GSAC survey of incoming student email and webpage
Webpage
Incoming graduate student information
Context - Emails
- Letter of admission
- Intent to enroll survey (Are you planning on attending?)
- Incoming student comm plan*
- Email 1 - soon after admitted
- Email 2 - closer to start of school
- Invite to Grad Welcome Week activities
*Previously sent four emails
Context - Webpage
- Link in email
- Organically from Student Success main page on website
New
Students
Page
Context - Webpage
Previously only hadÂ
- Email series
- New student PDF
- Minimal webpage
Results*
*Compiled at 9 a.m. this morning
How did you like the overall appearance of the email?
Any specific likes or dislikes about the email?
- Students might be confused about what is the Grad School in relation with their departments.
- From outside of OSU, the distinction between graduate school as a general concept and The Graduate School as an administrative body is not necessarily clear.
- it seems a bit long for an email
Any specific likes or dislikes about the email?
- the term "if you've secured an assistantship" could be clarified with (GTA or GRA)
- Some mention of autoenrollment into health insurance would be less confusing, though I understand people still need to complete paperwork for spouses, children, etc.
- Housing resources could use one additional link that recommends other housing types, since MANY graduate students end up going through housing boards hosted on facebook, such as the one provided by CGE, the grad student union
How did you like the overall appearance of the webpage?
Any specific likes or dislikes about the webpage?
- Looks great!
- I appreciated the checklist in addition to more modular upper portion.
- The tiles are easy to read and identify the links to important info
- The first page looks a bit like it was created by a casual blogger. It doesn't look like it was professionally created.
- I didn't like the appearance of the banner that much
Any specific likes or dislikes about the webpage?
- add in another row of boxes for other important things to consider - student health services, CAPS
- I think the housing resource part is too narrow, since the majority of graduate students do not end up getting housing and housing advice these ways
What are the three bits of information most useful to you from the webpage or the email? (inc. > 2)
What are the three bits of information least useful to you from the webpage or the email? (inc. > 2)
Is there anything important we are missing from the webpage or the email we should add?
When discussing student resources or health, it might be useful to add something mentioning CAPS and/or health-options like Faculty Staff Fitness... it will be very valuable for students to set up or plan to engage in these activities before they get stressed out or overwhelmed by their grad-responsibilities.
Is there anything important we are missing from the webpage or the email we should add?
- Housing resources (such as housing boards) beyond management companies, many of whom are known for being neglectful of their properties. Some kind of social media nod to help direct folks towards grad groups where they can get real-time info on moving and settling in to Corvallis.
- I would liked to learn more about Corvallis before my arrival
Is there anything important we are missing from the webpage or the email we should add?
I think finding housing should be higher on the list. it's a huge issue for grad students, especially those coming from out of state or internationally. directing people to very undergrad- centered webpages without a lot of detail isn't very helpful, especially as to live off campus (which grad students overwhelmingly do) often requires signing a lease half a year before you show up, and/or finding someone to act as a proxy to look at a rental. I know that the union was trying to work on this, might be a good opportunity for communication.
The email and the webpage have very similar information but they are laid out differently. Does this make it less useful?
Would you prefer that we put much less information the email and just send a link to the webpage? Or do you like having all the information in the email as well?
Final thoughts
- Emphasize to people reading the email to go to the webpage
- Try to clarify the relationship between the programs and the Graduate School
- Clean up the important dates section in the email
- Update housing info with how to find local housing via social media
GSAC survey of incoming student email and webpage
By John McQueen
