President Steven Leath assembled a committee called the Student Experience Enhancement Council in the fall of 2012 with the main purpose of making sure students continue to have a good experience during their time at Iowa State.

“We want to make sure students who come next year have the same positive experience as students who came three years ago,” said Beate Schmittmann, co-chair of the SEEC.

With this goal in mind, a student experience survey has been created for all students. The survey is now available online.

With the university having reached record enrollment this fall, Iowa State is working on providing students with the best experience at the highest quality possible. 

The SEEC discussed a number of issues such as classroom space, science labs, availability of advisors, extracurricular activities, transportation, housing and orientation during their meetings. 

Schmittmann said that the survey explores the pieces of the student experience that are most important.

“We are trying to use all venues to reach the students and let them know that we really want to hear from them and that this is really important,” Schmittmann said. 

Tahira Hira, professor of human development and family studies as well as co-chair of the SEEC, stated that the university wants to know if they are delivering on what the students expect from the university.

“The student experience survey provides an opportunity for the undergraduate students to express their opinion and provide input on their experience at the university,” Hira said. 

Hira said the feedback from students is critical in helping the university know if it is on the right track. 

“We are going to try to find out what is most important to the largest amount of students,” Schmittmann said.

Schmittmann also stated that the input from students is vital so that the university can make sure students are provided with the tools and opportunities they need to excel. 

The committee wants a large amount of student participation for the survey.

“The more students that respond, the better data we’re going to have and the more reliable the data will be,” Schmittmann said. 

The opinion of the students is what is most important to making this survey successful, Schmittmann said.

“We want students to feel so important that we are asking them,” Hira said. “This is their university.”

The anonymous survey will be sent out by President Leath, and students are encouraged to take it. It should only take about 10 minutes of their day. 

“Students are shaping their own future,” Schmittmann said. “Taking this survey not only benefits current students, but the students that will be coming for years.”