Cab paper

Research​ ​and​ ​Theory,​ ​COM​ ​403

Cheyenne​ ​Faunce,​ ​Taylor​ ​Gillis,​ ​Hannah Hussman,​ ​Alena​ ​Kairys, Chloe​ ​Medina,​ ​&​ ​Kailee​ ​Schnabele April​ ​19,​ ​2016

I.

Executive​ ​Summary Objective: ​This research project was conducted in the hopes of increasing participation in

the​ ​Students​ ​Government​ ​Association​ ​at​ ​Flagler​ ​College​ ​and​ ​Campus​ ​Activity​ ​Board​ ​events.

Goals: ​There were many end goals for this research project. The first goal was to reach out to students who desire to be apart of the Student Government Association. The second goal was to increase and improve social media and networking amongst the Student Government Association and the Campus Activity Board. Our final goal was to expand reach to those who live​ ​off​ ​campus.

Solution: To accomplish our goals, we developed several solutions. The first solution is to promote the Student Government Association and the Campus Activity Board by eliminating the “highbrow atmosphere”. We also suggest starting to target freshmen and even incoming students, as well as transfer students. There should a variety of activities sponsored by the Campus Activities Board with a more mature approach. Some suggestions we received from our surveys and focus groups include a comedy night and blackjack night, as well as more than one destress​ ​day.​ ​Students​ ​would​ ​like​ ​to​ ​see​ ​more​ ​food,​ ​photobooths​ ​and​ ​dogs.

II.

Rationale The Student Government Association and the College Activities Board have a strong

commitment to providing the students of Flagler College with events that can enhance the overall college experience for students socially and academically. The main purpose of conducting this research was to observe which students are most likely to attend SGA and CAB events. We also wanted to see why students come to SGA and CAB events and what piques their interests to attend. Along with that we wanted to see why students do not attend, and the patterns that fall

within that. The research was also done to see how CAB and SGA can improve their events so that​ ​they​ ​can​ ​draw​ ​a​ ​larger​ ​and​ ​more​ ​diverse​ ​student​ ​body.

III.

Methods We​ ​chose​ ​to​ ​use​ ​two​ ​main​ ​methods​ ​of​ ​research:​ ​electronic​ ​surveys​ ​and​ ​focus​ ​groups.

62 Flagler College students participated in the survey and 45 Flagler college students, group one had 16 students, group two had 15 students and group three had 14 students , participated in focus​ ​groups​ ​for​ ​this​ ​research.

Focus​ ​Groups The participants for Focus Group One consisted of members from both the Campus Activities Board (CAB) and the Student Government Association(SGA). This was done as a base level approach to determine why they, as involved student leaders, go to and plan the events that they​ ​do,​ ​and​ ​included​ ​six​ ​members​ ​of​ ​CAB​ ​and​ ​nine​ ​members​ ​of​ ​SGA​ ​due​ ​to​ ​availability.

The participants of Focus Group Two consisted of a random sampling of students from the Proctor Library, West Lawn and Ringhaver Student Center on Campus. We ended up with a higher concentration of upperclassmen who live off campus in this group than either of the other two​ ​groups.

The participants of Focus Group Three were chosen just as group two random from those places around campus. This group had a more even distribution of upper and lower classmen both​ ​living​ ​on​ ​and​ ​off​ ​campus.

Survey The electronic survey was created using Qualtrics, a survey software system.The software allowed for skip logic and display logic question to increase the effectiveness of the

survey. For example, if a respondent said they had not attended a CAB event during the 2015-2016 school year, they were shown a question asking them the reasons they had not gone to an event. There are multiple question formats for this survey, including constant sum, multiple choice, text entry, graphic scales, and rank order. For certain questions, the respondent was allowed to chose multiple answers. This allows the respondent to be more specific in their answers. If the student is limited to only one choice, this may mask other opinions they may have. Not accounting for questions using skip or display logic or the extra credit question at the end, there were 20 questions in total. Respondents for the survey were gathered through convenience sampling. Therefore, the sample is heavily concentrated with Communications majors/minors. Some professors in the Communications Department distributed the surveys to their students through their school emails. Some responses were obtained through casually asking friends to participate in the survey. In total, there were 62 responses. The survey questions are​ ​included​ ​in​ ​the​ ​Appendix.

IV.

Results

Focus​ ​Group​ ​One

Focus​ ​Group​ ​Two

Focus​ ​Group​ ​Three

Focus​ ​Group​ ​Results The focus groups we each asked the same ten questions which are listed in Appendix C. Of the 45 participants 13.3% were freshman, 46.7% sophomores, 24.5% juniors and 15.5 % seniors. 35.6% Of the participants identified as male, and the other 64.4% identified as female.

On average CAB and SGA members went to 8.6 events last semester with answers ranging from

5 to 11. The randomly assessed students went to an average of .7 events with answers ranging from 0 to 3. The students were asked to to rank their satisfaction on a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being​ ​the​ ​most​ ​satisfied.​ ​The​ ​average​ ​satisfaction​ ​of​ ​both​ ​sets​ ​of​ ​students​ ​was​ ​8.5.

When asked what CAB and SGA could do to improve their experience, free food was the favorite response with 12 mentions from students, the runner up with 7 response was the want for more unique and changing events, 5 students said that they would be more likely to go to events that their friends also attended, live music was mentioned 4 times and prizes also was a response that was mentioned more than once. The other responses included better games, contest, inflatables (slides and bounce houses), larger events with more thought, earlier set up so students aren’t waiting for the event to start, and the others comments strictly how much they loved​ ​Destress​ ​Day. The responses as to what turns them off to the events on campus were largely concentrated in that the students wanted to go to events that their friends are at. Also added to the conversation were that there is no good music, the events are always the same and redundant, the times are inconvenient, when there is no food, when the events are unorganized and when CAB and​ ​SGA​ ​member​ ​pressure​ ​students​ ​to​ ​come.

When asked when works best for them to attend on campus events students overwhelmingly said that during school and between their class times, this answer was given 27 times during the groups. Eleven students preferred weekend events and 6 preferred the events during​ ​the​ ​beginning​ ​of​ ​the​ ​week​ ​and​ ​at​ ​night.

Students were asked how they find out about the events on campus, most said social media like Facebook and Instagram, a couple mentioned wanting a Twitter, flyers and email tied

with three students stating their hatred for the amount of emails sent out, and three students said they​ ​find​ ​out​ ​by​ ​word-of-mouth​ ​from​ ​their​ ​friends.

Students gave many suggestions as to what events they would like to see on campus.

Concerts and band were the most popular answer, followed by water events, Panera Bread at events,​ ​a​ ​pajama​ ​party,​ ​a​ ​beach​ ​party,​ ​lawn​ ​movies,​ ​branded​ ​sports​ ​tents,​ ​food​ ​truck​ ​and​ ​puppies.

Our final question was what makes them want to join a club. 21 Students said that they look for clubs that look good on resume. 13 said that they look for a fun club. Two said they look for a club that helps people. Six say they want a club with perks. 10 students join clubs to make or​ ​be​ ​with​ ​friends.​ ​The​ ​notes​ ​and​ ​results​ ​from​ ​the​ ​focus​ ​groups​ ​can​ ​be​ ​found​ ​in​ ​Appendix​ ​B.

Survey​ ​Results The survey asked respondents 9 questions regarding CAB and 7 about SGA. Some of this analysis will reference graphs and tables in Appendix A. There were 62 respondents who participated in the survey. Of these respondents, 48 were female and 14 were male. 54.84% of these lived off-campus, and 45.16% lived on campus. A majority of respondents were juniors, at 54.8%. Seniors made up 12.9%, sophomores 30.6%, and freshmen 1.6%. In this population, 22/34 juniors lived off-campus. The data favors females, juniors, students living off-campus, and communications​ ​majors.

This portion of the results will discuss the CAB section of the survey.With reference to figure to Figure F, 35% of people attended 1-2 CAB events. The second highest response was “I have not attended an event” at 28.33%. Two percentage points lower than that was responses to 3-4 events, at 26.67%. The attendance drops steeply when looking at 5-6 events and “More than

6 events”, both of which are 5%. The data from this chart indicates that there is a diminishing rate of students returning to CAB events, if they attend at all. With reference to Fig. H, people who have attended 1-2 events and 3-4 events say they are Extremely Satisfied or Somewhat Satisfied with events. For example. 6 people who went to 1-2 events said they are Extremely satisfied with CAB events, 9 people who went to 3-4 events said they were Somewhat Satisfied.

8 people who attended 1-2 events may not have been particularly impressed with the activities because they rated their CAB satisfaction as a neutral opinion. The 16 students who did not attend a CAB event also gave CAB neutral ratings. Looking at Fig. I, which is a crosstabulation of campus residency and CAB event attendance, once can see how living on or off campus affects CAB attendendance. The highest category for attendance was 12 people for 3-4 events.

These 12 people all live on campus. 4 people in total (5-6 & 6+ events) live on campus, while 2 total for the same category did not live on campus. 15 people who did not live on campus attended 1-2 events, and 4 off-campus students attended 1-4 events. 12/33 off campus students did not attend any CAB event. For off-campus students, it requires more of an effort to go to a school activity. This demographic would probably not go out of their way to attend an event, unless they were very interested in it or had some stake in it. With reference to Fig. K, a majority of respondents ranked their satisfaction with CAB events as neutral, at 48.28%. Though this lack of direction from most of the respondents is concerning, it is worth noting that the responses are more positive than negative. Favorable responses total 46.55% when combining “Extremely and Somewhat Satisfied”. In the future, CAB should seek to turn those neutral responses into “Satisfied” responses. There were a few text entry questions asking respondents about what they thought of CAB, so their opinions will be briefed. Some of the main points that was repeated was

to make the events more interesting, “not lame”, and more appealing to upperclassmen. Another criticism was the lack of advertising by CAB to promote the events. When asked what features they​ ​liked​ ​most​ ​at​ ​CAB​ ​events,​ ​popular​ ​responses​ ​were:​ ​food,​ ​photobooths,​ ​and​ ​dogs.

This portion of the result section will discuss the SGA portion of the survey. Only 3 out of 55 respondents were members of SGA. 2 of these students lived on campus, while the other one did not. These results can be referenced in figures L and M. One of the survey questions asks participants why they are not members of SGA, if that question is applicable to them. The highest response category was “Time commitment” with 68.63%. The second highest response was under “I have no interest in being an SGA member” at 47.06%. To be an SGA member, a student must attend meetings regularly to have voting rights and complete 1 hour of SGA-sponsored community service. Knowing these requirements provides a context as to why time commitment is the highest response category. The second highest category leads into the question that asked respondents whether they believe their opinion matters to SGA. 40.63% of students said their opinion is “Not very influential”, and 28.13% said it was “Not at all influential”. The data indicates that the student body does not have a high level of self-efficacy.

The data regarding how influential the students’ voices are also affects the number of students in SGA. If people do not think their voice matters to the organization, they will probably not want to be members of it. 42.59% of students had neutral opinions regarding the effectiveness of SGA. The combined percentage for “Not effective at all” and “Somewhat ineffective” is 35.18%. The combined percentages rating SGA positively is about 10 points lower, at 22.21%. There were text entry questions for the SGA portion of the survey, as well. Several people wanted more interesting meetings at more convenient times. A few people wanted to reduce the requirements

for being a member. The most recurring response was that students feel the SGA is not representative of the student body. Some people felt like the SGA members were cliquish and not​ ​very​ ​connected​ ​with​ ​non-SGA​ ​members.

V.

Discussion​ ​and​ ​Recommendations In order to judge what recommendations should be made, we will look back at some

points addressed within the responses received from students. Many of students noted they were juniors, who lived off campus that rarely attended an event at all. Most of the time when they heard of events, they claimed to have received most of the announcements through emails and felt this was effective for them. Even though most of them felt that being notified through email was effective, one of the main issues was still having students participate and show up to the events. Problems regarding why students did not attend included time conflicts, or they were unconcerned with certain types of events. There were social reasons as well, such as their friends were not available to go with them or the turnout was not very high, so they felt no reason to stay. Many students also said that they would have been more inclined to go had food been offered more often. Then, in regards to what type of events these students would like to see more of, they said more “DeStress Days” like during finals week, comedy shows, and blackjack nights. When reviewing why students said they haven’t joined either group, we received the following feedback: Students do not feel Student Government represents them as a student body, many respondents stated they felt excluded or as if members of SGA has portrayed a highbrow atmosphere​ ​that​ ​may​ ​repel​ ​them​ ​from​ ​trying​ ​to​ ​join.

From these answers it can be said that students really would like to become more involved if their requests were met. Knowing what we know now, that most students at these events are juniors, there is also a maturity factor that comes into play. Most of the experiences that the student’s indicate the want to be involved in, sound a lot like a night out. They want something that combines: food, laughter, friends, and a way to let loose. Students would be more inclined to join SGA and CAB as members if they were guaranteed more flexibility for meeting times and events, if the organizations were more welcoming, and if there was an opportunity for their​ ​membership​ ​to​ ​help​ ​build​ ​their​ ​resume.

Recommendations to obtain more members would include more interesting ways to promote SGA and CAB in an upbeat and positive light. Solution one would be to promote SGA and CAB beyond Club Night or when they are seeking new members to fill spots for seniors. In order to eliminate the highbrow atmosphere that has been created, it would be best if SGA members reached out to students around campus on select days and had an incentive such as food and light conversation to help engage students to be a part of the club. Starting sooner with students would be a great solution as well. Admitted Student Day for incoming students would be an excellent time for members of CAB and/or SGA to do meet and greets with students and give them a warm welcome. It is also important to reach out to transfer students. These students can be extremely beneficial because they come from a different school and sometimes will more experience and maybe able to provide a different perspective for new ideas for the groups. These first impressions will stick to students and create a positive relationship as they come onto campus.

Recommendations for better student turnout for CAB and SGA events include an “adult approach.” Students want to feel like they are in college and experience everything it has to offer but they do not want to be a part of activities that remind them of high school. Event’s like blackjack night should be held more often as requested for students. A new event could be created that involves students, faculty, and maybe even special guests to perform stand-up at the college on select evenings. Lastly, DeStress Days: Students lead busy lives and appreciate DeStress Days when they come around during finals week. There is sometimes a misconception that students are only stressed before and during finals week, very untrue. DeStress Days could truly help promote a positive outlook towards SGA if held monthly. Perhaps the last Saturday of the month, then during finals as scheduled. All in all, students do want to make the most of their college experience but sometimes it is up to groups like SGA and CAB to truly help bring light to​ ​what​ ​college​ ​has​ ​to​ ​offer.​ ​With​ ​these​ ​recommendations,​ ​school​ ​morale​ ​can​ ​be​ ​lifted.

VI.

Appendices A. ​ ​Graphs​ ​and​ ​Tables​ ​(Survey)

a.

b.

c.

d.

e.

f.

g.

h.

i.

j.

k.

l.

m.

n.

o.

p.

q.

r.

B.​ ​Survey​ ​Questions SGA​ ​and​ ​CAB​ ​Survey (Disclaimer) This survey seeks to assess the opinions of Flagler College students regarding the school's Student Government Association (SGA) and Campus Activities Board (CAB). Please answer as honestly as possible. Your name will not be used or released in the study's findings.

Thank​ ​you​ ​for​ ​taking​ ​the​ ​time​ ​to​ ​participate​ ​in​ ​this​ ​survey!

What​ ​is​ ​your​ ​gender? m​ ​ ​Male​ ​(1) m​ ​ ​Female​ ​(2) What​ ​is​ ​your​ ​current​ ​academic​ ​standing? m​ ​ ​Freshman​ ​(1) m​ ​ ​Sophomore​ ​(2) m​ ​ ​Junior​ ​(3) m​ ​ ​Senior​ ​(4)

Do​ ​you​ ​live​ ​on​ ​campus? m​ ​ ​Yes​ ​(1) m​ ​ ​No​ ​(2) How many CAB-sponsored events have you attended during the 2015-2016 academic year? Past CAB​ ​events​ ​have​ ​included:​ ​De-stress​ ​Day,​ ​Game​ ​Night,​ ​Open​ ​Mic​ ​Night,​ ​and​ ​others. m​ ​ ​1​ ​to​ ​2​ ​events​ ​(1) m​ ​ ​3​ ​to​ ​4​ ​events​ ​(2) m​ ​ ​5​ ​to​ ​6​ ​events​ ​(3) m​ ​ ​More​ ​than​ ​6​ ​events​ ​(4) m​ ​ ​I​ ​have​ ​not​ ​attended​ ​a​ ​CAB​ ​event​ ​this​ ​year​ ​(5) On​ ​average,​ ​how​ ​satisfied​ ​are​ ​you​ ​with​ ​CAB​ ​events​ ​you​ ​have​ ​attended? m​ ​ ​Extremely​ ​satisfied​ ​(1) m​ ​ ​Somewhat​ ​satisfied​ ​(2) m​ ​ ​Neither​ ​satisfied​ ​nor​ ​dissatisfied​ ​(3) m​ ​ ​Somewhat​ ​dissatisfied​ ​(4) m​ ​ ​Extremely​ ​dissatisfied​ ​(5) Of​ ​the​ ​CAB​ ​events​ ​you​ ​have​ ​attended,​ ​what​ ​did​ ​you​ ​like​ ​and​ ​dislike​ ​about​ ​them?​ ​(text​ ​entry) How do you receive information about CAB events? You may select as many or as few answers as​ ​applicable​ ​to​ ​you. q​ ​ ​Flyers​ ​and​ ​posters​ ​(1) q​ ​ ​Friends​ ​(2) q​ ​ ​Social​ ​media​ ​(3) q​ ​ ​Weekly​ ​emails​ ​(4) q​ ​ ​Other​ ​(5)​ ​____________________ q​ ​ ​I​ ​have​ ​not​ ​received​ ​information​ ​about​ ​CAB​ ​events​ ​(6) Which method of communication do you feel is most effective for raising student awareness about​ ​upcoming​ ​CAB​ ​events?

Answer If How many CAB-sponsored events have you attended during the 2015-2016 academic year?​ ​I​ ​have​ ​not​ ​attended​ ​a​ ​CAB​ ​event​ ​this​ ​year​ ​Is​ ​Selected Please select the reasons you have not attended any CAB events during the 2015-2016 school year.​ ​You​ ​may​ ​choose​ ​as​ ​many​ ​or​ ​as​ ​few​ ​options​ ​as​ ​applicable​ ​to​ ​you. q​ ​ ​I​ ​did​ ​not​ ​know​ ​about​ ​the​ ​event/s​ ​(1)

q​ ​ ​I​ ​was​ ​not​ ​interested​ ​in​ ​the​ ​event/s​ ​(2) q​ ​ ​My​ ​friends​ ​were​ ​not​ ​going​ ​(3) q​ ​ ​I​ ​had​ ​a​ ​negative​ ​experience​ ​at​ ​a​ ​previous​ ​event​ ​(4) q​ ​ ​The​ ​event/s​ ​conflicted​ ​with​ ​other​ ​commitments​ ​(5) q​ ​ ​Transportation​ ​was​ ​an​ ​issue​ ​for​ ​me​ ​(6) q​ ​ ​Other​ ​(7)​ ​____________________ Please rank which features are most important to you when you attend a campus social event, 1 being​ ​"Most​ ​Important"​ ​and​ ​6​ ​being​ ​"Least​ ​Important". ______​ ​Arts​ ​and​ ​crafts​ ​(1) ______​ ​Food​ ​(2) ______​ ​Friends​ ​(3) ______​ ​Games​ ​(4) ______​ ​Music​ ​(5) ______​ ​Raffle/Contest​ ​(6) ______​ ​Other​ ​(7) What​ ​suggestions​ ​do​ ​you​ ​have​ ​to​ ​improve​ ​CAB?​ ​(text​ ​entry) What​ ​activities​ ​would​ ​you​ ​like​ ​to​ ​see​ ​CAB​ ​host?​ ​(text​ ​entry) Rate how much awareness you feel you have regarding new and information at Flagler College, 1​ ​being​ ​"Not​ ​aware​ ​at​ ​all"​ ​and​ ​5​ ​being​ ​"Extremely​ ​aware". m​ ​ ​1 m​ ​ ​2 m​ ​ ​3 m​ ​ ​4 m​ ​ ​5 Which of the following qualities matter most to you when you join a club or organization? You have 100 points to distribute among the categories. The more points you give a category, the more important it is to you. You many give any category as many or as few points as you like, as long​ ​as​ ​the​ ​total​ ​equals​ ​100. ______​ ​Community​ ​with​ ​members​ ​(1) ______​ ​Fun​ ​experiences​ ​(2) ______​ ​Improving​ ​my​ ​school/community​ ​(3) ______​ ​Leadership​ ​roles​ ​(4) ______​ ​Resume​ ​builder​ ​(5)

On a scale from 0 to 5, rate how much to you believe your opinions matter to SGA, 0 being "Not at​ ​all​ ​influential",​ ​and​ ​"5"​ ​being​ ​"Extremely​ ​influential". m​ ​ ​1​ ​(1) m​ ​ ​2​ ​(2) m​ ​ ​3​ ​(3) m​ ​ ​4​ ​(4) m​ ​ ​5​ ​(5) A student becomes a member of SGA when he or she attends 3 consecutive SGA meetings to acquire voting rights, regularly attends meetings, and completes at least one hour of SGA-sponsored​ ​community​ ​service.​ ​By​ ​this​ ​definition,​ ​are​ ​you​ ​currently​ ​a​ ​member​ ​of​ ​SGA? m​ ​ ​Yes,​ ​I​ ​am​ ​currently​ ​a​ ​member​ ​(1) m​ ​ ​No,​ ​I​ ​am​ ​not​ ​currently​ ​a​ ​member​ ​(2) If​ ​No,​ ​I​ ​am​ ​not​ ​currently​ ​a​ ​me...​ ​Is​ ​Selected,​ ​Then​ ​Skip​ ​To​ ​Why​ ​are​ ​you​ ​not​ ​a​ ​member​ ​of​ ​SGA? Answer If A student becomes a member of SGA when he or she attends 3 consecutive SGA meetings​ ​to​ ​acquire​ ​vo...​ ​No,​ ​I​ ​am​ ​not​ ​currently​ ​a​ ​member​ ​Is​ ​Selected Why are you not a member of SGA? You may choose as many or as few answers as applicable to​ ​you. q​ ​ ​Time​ ​commitment​ ​(1) q​ ​ ​Meetings​ ​are​ ​uninteresting​ ​(2) q​ ​ ​I​ ​do​ ​not​ ​feel​ ​my​ ​voice​ ​matters​ ​(3) q​ ​ ​I​ ​have​ ​no​ ​interest​ ​in​ ​being​ ​a​ ​member​ ​of​ ​SGA​ ​(4) q​ ​ ​Other​ ​(5)​ ​____________________ On a scale of 1 to 5, 1 being "Extremely ineffective" and 5 being "Extremely effective", rate how effective​ ​you​ ​believe​ ​SGA​ ​is​ ​at​ ​representing​ ​the​ ​student​ ​body. m​ ​ ​1​ ​(1) m​ ​ ​2​ ​(2) m​ ​ ​3​ ​(3) m​ ​ ​4​ ​(4) m​ ​ ​5​ ​(5) What​ ​suggestions​ ​do​ ​you​ ​have​ ​to​ ​improve​ ​SGA?​ ​(text​ ​entry) If you are receiving extra credit for taking this survey, please include your name and class for which​ ​you​ ​are​ ​receiving​ ​credit.

C.​ ​Questions​ ​from​ ​Focus​ ​Groups 1. On​ ​average​ ​how​ ​many​ ​CAB​ ​or​ ​SGA​ ​events​ ​to​ ​you​ ​attend​ ​in​ ​a​ ​semester?

2. Do​ ​you​ ​remember​ ​which​ ​events​ ​they​ ​were?

3. On​ ​a​ ​scale​ ​of​ ​1-10​ ​how​ ​satisfied​ ​were​ ​you?

4. What​ ​could​ ​CAB​ ​and​ ​SGA​ ​do​ ​to​ ​improve​ ​your​ ​experience?

5. What’s the one thing that can pull you into an event? (Ex: friends, food, games, music, raffles) 6. What​ ​turns​ ​you​ ​off​ ​about​ ​coming​ ​to​ ​an​ ​event?

7. What​ ​day​ ​of​ ​the​ ​week​ ​and​ ​time​ ​are​ ​you​ ​most​ ​likely​ ​to​ ​come​ ​to​ ​an​ ​event?

8. How​ ​do​ ​you​ ​find​ ​out​ ​about​ ​campus​ ​events?

9. Do​ ​you​ ​have​ ​any​ ​suggestions​ ​for​ ​events​ ​that​ ​you​ ​would​ ​like​ ​to​ ​see​ ​on​ ​campus 10. When you join a club, what matters the most to you? Or if you were to join a club, what would​ ​it​ ​be?