Tuesday, October 28th, 2014 | T

Students Speak Survey to Change IIT

Sean Wright
IIT CENTER FOR RESEARCH AND SERVICE

At the request of the President and
Provost, IIT students once again launched the
Students Speak survey to solicit input for im-
proving the quality of services provided to IIT
students. This initiative is focused on soliciting
feedback from students about how to improve
various service areas. This program is in line
with President John L. Anderson’s and Provost
Alan Cramb‘s commitment to advancing stu-
dent satisfaction and the quality of various ser-
vices (e.g.,'Public Safety, Office of Technology
Services (OTS), Academic Resource Center
(ARC)) IIT provides to students.

“Students Speak” reflects a phi-
losophy that the student is the customer, who
needs to have his/her needs, concerns and
ideas, understood in a better way. It is rooted
in a belief that IIT can do better by its students.
The added perspective of “if it isn’t working, it
can and will be changed” makes this plan very
ambitious.

“Students Speak” is a student com-
mittee that includes representatives from Stu-
dent Government Association (SGA), Interna-
tional Student Organization (ISO), the Greek
Community, Camras Scholars, Leadership
Academy, Varsity Teams, and several other
graduate student organizations has developed
“Students Speak”. The student committee has
developed objectives, a project plan, and a time
frame for the “Students Speak” effort. The goals
of “Students Speak” are to help the administra-

tion establish benchmarks of performance
for services to students, identify priorities for
improvement, create action plans for change,
chart progress, and instill accountability for

make the necessary changes needed to ensure
student satisfaction with administrative ser-
vices. The ideas they will present will be drawn
from survey findings and additional input

 

 

3 S AK E;
new if?
g u
Image courtesy of iitedu

improvements.

The Students Speak committee will
present the results from Students Speak to the
President and Provost in January; departments
and service areas will receive feedback shortly
after. Student committee members will also
submit specific recommendations for how to

from members of their student organizations.
The challenge of this project is to
obtain a high level of student feedback via the
survey for which the response from the stu-
dent has traditionally been poor. One of the
ways this is being combated is by ofiering in-
centives to survey respondents; there will be

a lottery for those who respond to the survey
with the chance to win money and prizes. Of
course, the most important incentives are hav-
ing students’ voice on multiple issues docu-
mented and to contribute toward making a
positive dilference in the future of HT. This is a
chance to truly let senior administration listen
to student concerns and chart a new course for
the future of the university; one that is student
and customer focused.

President Anderson has asked that
George Langlois, the Director for the Center of
Research and Service (College of Psychology)
and the Leadership Academy, support students
in this process. Dr. Langlois is an Industrial/
Organizational psychologist who conducts the
annual faculty survey and works with numer-
ous clients outside of HT. He has many years
of experience in survey design and analysis,
and his role in this project is to work with the
students by providing his expertise and experi-
ence. Dr. Langlois is an alumnus of IIT, where
he received his PhD in Industrial/Organiza-
tional Psychology. He wants to help the univer—
sity make a change in the student experience at
IIT.

Be on the lookout for more informa-
tion about “Students’ Speak”. The process goes
live on October 27 and continues through No-
vember 10. All students will be sent an email
with a link to the survey, but if you miss the
email, you can simply go to http://www.iitedu/
students_speak in order to complete the sur-
vey once it goes live. Take the survey and be
heard. Together, we can make change happen.

Illinois Tech ROTC hosts Halloween Fun Run

Trevor Wesserzieher
TECHNEWS WRITER

Have a cool or spooky Halloween
costume you’ve been dying to show off this
Halloween season? Do you enjoy running for
distances of up to five kilometers? If either of
these questions applies to you, then the perfect
opportunity awaits. Illinois Tech Reserve Of—
ficers’ Training Corps (ROTC) is sponsoring a
Halloween 5K Fun Run event this Wednesday,
October 29, at 3lst Street Beach. The purpose
of this free event is to encourage the student
body to learn more about the Army ROTC

 

The Commuter Student Association
is hosting a contest for IIT students. The pur-
pose of the contest is to encourage students
to become more involved on IIT campuses
by attending events, workshops, or meetings.
There is no maximum number of events that
a student can attend, but the more you attend,
the higher probability of you winning the con—

program here at IIT, but mostly to celebrate the
Halloween season with some good old-fash-
ioned exercise while wearing a fun costume.
The race begins at 6:30 a.m., so be
sure to arrive between 6:00 a.m. to 6:15 a.m. to
check in. Runners can expect to run along the
Lakefront Path, starting at Slst Street Beach
and continuing north to the turnaround point
at East Waldron Drive, then back to 3lst Street
Beach to finish. The course is almost entirely
flat and the main consideration runners need
to be mindful of is bikers riding along the trail.
After running the race, runners will have the
opportunity to meet and socialize with ROTC

test. This contest is open only to UT students.
Participation is not restricted to full-time IIT
students; IIT part—time students are more than
welcome to participate. The participant must
be a CSA member, but if a student is not yet
registered, they can register through http:/l
mypages.iit.edu/~commuter/.

The more events attended, the
higher probability of a student winning the
contest. There will be three prizes. First place
winner, with the highest number of IIT events

Cadets from the Chicago area. Donuts and hot
chocolate will be served following the race,
and some free items will be given away to race
participants. Ifyou have an 8:35 a.m. class, you
should have plenty of time after the race to
make it back to campus to change and prepare
for your class.

The race is free and open to every-
one, whether you are a practiced marathoner
or even a running enthusiast. Halloween cos-
tumes are highly encouraged but not manda-
tory. There will be a costume contest, so be
sure to dress your best if you want the chance
to win. We are anticipating the involvement of

attended, will win $75 in TechCash, second
place will win $50 and third place will win $25.
Fairness is important in this contest, therefore,
if you are already part of a student organiza—
tion (e.g. executive officer for Union Board,
or other student organization) you may only
submit 3 events of your student organization.
The method for recording the events that a
student attends are for the student to post a
picture on CSA Facebook page, tag CSA and
themselves on the picture. It is important the

members from the Navy and Air Force ROTC
programs here at IIT, as well as members from
the Greek community, so this event truly is
embodying the involvement of as many diverse
members of the student body as possible.

Look for further information on 11-
linois Tech ROTC’s Facebook page. Ifyou want
to register and sign up for the race, are inter-
ested in volunteering for this event, or have
any questions or concerns, please email Cadet
Brown at abrown31@hawk.iit.edu.

 

Photos by Katy Banks

Commuter Student Association
presents Call to Action Contest

Maria Garcia
TECHNEWS WRITER

picture captures the participant at the event to
proof the presence of the student. If student
does not have access to a camera or any picture
taking device, they can share a description of
the event on the CSA Facebook page and tag
that student organization that hosted the event
on the description. prarticipant does not have
a Facebook page, they may make a submission
with the photo link to: http://tinyurl.com/md-
mzwzt