Faculty senators reviewed data on the public perception of strengths of the University of Idaho and other schools that suggest a lack of knowledge about Idaho universities Tuesday.
According to the poll conducted in May, 37-46 percent of people answered “don’t know” to questions about which programs each university is most known for, which university has the highest faculty quality and which university has the highest graduation rate.
“That means we have a huge opportunity,” said Stefany Bales, executive director of University Communications and Marketing.
She said the poll shows they haven’t tried every way of reaching Idahoans.
Bales said the poll sampled 500 Idaho adults. The sample left out most prospective students. However, Bales said it does give an idea of the knowledge base prospective students have before they research schools.
“Our image is important for recruitment, but also because it is important citizens think the university is a wise investment by the state,” said UI Provost and Executive Vice President John Wiencek. “If the perception of the public is they don’t know what we do, then shame on us. We need to do more to refine our message.”
Bales said the data will likely not have an effect on the marketing used to recruit students.
“The messaging we’ve been using is consistent with what we see here in the survey,” Bales said.
She said the large number of “don’t know” answers just opens the door for more to be done.
“However, we’ll never completely eliminate the effect of people who just aren’t interested in this university,” Bales said.
Of those who chose a program they thought UI is largely known for, most chose law, agriculture or engineering.
The percentage of “don’t know” responses and the top-rated programs at UI was consistent in 2016 with the data from 2014.
Those polled said Boise State University is most known for business and athletics. But this doesn’t matter much to Bales.
“This isn’t about us versus BSU,” Bales said. “They are our competitor, but we compete for a certain type of student.”
Bales said UI trails BSU slightly in its overall image rating, but the break-down shows BSU’s lead is due more to its location and football team than its academics.
The poll also asked people to rate how important certain factors about a university are. Ninety-one percent thought a university’s ability to provide academic programs that allow students to land good jobs after graduation was “exceedingly important.”
Bales said that doesn’t match up with how she and her peers made their decisions to go to college.
“I thought, ‘I’m just going to enlighten my mind,’” Bales said. “That’s just what I cared about. Now, as a parent, it’s different.”
She said though her parents cared about her finding a job, their conversations also included the idea of education for education’s sake.
“I think our society is failing our students by not reminding them an education is important for reasons other than getting a job,” said Sen. James Foster of the College of Science. “But that’s not just UI. That’s a systematic problem.”
Nishant Mohan can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @NishantRMohan