Have You Completed the Student Success Survey?

During the school year students email professors for assignment dates, friends about school events, and classmates for help on schoolwork. Students have recently received an email from the Chief of Student Success, Andy Person. If you are not sure as to who he is or what the chief of student success is, you are not alone. Turns out many students on campus are receiving his pulse surveys, yet his identity is a mystery.

Sarah Meehan, a senior early childhood education major, expressed her confusion with what the intent of the surveys. Meehan often checks her school email and she noticed a survey request from Andy Person. “I have never taken the survey because I’m not familiar with who he is or what he does,” Meehan said. The survey consists of three questions asking students if they like their class schedule, if they had completed their financial “To Do” list on their MyLIU portal, and if they have their course requirements to complete assignments.

Where exactly does this information go? Who is it helping? Why is it being collected? “Being able to know who the survey is helping would be important so that maybe I could help more with whatever the issue may be,” Meehan said.

Matt Weinstein, a sophomore broadcasting major, agreed with Sarah. “Most students see emails from people who they do not know and quickly ignore it and delete it,” Weinstein said.

Andy Person, formally named Chief of Institutional Research and E ectiveness since Feb. 2016, works on both the Brooklyn and Post campuses to provide administrative oversight on the universities effectiveness, assessments, and research operations, according to his LinkedIn profile. His plan is for students to have success in three main aspects of their college career. “Taking 15 credits each semester, taking on internships and having a personalized support system to guide you through college and after graduation,” he said.

Person emphasized the importance in taking 15 credits per semester to make it possible to graduate in exactly four years. “Anything less will cause you to be in school longer,” Person said. Taking more than 12 credits is the same cost as taking only 12 credits, so there is no raise in price, according to Person.

The next step in student success is interning while still in school. “Having an internship down once you graduate college places your resume in a different pile from all the rest, and will show your future employer that you have experience,” Person said.

It is also important to put in place a support system when you are struggling with staying on track in school; this is where the pulse surveys come in. “The college experience is very personal and unique to everyone,” Person said. “We are innovating to personalize the experience and help students get the right help at the right time when it matters most,” he added.

Student responses to the pulse surveys are delivered to the LIU promise coaches and advisors. Ultimately, Person wants to be there for students who seem to be falling off the path to success and get things sorted out before it is too late. “I want what is best for every student,” he said.

There will be more surveys sent out to students to check on them throughout the semester.