With a response rate of 60.3%, 3,289 first-year and transfer students responded to the Husker Student POWER survey distributed in week four of the fall semester. The survey asks students to respond to 12 yes or no questions about academic, social, financial, and emotional well-being topics. The survey is distributed via personalized links through email and Canvas.
Students whose responses raise a negative indicator are contacted by email, phone, or text by outreach teams who provide information and resources in the particular area. Campus units providing outreach include the Center for Academic Success and Transition, University Housing and Residence Life, Husker Hub, OASIS, Student Involvement, the Women’s Center, the LGBTQ+ Center, Big Red Resilience and Well-being, and the undergraduate academic colleges. The Office of Institutional Effectiveness and Analytics provides daily updates on students’ responses for these units.
The top five areas in which first-year and transfer students raised concerns were:
- struggling in one or more classes — 1,064
- wanting assistance in becoming involved in campus life — 919
- experiencing financial distress — 644
- finding a friend or a group of friends — 626
- wanting support for emotional well-being — 549
Comparisons with 2019 respondents showed increasing concerns in the following areas:
- not attending all classes regularly — from 2.1% to 5.0%
- haven’t found a friend or group of friends — from 7.4% to 19.0%
- not having course materials needed for classes — from 5.0% to 9.4%
Students’ concerns decreased in the below areas:
- struggling in one or more of my classes — from 45.2% to 32.4%
- wanting support for emotional well-being — from 33% to 16.7%
- experiencing financial distress — from 24.5% to 19.6%
Learn more about supporting students' success with this list of resources available for download and the What Should I Do If?...Addressing Students’ Needs module in the Teaching at UNL Canvas course.
For more information about the Husker Student POWER survey, contact Amy Goodburn, senior associate vice chancellor and dean of undergraduate education, at agoodburn1@unl.edu.
More details at: https://huskerstudentpower.unl.edu/