A majority of students rate their educational experience at Brown as "excellent," according to the 2011 enrolled student survey, whose findings were released Thursday. Two thirds of all undergraduates participated in the confidential electronic survey, which the Office of Institutional Research kept open for three weeks last spring.
The survey gathers information about students' views on the undergraduate experience, including relationships with faculty and advisers, extracurricular activities, accomplishments and plans — such as finding an internship or writing a thesis.
Overall, respondents gave the University high marks.
A particularly perspicuous item on the survey inquired, "If you could start all over again, would you go to Brown? Nearly 70 percent replied, "Definitely."
Dean of the College Katherine Bergeron wrote in an email to The Herald that she was pleased to find 80 percent of participants had "been excited by class" and 83 percent of students indicated that they had engaged "often" or "very often" in "intellectual discussion with students outside class." She wrote she would like to see improvements in student-faculty interaction.
The OIR conducts the survey once every four years.
The OIR reported that the composition of respondents with regard to demographics such as financial aid status, class year, sex, race or ethnicity accurately reflects the overall the undergraduate population.
