Well done UCSA

While some student associations are run by muppets, others are well run and professionally managed.

One of my complaints about most associations, and indeed most tertiary institutes, is they make no real effort to find out what facilities and services students actually want to fund.

UCSA is a proud exception to this. A reader sent me a copy of a 66 page research report, surveying what Canterbury University students through of various services, and how they should be funded.

The research report is here – SSLAB_Preferences_Research_17092010

At a minimum, all the other universities should be committed to doing research like this. They take millions of dollars from students in service and facility levies, with minimal consultation.

They found the services deemed the highest priority:

1. Health Centre;
2. Dentist;
3. UC Careers;
4. Subsidised Food in the UCSA cafes; and
5. Disability Support.

And least priority:

Accommodation Services
Maori and Pasifika
Adult Student Support.

The five highest priority ones were the only ones which had a majority of students ranking them essential. The 13 other services had a majority rate them as merely “nice to have” or “expendable”.

There are breakdown by ages and ethnicities etc, plus some very interesting comments from the focus groups. It is very clear many students do not see value for their $600.

The challenge now is to use the research to make decisions to better service their students.