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Student Perceptions of Construction and Development on Elon University’s Campus
Survey Report
April 28, 2015
By Katie Pownall, MaryClaire Schulz, Shannon Prenetta, John Zimmer and Marika Ball-Damberg
GOALS AND OBJECTIVES
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Elon University was founded in 1889 with 76 students enrolled. Since its founding, the
school has prided itself on being a small, liberal arts college offering a hands-on learning
experience to students. As of 2015, Elon was home to 5,782 undergraduate students. With its
growing student population, there has been an increasing number of buildings being constructed
and renovated on campus. Elon University released a strategic plan in 2011 and made clear its
plan to continue its growth and development of campus throughout the next 10 years. While the
development plan primarily addresses the growth of Elon’s campus from the perspective of
administrative officials, the changing environment on Elon’s campus also affects current students
at Elon.
Our team conducted a survey in order to better understand the perceptions of the
construction and development of Elon’s campus held by students. We also examined how
satisfied students were with the development of their specific academic departments separated by
major. Our survey also examined how construction meets student needs, if students feel that on-
campus development matches the university’s brand, and if students would prefer renovations to
new construction. We hope this information could be used to inform university administration on
how to best communicate on-campus construction and development plans to students.
After reviewing the information gathered from the recently conducted focus group, we
formed the following hypotheses:
1. Most students do not feel that Elon’s brand matches the university’s current commitment to construction and development.
2. Students prefer renovating existing structures as opposed to building new ones.3. Construction does not meet student needs regarding:a. Academic resourcesb. Student housingc. Parking
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In order to test our hypotheses, we also formulated three research questions that aided in the
development of our survey. The following research questions were developed to determine
student perceptions and feelings of Elon’s construction and development:
1. Do Elon students believe that Elon’s brand matches the recent construction on campus?2. Do students prefer renovating existing structures or building new ones?3. Does the recent construction and development of Elon’s campus meet student needs?
METHODOLOGY
On-campus construction and development affects the entire current student population of
Elon. We conducted this research using the sample of Elon University’s current study body.
Within this population, a sample of 100 students was taken. We used a convenience sample, as
we posted links of our survey on Facebook pages and through emails to friends using our
personal Facebook and email accounts. The sample is also a nonprobability sample because not
all Elon students had an equal chance to take the survey. If a student was not part of a Facebook
group where the survey was posted or was not emailed the survey, he/she would not have the
ability to take the survey, and those who did choose to take the survey volunteered themselves to
do so. If we had taken a probability sample of 100 students of Elon’s student population, we
would have had a sampling error of plus or minus 9.8 percent with 95 percent confidence.
After posting the survey on various group pages on Facebook and sending out a few
emails, the 100 responses were gathered in just over 24 hours. We did not need to send out
emails or re-post the link on Facebook. On Facebook, the survey was posted in several groups
made up of current Elon University students, such as the Class of 2016 and Class of 2017
groups, residence hall pages, and two sorority group pages. Emails with the survey link were sent
to several Elon University students by one of our group members. Because we received the target
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amount of 100 responses in just one day, we did not need to address the non-response rate to our
survey posts.
SURVEY QUESTIONNAIREQuestions operationalizing hypothesis one are in cyan.Questions operationalizing hypothesis two are in tangerine.Questions operationalizing hypothesis three are in fresh cut grass.Questions operationalizing research question one are in cherry chapstick.Questions operationalizing research question two are in lavender.Questions operationalizing research question three are in maroon.
1. Please indicate your level of agreement or disagreement with the following statements:
There is sufficient parking on Elon’s campus.A. Strongly AgreeB. AgreeC. NeutralD. DisagreeE. Strongly Disagree
Elon University provides sufficient attention for the academic facilities in my major.A. Strongly AgreeB. AgreeC. NeutralD. DisagreeE. Strongly Disagree
Elon University provides sufficient attention to the development of MY academic department in the following areas:
Academic FacilitiesA. Strongly AgreeB. AgreeC. NeutralD. DisagreeE. Strongly Disagree
Experienced professorsA. Strongly AgreeB. AgreeC. NeutralD. DisagreeE. Strongly Disagree
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Class availabilityA. Strongly AgreeB. AgreeC. NeutralD. DisagreeE. Strongly Disagree
Up-to-date equipment and technologyA. Strongly AgreeB. AgreeC. NeutralD. DisagreeE. Strongly Disagree
Elon University considers itself to be a mid-sized private liberal arts university. I feel that the recent construction and development on campus fits with this description of the school.
A. Strongly AgreeB. AgreeC. NeutralD. DisagreeE. Strongly Disagree
The Inman Admissions Center is a vital and useful building on campus.A. Strongly AgreeB. AgreeC. NeutralD. DisagreeE. Strongly Disagree
I eat at Lakeside Dining Hall and Winter Garden (Topio’s, Freshii, Biscuitville) on a regular basis.
A. Strongly AgreeB. AgreeC. NeutralD. DisagreeE. Strongly Disagree
I would rather Elon put money into renovating existing buildings than continue to construct new buildings.
A. Strongly AgreeB. AgreeC. NeutralD. DisagreeE. Strongly Disagree
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I am more satisfied with the renovations on campus (e.g., the recent changes to the library) than about new structures built on campus (e.g., the Inman admissions building).
A. Strongly AgreeB. AgreeC. NeutralD. DisagreeE. Strongly Disagree
I support the recent construction of the new Inman Admissions Building.A. Strongly AgreeB. AgreeC. NeutralD. DisagreeE. Strongly Disagree
2. How does the current environment at Elon match what you expected when you chose to attend Elon University?____________________________ (open-ended response)
3. If given a choice about Elon’s development and improvement, I would (check all that apply):
Build new academic buildings Build new residential buildings Build new athletic facilities Improve current academic buildings Improve current residential buildings Improve current athletic facilities Other __________
4. Which school is your major a part of? (If you have more than one major, please select your area of greatest interest).
Arts and Humanities Social and Behavioral Sciences Natural, Mathematical, and Computational Sciences Communications Business Education Independent Other ____________
5. Do you believe that Elon provides adequate funds to all of the academic departments?A. YesB. No
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6. Please explain your answer to the previous question. ___________________________
7. What year in school are you?A. 1st yearB. 2nd yearC. 3rd yearD. 4th yearE. 5th year or above
8. Do you have a car on campus?A. YesB. No
DATA ANALYSIS & DETAILED FINDINGS The purpose of conducting the survey was to test and discover student perceptions of
construction on campus. We hypothesized, based on the focus group results, that students did not
feel that construction matches Elon’s brand, students would prefer improving buildings that
already exist on campus rather than developing new ones, and that the construction that is
occurring on campus does not meet student needs regarding parking, student housing, and
academic resources. The questions developed in this survey serve to discover whether our
hypotheses accurately match the perceptions of current Elon students and further explore the
posed research questions.
Students agree that construction and development on Elon’s campus matches their
expectations of Elon’s brand
We hypothesized that the construction and development at Elon would not match the
brand image students have of the university. Our survey results did not support this
hypothesis. In question 7, part 1, we asked students to rate their level of agreement regarding the
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following statement: “Elon University considers itself to be a mid-sized private liberal arts
university. I feel that the recent construction and development on campus fits with this
description of the school.” Of the 88 participants that responded, 10.23% (9 participants)
strongly agreed and 48.86% (43 participants) agreed with the statement. Only 1.14% (1
participant) strongly disagreed with the statement and 13.64% (12 participants) disagreed with
the statement.
This sentiment was supported by open-ended Question 9, which allowed students to
express their feelings about the environment on campus and whether the construction and
development matches their expectations of Elon. The responses of agreement and disagreement
were in similar proportion to Question 7 part 1. Most responses indicated that the environment at
Elon matched their expectations of the school, though many students indicated their displeasure
in class size and availability. One student stated, “I expected more class availability and more
experienced teachers, but overall I am satisfied.” Another stated, “It's a beautiful campus but
some improvement to the older buildings could improve its overall quality.” These results
suggest that issues students have with Elon’s campus do not directly pertain to the construction
on-campus, but rather to the effects of expansion on the student body.
Students generally prefer renovations on campus to new construction
After reviewing the information we gathered from the focus group, we hypothesized that
students would prefer that Elon University renovate the buildings already existing on campus
rather than construct new buildings. Question 10 asked students what they would like to do if
given a choice about Elon’s development and improvement. They were given the options to
build new academic buildings, new residential buildings and new athletic facilities, or improve
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current academic buildings, current residential buildings and current athletic facilities. The
survey responses showed that of the 89 students that answered the question, renovation was
preferred to constructing new buildings in each category. For academic buildings, 75.28% (67
participants) suggested renovations while 22.47% (20 participants) suggested constructing new
buildings. For residential buildings, 65.17% (58 participants) suggested renovations while
22.47% (20 participants) suggested constructing new buildings. For athletic facilities, 42.7% (38
participants) suggested renovations while 21.35% (19 participants) suggested constructing new
buildings. These responses suggest that more students would prefer improvement of campus
structures rather than the construction of new buildings in those same areas.
In Question 6, we posed several questions in the form of a rating scale. Part 2 of Question
6 asked participants if they believe the Inman Admissions Center is a vital and useful building on
campus. We found it interesting that the highest response, at 31.46% (28 of 89 participants)
neither agreed nor disagreed with the statement. 24.72% (22 participants) said they agree with
the statement, and 29.21% (26 participants) said they disagree with the statement. According to
these results, the sentiments regarding the construction of the new Inman Admissions Center
appear to be overall neutral. Students are not exclusively indicating that the new admissions
building is necessary, but they are also not overwhelmingly indicating Inman is not a useful
space on campus.
Figure 1: Student impressions of Inman Admissions Center usefulness
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Part 3 of Question 6 asked students to mark their level of agreement on whether they eat
at Lakeside Dining Hall and Winter Garden on a regular basis. 42.70% (38 participants) agreed
and 19.10% (17 participants) strongly agreed with the statement, meaning that a majority, or
61.8%, of the students we surveyed, utilizes the relatively new eating options (Lakeside Dining
Hall, Winter Garden) that were added to the preexisting Moseley Center.
Figure 2: Student use of Lakeside Dining Hall and Winter Garden
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In part 4 of Question 6, students were asked if they would rather the university put money
toward renovating existing buildings than continue to construct new buildings. For this question,
the majority of participants (51.68%, 46 of 89 participants) marked that they either strongly
agreed or agreed with the statement, as opposed to 15.73% (14 participants) that either disagreed
or strongly disagreed. 32.58% (29 participants) neither agreed nor disagreed that Elon should
renovate current buildings rather than constructing new ones. This supports the findings from
Question 10.
Figure 3: Student level of agreement about funding for renovation instead of construction
In Question 6 Part 5, participants were asked if they support the recent construction of the
new Inman Admissions Building. Similar to the responses for Part 2, the highest response was
neutral, at 35.96% (32 participants). 25.84% (23 participants) agreed, and 22.47% (20
participants disagreed. Again, it appears that students are neither completely supportive nor
unsupportive of the newest construction on campus.
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Figure 4: Student approval of the construction of the Inman Admissions building
Based on the results of these survey questions, these findings suggest that most students
would in fact prefer that Elon spend more time and money renovating the buildings and facilities
that already have a place on Elon’s campus. In the case of Question 6, part 3, students indicated
they do take advantage of the new construction of Lakeside Dining Hall, but this is consistent
with our discovery of a student need for additional dining options. However, students overall
seem to be satisfied with the facilities that are currently available to them on campus and would
rather Elon improve these facilities before breaking ground on new construction.
Student perceptions of the availability of classes largely vary depending on major
Within the data displayed in Figure 5, there is a range of responses. Students majoring in
social and behavioral sciences and business tend to disagree that a sufficient amount of classes
are available. Education majors generally tend to feel there is a sufficient amount of classes
offered to them (although only two education majors completed the survey). The major with the
second largest response rate, communications, had the highest percentages of responses in the
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“Agree” option, with 37.5% (9 participants), although it was followed by only a slightly lower
percentage of responses with the “Disagree” option receiving 33.33% (8 participants) of the
responses. The major with the largest response rate was natural, mathematical, and
computational sciences with 25 participants, and the distribution of responses was equal between
the “Agree,” “Neutral,” and “Disagree” options, demonstrating the varied perception of class
availability even within one major. These findings suggest that the perception of class
availability varies within different majors and could potentially depend on the availability of
specific courses for majors that students are attempting to take.
Figure 5: Cross tabulation of major and perception of sufficient class availability
Overall, students are satisfied with the quality of their professors in all majors
According to Figure 6, a significant amount of students are satisfied with the quality of
their professors across majors. When combining “agree” and “strongly agree” responses, the
lowest percentage of responses was 76.92% (business and social and behavioral sciences). Social
and behavioral sciences had the highest percentage of students that are not satisfied with their
professors at 15.38%. 50 of the 89 total respondents, or 56.18%, agree that they are satisfied with
the quality of their professors. An additional 23.60%, or 21 respondents, strongly agree with the
given statement, bringing the total level of agreement up to 79.78%.
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Figure 6: Cross tabulation of major and perception of professor quality
Students are satisfied with the equipment and technology in their departments
According to Figure 7, which compares students’ majors to their perception of Elon
University’s attention to maintaining up-to-date technology and equipment, students generally
agree that they have up-to-date equipment across majors. Over half of every major, except
“other,” agreed that they have access to up-to-date equipment. The highest level of disagreement
came from the arts and humanities, with 27.27% (3 participants) of respondents disagreeing. 47
of the 89 respondents, or 52.81%, responded "Agree", while an additional 12 respondents, or
13.48%, responded “Strongly Agree,” making the overall level of agreement 66.29%.
Figure 7: Cross tabulation of major and perception of sufficient equipment and technology
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Students are satisfied with the current state of their academic facilities
Figure 8 compares students’ majors to their perceptions of their respective academic
facilities. While there is a range of responses, the majority of arts and humanities, social and
behavioral sciences, natural, mathematics, and computational sciences, communications,
business and education majors agree that Elon provides them with sufficient facilities. Business
students had the highest level of agreement with this statement, with 100% of students (13
participants) reporting that they are happy with their academic facilities. The highest rates of
disagreement were from arts and humanities majors as well as social and behavioral sciences
majors. Between “Disagree” and “Strongly Disagree,” arts and humanities majors had 27.27% of
students (3 participants) who were dissatisfied. Social and behavioral sciences majors had
23.08% of students (3 participants) who were dissatisfied. Overall, this cross tabulation
demonstrates that Elon students are generally satisfied with the current states of their academic
facilities.
Figure 8: Cross tabulation of major and perception of academic facilities
Lack of parking does not meet student needs
The construction at Elon has resulted in the elimination of many parking areas for student
use around campus. As seen in Figure 9, out of the 98 participants that answered, 57.14% (56
participants) have a car on campus and 42.86% (42 participants) of students do not. These results
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demonstrate that a majority of students who participated in the survey have cars and likely need
on-campus parking options, which was a need that was also expressed during focus group
research.
Figure 10 shows that 50.56% (45 participants) believe that there is currently not sufficient
parking on campus. 27% (24 participants) of students indicated that they strongly disagree with
the statement that there is sufficient parking, meaning that over 77.56% of students want better
parking options on campus. These findings suggest that Elon University may not be meeting
student needs in regards to parking on campus.
Figure 9: Students with cars on campus
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Figure 10: Student perception of sufficiency of parking on campus
IMPLICATIONS & KNOWLEDGE GAINED
The results of this survey reveal certain student perceptions regarding on-campus
development that may be useful for Elon University administration to take into account when
attempting to communicate future construction plans.
Our first hypothesis expressed that students generally feel that recent construction and
development on campus does not match Elon’s overall brand. This hypothesis was not supported
by our survey results, as we found that students generally agreed that Elon’s brand as a mid-sized
private liberal arts university was reflected in the recent construction on campus. In an open-
ended response, students expressed some suggestions for improving Elon’s campus in order to
match the brand it advertises, but seemed to broadly agree that Elon’s campus was similar to
what they perceived when choosing to attend the university.
Our second hypothesis was that students generally prefer renovations over the
construction of new buildings. This was reflected and supported by our findings, as we gathered
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from survey responses that students would like to see improvements made to buildings that
already exist on Elon University’s campus rather than spending time and money on constructing
new buildings. As discussed in the analysis of Question 6, part 4, over half of the students that
took our survey either agreed or strongly agreed with this sentiment. In regards to the recent
construction of the Inman Admissions Center, student responses were fairly neutral. Hardly any
participants marked that they felt strongly, either agreeing or disagreeing, about the purpose or
necessity of the new admissions building on campus. On the other hand, most students also
marked that they regularly use the new Lakeside Dining Hall. From the findings of our survey,
we can imply that in the case of construction to add more food and dining options, students are
appreciative of the new additions. However, the Inman Admissions Center does not serve a great
purpose for current students on campus, so they are not invested in the development of this
building. Overall, students are satisfied with the structures that currently stand on campus.
Students are generally more satisfied with the renovations made to buildings than the new
structures that are being built and would prefer more improvements being made before
expanding campus with more construction.
Our third hypothesis stated that construction did not meet student needs regarding three
areas of student life: parking, academic facilities, and student housing. In terms of both student
housing and academic facilities, many students identified a desire to improve current academic
facilities and student housing, supporting the idea that students prefer renovations to new
construction. On the other hand, a cross tabulation revealed that students are generally happy
with their current academic facilities. While there was some disparity between the responses to
these questions regarding academic facilities, students indicated either satisfaction toward
academic facilities or a desire for improvement of current facilities, not a desire for construction
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of new academic facilities. However, students did express stronger feelings toward parking
options on campus. The majority of students disagreed or strongly disagreed with the statement
that Elon has sufficient on-campus parking, identifying parking as a student need not being met
by recent construction and development.
Elon University's administration can use the information gathered through this survey to
improve the ways in which they communicate construction plans to the student body. One of the
main concerns for students is on-campus parking, and the administration could communicate
future efforts to add on-campus parking to assure students they are aware of this need. In
addition, the administration could acknowledge the need for renovations of current buildings
rather than new construction, or explicitly address the need for new construction before new
projects are initiated. Fortunately, students generally feel that on-campus construction and
development does match Elon’s overall brand, and, in the future, the administration could
continue to emphasize the efforts of maintaining Elon’s brand identity through the development
of campus.
SHORTCOMINGS & FUTURE RESEARCH
Because we used convenience sampling for this survey, we cannot generalize our
findings to a larger population. In addition to issues with generalization, we also encountered
problems when asking participants to identify their majors. Some participants seemed confused
by the “other” option and wrote in a major already listen, or participants ignored the statement
asking them to indicate one major and wrote in two fields of study. An additional problem we
encountered was that some participants did not complete the entire survey. For example, only 89
participants answered questions 6 & 7, likely due to their open-ended nature. In addition, our
sampling methods were slightly biased, as we reached out to participants through Facebook and
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email. Because of this limited method, we were overall not able to recruit participants who do
not have Facebook, and only gained a few participants through email. Because our entire group
is communications majors, we also tended to ask more communications majors to take the
survey, which resulted in a slightly skewed sample. For example, some majors, such as
education, were not largely represented in our sample. We also grouped many majors together
under broad academic areas, which meant that majors very unlike each other were sometimes
included in the same group. At times, this made it difficult for us to analyze what exact academic
facilities students were referring to in their responses.
In terms of future research, we could randomly sample Elon’s student population in order
to make our findings more generalizable to entire student body, rather than simply using a
convenience sample. Because there were some issues with instruction in certain survey
questions, namely the major identification question, we could make instructions more explicit
and clear in order to avoid confusion among survey participants in the future. Some participants
also avoided answering open-ended questions, which often yield answers that add valuable
information and insights into our data analysis. In the future, we could make answering these
open-ended response questions mandatory for survey participants. Finally, our cross-tabulated
data examined student majors by overarching academic department, but it may be interesting to
provide a more extensive list of majors for participants to choose from in order to better examine
student feelings toward development of their specific majors.