining to the major.
Swing / Junior / Male / have them respond to e-mails I send.
Swing / Junior / Female / Having academic advisors teach fewer classes so they will have more time to meet with students.
Swing / Senior / Male / I would encourage advisors to reach out to the students they are advising. Most of the stuff I learned about the department was through friends or from professors I was taking classes with.
Swing / Sophomore / Female / Include more advisors for each major. It would be nice if my advisor could recognize me when I see him rather than me having to refresh his memory.
Swing / Sophomore / Male / I've never meet any academic adviser during this semester!! Is there a academic adviser in swing hall??
Swing / Sophomore / Female / To have each freshman meet with one academic adviser at orientation instead of having them meet with three groups of advisers that do not give any personal attention. Scheduling as a freshman coming into Miami is awful. It would be way more helpful if freshman were able to sit down with ONE person and discuss their schedule.
Swing / Sophomore / Female / to show interest in advising process.

“Other” responses for policy violations, community council and one-on-one