24 June 2005 Surveys – an Opportunity to 'Have Your Say'

Believe it or not, there was a time when there was no student representation on the University's governing body, the Council, and Lincoln along with other tertiary institutions was far less ‘democratic’ in student terms than it is today.

The initial step towards greater student involvement in the governance of the University was taken in the early 1970s when the President of the Students' Association was permitted to be present at Council meetings but in an ‘in attendance’ capacity only. Full membership of Council by a student representative did not come until regulation changes in mid-1970s.

Today of course the Council is very widely representative of particular interest groups with two places for the student body, along with places for a nominee from Te Runanga o Ngai Tahu, representatives appointed in consultation with the Combined Trades Union, the Employers' Federation, and representatives of numerous other constituencies.

What might be termed the ‘democratisation’ of education has been part of a major paradigm shift in the recent history of education and there was a strong reflection of it in the policies associated with Tomorrow's Schools and the establishment of community-based boards of trustees to manage the affairs of primary and secondary institutions.

Which all brings me to the report on the latest Lincoln University Undergraduate Student Satisfaction Survey, which arrived on my desk recently.

This is a highly significant document in more ways than one. First it's a form of customer satisfaction survey. It's the sort of thing every sensible service delivery business or organisation does – in fact what every business in general should do – check on the match between what is provided and what the customers or consumers feel about the service or product. It's part of basic business practice and it allows those running a business and determining its policies and strategies to judge their performance and make appropriate adjustments to better meet the needs of clients, customers or consumers.

Beyond that, however, the Student Satisfaction Survey is a way of more widely empowering you the students as participants in the educational process that goes on here at Lincoln University. In that respect it is an extension of your representation on Council, mentioned earlier, which in turn is a reflection of the paradigm shift in education away from something ("an education"!) which was handed down loftily and in authoritarian terms from on high, to a participatory process in which, if you push the thinking far enough, we are all students.

Lincoln University's Undergraduate Student Satisfaction Survey is conducted every second year and the first one in its current format was carried out in 2000.

The survey captures a wide variety of data, too much to present here so let me just mention something about the overall approach. The survey determines not only your satisfaction with a wide range of services but how important you think the services are.

This enables us to focus on the issues that you consider important and where the University needs to improve its performance.

The full survey report runs to more than 70 pages. Management takes it very seriously and past reports have provided the basis for implementing many features of our service that students coming in this year will simply take for granted, such as longer Library opening hours, more computer kiosks around the campus and more outdoor social space.

The University Council at its most recent meeting, on 22 June, agreed to provide further improvements to the Library in 2006, including many more computer terminals, and to invest in improved social space for students. In part, Council's decisions were based on previous feedback from students through the Student Satisfaction Survey.

Can I thank all those students who responded to the latest satisfaction survey and urge all those who will be here in 2006, when the next one is conducted to respond when that one comes around. Establishing an environment where a well-known, on-going and trusted survey format is respected is essential to the future success of the University's academic and service quality programmes.

Remember too, as I said earlier, surveys such as this empower you as students to participate more fully in the educational process in which we are all involved. Along with lecturer evaluations, they are a very real opportunity to "have your say" and "make a difference".

Roger Field, Vice-Chancellor, Lincoln University, Canterbury, New Zealand