Survey offers chance for a prize

By Karina Rajtar
Co-Editor in Chief

Students recently received emails with a link to the Multi-Institutional Survey of Leadership, a survey that tracks what students are involved in on campus and whether or not they feel they have learned anything in their experiences.

Jason Richter, assistant dean of students for activities, leadership and service, said Saint Mary’s University is one of 150 schools in the nation completing the survey and is also one of the smallest.

The survey will help to determine whether students gain benefits such as strong relationships and confidence through their involvement in the university community.

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“It’s going to help us develop programs that will help (students),” Richter said. He also said the survey will give the school a “benchmark to measure ourselves internally,” adding that the survey may be repeated in two to four years.

Richter encourages all students to complete the survey and warns that students who do not will receive emailed reminders from the Multi-Institutional Study of Leadership until they do, up until February break.

As an incentive, students will have a chance to win one of seven prizes for taking the survey. The prizes include receiving the highest housing priority number for the winner’s class, three $100 gift cards to Barnes & Noble, dinner with three friends and the president of the university, a Page Performance Series year pass for the 2009-10 season and payment of the registration fee for one service trip (through S.O.U.L. or Volunteer Services) within the United States. Students will have the opportunity to decide which prize they want according to the order in which their names are drawn.

In addition, the residence hall with the highest percent of participants will receive a pizza party.

The raw data results of the survey will be available to the university in March, and comparisons with other participating universities will be available in August. The prizes will be awarded in March before priority housing takes place.