December - Wingspan

2BWingspanA ChangeWestNorthSouthEastf CourseDecember 6, 2010wingspan.lccc.wy.eduStudents differon morale opinionsTracy McEwen, regional president of the Phi ThetaKappa honor society, spoke Nov. 11 surroundedby ASG President Alex Barker and ASG Vice PresidentMark Schaad. McEwen had asked all the Phi ThetaKappa members for their input on the question of “ifthey feel they have a voice in the future of LCCC?”After careful consideration and student feedback,their conclusion was “many students feel there is nomorale issue at LCCC and have positive feelings abouttheir experience and its future.”McEwen continued, “The students love LCCC andrecognize the positive growth of our college.”Local honor society saysmedia portrayal negativeMcEwen addressed the points that the students surveyedwere fond of “the community atmosphere and theoutstanding faculty who truly care about their success.”However, McEwen then added that “many students alsofeel there is a growing morale problem at LCCC. With themedia’s frequent negative portrayal of our administration,it causes us to wonder if there is integrity and honestydirecting our future.” McEwen then added, “Eachheadlining scandal is affecting our morale, and studentsare beginning wonder who to believe and what is goingon behind closed doors?”McEwen continued that students felt the positiveaspects were overlooked, and the media focused on creatinga negative image of LCCC. McEwen wrapped up bysaying there seemed to be a lack of transparency in thedecisions made for the future and the students wantedto be assured the decisions made were in their benefit.Some students felt their voices were not heard and theiropinions were ignored when it came to budget issuesand employment decisions. In sum, students “simplyhope our leaders will emphasize positive change in allthat they do and learn to work together with all voicesheard and respected,” McEwen said.ASG asks morale questionsShortly after McEwen stepped down from thelectern, ASG Vice President Mark Schaad addressed theboard by breaking the morale issue down to three questions.ASG made the three questions available onlineand then e-mailed them to teachers to distribute tostudents personally.The three questions were (1) How do you feel aboutyour experience at LCCC? (2) Do you feel you have avoice in the future/and or purpose of LCCC? (3) How doyou feel about the future of LCCC?Schaad then took the time to address the majorityand the minority views of the students who completedthe questionnaire. Schaad made it clear he was not onlyrepresenting the student body as a whole but also thestudents as individuals and wanted to ensure equalrepresentation.After breaking the morale issue down into threequestions, he then divided the answers into threecategories. The first was satisfactory or enjoyable; thesecond, moderate or tolerable, and third, disappointedor dissatisfied. To the first question about “your experienceat LCCC,” the majority of the students surveyed, 88percent, felt their experience was satisfactory. “The mostshared opinion was teachers are great, knowledgeable,passionate and dedicated,” according to Schaad. Thestudents surveyed felt more activities were scheduledthis semester, with more ways to be involved and moreinformation available.The minority on the question, however, did not feelthe same. The minority, which was 10 percent, had twoareas of major concern. The first was the financial aiddepartment. The minority felt a barrier of communicationexisted. These students felt the financial aid departmentdid not follow up enough with students who arehaving problems with financial aid.The second issue was the cafeteria. The rising costsof tuition and food costs were forcing them not to beable to eat on campus. This complaint also included theCafé’s high costs. The other issue regarding the cafeteriawas the flex spending because the money in theseaccounts does not roll over into the next year and thereis a time limit in which the money must be used. Thestudents would like to see a solution to this by the end ofthe semester.Schaad quickly continued to the next question on hisagenda: Do you feel you have a voice in the future/andor purpose of LCCC? Of the students surveyed, the majority,66 percent, believed they had a voice in the futureand/or purpose of LCCC because there were many waysthey can be involved, for example, through groups andother campus clubs and activities.The minority of the students surveyed felt theirvoices were not heard past the doors of their classrooms.Other students in the minority felt their perspectives asstudents were not valued and issues were not presentedto the students for input. Some felt the president didwhat he felt without the concern of anyone else.To the third question on the agenda—how do youfeel about the future of LCCC—a majority of the studentssurveyed, 59 percent, felt LCCC was movingin the right direction and the teachers are very impactable.Schaad then ended his remarks by culminating theconsensus of all the information he had collected fromthe surveyed students. The consensus was the studentsfelt their voices were not heard and they were not soughtout for input. However, he felt during this semester therehad been a modest improvement with communicationamong students, faculty, staff, board members and thepresident. However, Schaad still felt “there is a huge effortmissing.”ASG president tells boardgroup’s work positiveASG President Alex Barker then addressed thetrustees by providing the steps the Associated StudentGovernment was taking to influence the morale issueon campus positively and to issue a challenge to theboard. One step was sending out 83 thank you notes toadministrators, staff and faculty by recognizing them fortheir hard work.“We ask that you please take a look from the groundup and see the positive impact that we are making,and the great things we are doing around campus. Weimplore you to please recognize the wonderful job ourfaculty and staff is doing and do everything within yourpower to recognize that and keep them employed andhappy at LCCC,” Barker urged.