UA envisions student input

Starting today, the Undergraduate Assembly is offering students the chance to tell University President Rodin exactly what they think of Penn. During this week and the week after spring break, the UA is sponsoring an online survey called UA Visions, intended to let administrators -- as well as the UA -- know what students are looking to take away from their Penn experience. "This will give us a good idea of what individual students want," said UA member Josh Klein, who is in charge of the Visions project. The survey will include questions in five categories --academics, social life, ethnic diversity, relations between Penn and West Philadelphia and expectations versus experience. Respondents will rate each aspect of campus life on a scale of one to 10, and they will also have the option to write in their own personal responses to the detailed questions. Students will be able to access the survey beginning today and lasting through the week after spring break. The survey Internet link will be e-mailed to class listservs and the UA will advertise it on campus and in The Daily Pennsylvanian. To encourage students to fill out the surveys, the UA will award gift certificates to local restaurants and online retailers to randomly selected students who participate. Klein said the UA will spend about $250 on several online certificates and they are also seeking out restaurants to donate gifts. The UA will take about a week to tabulate the results and will then compile the results of the survey into a book, which will be presented to Rodin, Provost Robert Barchi, Executive Vice President John Fry and the undergraduate deans. "[Rodin's] enthusiastic herself for the survey," Undergraduate Assembly Chairman Michael Silver said. The College senior said the UA would develop a summary of their major findings and they "definitely want to draw specific policy ideas" to give to Rodin. Visions is not the first online questionnaire sponsored by the UA -- the assembly conducted a survey on alcohol use earlier this year, to which about 2,400 students responded. According to Klein, a College sophomore, the UA is taking action to ensure that even more will fill out the Visions survey. Another initiative geared toward learning students' opinions was launched last week by the Penn National Commission. The newly created PennTalks will facilitate discussion between students on issues at Penn, offering the information to Rodin. But Silver said the two efforts will not conflict. "I don't see it as an adversarial thing at all," he said.

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