Use of Student Activities fees viewed negatively amongst large percentage of student population
Rosalia Poisel and Amanda Wisell
Issue date: 4/23/09 Section: News
Amber Nagy and Nikkitta Sanders are among the 78 percent of Point Park University students who pay $150 a year, or $75 a semester, for the Student Activities fee, only to attend less than five of the 50-plus events staged at the school each year.
What is worse, while Cayla Tulick said she may have attended daytime events or movies, she is one of the 54 percent of students who said they did not even know the events were happening.
On another front, Chris Moore is one of the 72 percent of students who take the shuttles to Oakland, but he is also among 89 percent of Point Park students who have never taken the other shuttles available on scheduled shopping trips and visits to the Waterfront, paid for with the Student Activities fee.
These were among responses of a detailed survey which suggested 77 percent of the 2,550 full-time students who pay $382,500 a year in Student Activities fees feel they do not get their money's worth. Out of the money received, $221,850 goes directly to Student Activities.
Using a statistical model that guarantees findings within 10 percent of accuracy, a total of 79 students were surveyed on Tuesday, March 24, and Wednesday, March 25. According to custominsight.com with a 10 percent error rate, the findings of the survey have a 95 percent confidence rate yielding a 10.9 percent error rate.
Among the surveyed students, Iva Provias, Kevin Carlson and Bethany Paquin were interested in a variety of events, such as movies and special holiday dinners like the St. Patrick's Day dinner, but they were among 68 percent who said staging events as late as 9 p.m. on campus when 68 percent of its students are commuters will ensure poor attendance.
Emily Anderson is among the 74 percent of students who would like their activities fees to be made into vouchers, giving them discounts on things like movies off campus, dining off campus and Pirates games.
"I'm not shocked that 77 percent of students feel it's not being used to their benefit," Ashley Dalton, director of Student Activities, said. "I would also say that those 77 percent probably don't know where that money really goes. People think that their $75 comes to me to entertain people, and that's not what we do."
What is worse, while Cayla Tulick said she may have attended daytime events or movies, she is one of the 54 percent of students who said they did not even know the events were happening.
On another front, Chris Moore is one of the 72 percent of students who take the shuttles to Oakland, but he is also among 89 percent of Point Park students who have never taken the other shuttles available on scheduled shopping trips and visits to the Waterfront, paid for with the Student Activities fee.
These were among responses of a detailed survey which suggested 77 percent of the 2,550 full-time students who pay $382,500 a year in Student Activities fees feel they do not get their money's worth. Out of the money received, $221,850 goes directly to Student Activities.
Using a statistical model that guarantees findings within 10 percent of accuracy, a total of 79 students were surveyed on Tuesday, March 24, and Wednesday, March 25. According to custominsight.com with a 10 percent error rate, the findings of the survey have a 95 percent confidence rate yielding a 10.9 percent error rate.
Among the surveyed students, Iva Provias, Kevin Carlson and Bethany Paquin were interested in a variety of events, such as movies and special holiday dinners like the St. Patrick's Day dinner, but they were among 68 percent who said staging events as late as 9 p.m. on campus when 68 percent of its students are commuters will ensure poor attendance.
Emily Anderson is among the 74 percent of students who would like their activities fees to be made into vouchers, giving them discounts on things like movies off campus, dining off campus and Pirates games.
"I'm not shocked that 77 percent of students feel it's not being used to their benefit," Ashley Dalton, director of Student Activities, said. "I would also say that those 77 percent probably don't know where that money really goes. People think that their $75 comes to me to entertain people, and that's not what we do."
Viewing Comments 1 - 1 of 2
Chelsey E.
posted 4/22/09 @ 10:21 PM EST
As an officer of a club here on campus, I know firsthand how difficult (huge understatement) it is to promote events on campus. This is mainly due to Student Activities. (Continued…)
Post a Comment