You may remember us asking you to complete CSI’s 2022 Year-End Survey at the end of the Fall term. Thanks to all the students who participated, we learned a ton about what students need, how they live, work and get around, and how CSI can better serve them! We asked questions about CSI’s services, programming, communications, and student priority topics such as transportation, housing, truth and reconciliation, and accountability. Continue reading to find out what we learned!
Demographics
We asked questions to learn more about the demographics of Conestoga’s student population. These included questions about age, gender, sexual orientation, race, employment status, program of study, registered main campus, and more.
- Conestoga has a diverse student population
- 1.76% Identified as having lived Trans experience.
- 15% students self-identify as having a sexual orientation other than Straight/Heterosexual
- 1.5% of students self-identify as Indigenous
- Most students are paying for their education using income from employment, personal savings and credit cards.
- 35% of students are currently unemployed, with 26% actively looking for work.
- Over 83% of students are below the Low Income Cut Off (Poverty Line)
CSI Support
We asked questions to gauge student awareness, usage, and satisfaction with CSI support services. These included questions about CSI Service Hubs, the Student Nutritional Access Program, scholarships and bursaries, the student emergency relief fund, spiritual rooms and more.
- Students are generally satisfied with CSI’s services, but lack awareness of them
- There is a desire for new or expanded services related to financial, career, and life assistance
- Recommendations from students about how to improve CSI’s services varied by campus, but a common theme was a need for more lounge space, social and group study space, and silent study space
- Other common space recommendations included multipurpose spaces, nap rooms, and improved and expanded gaming areas.
Health and Wellness
To learn more about students’ satisfaction with CSI’s Health and Dental Plan, College International Health Insurance Plan (CIHIP), Legal Protection Program, and Dialogue, as well as to learn how students can better be supported, we asked a variety of questions. Here are some of the key things we learned:
- 68% of students have experienced negative emotions for a month or longer
- In-person doctor services are the preferred method of most students.
- On-campus pharmacies and on-campus medical care clinics are both desired and likely to be used
- Student suggestions for improving mental health support on campus included improved communication of available supports, awareness campaigns, more diverse support options, workshops, positive mental health spaces, more accessible counselling services, and less restrictive health plan requirements for mental health support.
- Student suggestions for new health and wellness supports included expanded on campus practitioners, on-campus pharmacy, positive wellness spaces, peer supports, animal therapy, additional health plan coverage amounts, nutrition supports and resources, on-campus fitness activities and facilities, improved access to counselling services, medical care clinics, and health practitioners on campus
Leadership and Career Services
We asked questions to learn about how students’ experiences with CSI’s Leadership and Career Services. These included questions about clubs fees, satisfaction with leadership and career development opportunities, and volunteering.
- Students strongly desire volunteer opportunities both on and off campus
- 66% of students are seeking leadership and career development opportunities outside of the classroom
- The top 3 factors most likely to influence a student’s decision to attend a professional conference, seminar, workshop, or guest speaker event are the theme and subject matter of the conference, the speaker, and tied for third is to build resumes and receive certificates
- Awareness of the CSI Clubs and Societies Fee improved by 8% compared to 2021
CSI Events
We know that events are important for enhancing the student experience, which is why we always strive to make CSI’s events better! We asked questions about event awareness, motivators and barriers, and preferred types of events to learn how we can improve. Here are a few key findings:
- Live entertainment, interactive events, and tutorials/workshops are the top 3 preferred types of events.
- Students’ most common hobbies and interests are movies and television, music,
- and travel.
- Event timing is the primary barrier to attending CSI events, followed by transportation and ticket prices.
- Students’ preference for events is on Fridays and weekends, during the afternoon and evening.
- Common event suggestions were holiday and cultural-themed events, interactive activities, live performances, sports-oriented events, budget planning tips and advice, time management and career/professional development workshops, mental health and self-care practices, and off-campus trips to attractions and venues.
CSI Communications
To make sure we’re connecting with students as effectively as possible, we asked questions about CSI’s communications, including questions about how students receive CSI communications, preferred communication methods, social media use, and more.
- Students are seeking contests and prizes, information about CSI events and services, information about how to get involved and employment opportunities on CSI’s social media accounts.
- CSI’s website is primarily used to learn about and attend CSI events, learn about the health plan, and search for employment opportunities.
- 48% of students stated that they have downloaded CSI’s mobile app
CSI Frosh Kit
CSI Frosh Kits were introduced during the pandemic to connect with students
remotely and build some school pride and community. We asked questions about student satisfaction and suggestions for improving future frosh kits.
- More than 50% of students opted-in to receive a Frosh Kit in 2022
- 63% of students who received a Frosh Kit were satisfied with it
- Through the feedback received on how to improve the CSI Frosh Kit, some common suggestions were:
• Higher Quality Items
• Include information about CSI
• Package in a bag or backpack for reuse instead of a box
• Water Bottle
• Lanyard
• Phone holders
CSI Food Services
CSI strives to ensure students at all campuses have access to healthy, tasty and affordable food options. We asked questions to learn about student satisfaction with the current food offerings, priorities when choosing food and suggestions for improvement.
- Students rated affordability, deliciousness, and food nutrition on campus as their
most important factors.
- 42% of students stated that food on campus was very to somewhat affordable.
- Students provided relatively consistent feedback across campuses that food
offerings must be healthier, nutritious, culturally diverse, and generally improved
overall.
CSI Employment Opportunities
CSI offers approximately 200 student employment opportunities. We asked questions to learn more about students’ awareness of these opportunities and satisfaction with the application process.
- 61% of students were familiar with CSI’s part-time employment opportunities.
- 52% of students identified that when applying for CSI part-time employment opportunities, they could do so very easily or somewhat easily.
- 50% of students surveyed found CSI’s employment opportunities related to their career path
Academic Fairness
CSI provides support to students to help them with the academic appeals process. To learn more about students’ familiarity with topics relating to academic fairness, we asked questions about plagiarism and the academic appeals process.
- 98% of students surveyed indicated that they understand what plagiarism is
- Approximately 82% of students surveyed expressed some knowledge of the Academic appeals procedure, and approximately 87% of students who participated in it expressed their satisfaction with the outcome.
- Students who were involved in an Academic Fairness dispute were largely able to follow the process, with 87% saying they understood the procedure
Housing
Housing continues to be a need for Conestoga students, as the ongoing housing crisis has
made living accommodations generally unaffordable. To learn more about students’ experiences and how we can support them, we asked questions about housing affordability and student housing situations.
- 96% of students live with others
- Students are living with increasing numbers of roommates, with nearly 45% of students sharing what would otherwise be private accommodations (rooms) with others
- 25% of students live with their landlords; consequently, they are unprotected by the Residential Tenancies Act, threatening many students’ already uncertain housing environment
- The average reported monthly rent reported by Conestoga students was $781.84. This was an increase of $46.98 from 2021 to 2022.
- The top 3 programs/initiatives that students feel CSI could implement to improve the student housing experience are building affordable housing, creating a Conestoga College housing listing website, and establishing an emergency housing fund.
Transportation
To learn more about student transportation trends and how we can better support students with their transportation needs, we asked questions about transportation methods, public transit use and the possibility of a discounted universal transit pass for each campus.
- Public transportation was the most used method of transportation by Conestoga students.
- 61% of students do not have access to a personal vehicle.
- Most Conestoga students surveyed favour a Universal Transit Pass for their campus.
- Downtown Kitchener, Waterloo, and Guelph students are most likely to use a bike-share program if available.
Transparency and Accountability
As a membership-driven organization, transparency and accountability are important to ensure students know how the organization operates, their ability to contribute, and how their fees are used. We asked questions to learn more about students’ awareness and satisfaction with CSI’s transparency and accountability.
- Most students are aware that CSI is their official student association.
- Many students identified they have an average or above-average understanding of what each CSI’s fee provides.
- Most students felt they did receive personal value from their CSI fee
- 79% of students surveyed agreed that CSI allows them to openly share feedback about their student experience
Truth and Reconciliation
We asked questions about awareness and satisfaction with Conestoga College’s efforts toward Truth and Reconciliation to determine how we can best support these efforts.
- 89% of students surveyed could not name any programs by the College in support of Indigenous communities, facilities, students, etc.
- Students aware of college programming were moderately satisfied, with 70% of the general student population ranking a measure of satisfaction and 66% of the aware Indigenous population also ranking general satisfaction.
With over 2,000 student responses, CSI gained many new insights about what Conestoga students want and need from us. This feedback will help us better support the student population in 2023 and beyond!