For the first time in 10 years, UNA is asking students their opinion about UNA emails, parking or bathroom cleanliness.

If students want to voice their compliments or frustrations, now is their time to shine.

The university is buying a survey from Noel-Levitz, a company who specializes in university surveys, for $4,500, said Director of Institutional Research, Planning and Assessment Andrew Luna.

But the survey is no average questionnaire. It consists of over 100 questions.

The office of Institutional Research, Planning and Assessment will send every student a survey through email April 18, he said.

Students will have one or two weeks to complete the survey, Luna said.

“(The university) will actually be doing something with (the survey),” Luna said. “If students help us out, we will utilize it to make a positive change.”

The survey asks students how important certain factors are to them, such as bathroom cleanliness, and then asks them how satisfied they are with it on campus, Luna said.

OIRPA will then analyze the performance gap.

Subtracting one score from the other determines the size of the gap.

“Where you have the larger gaps is where you are least meeting the students’ expectations,” Luna said. “That helps us fine tune what we really need to work on.”

The university will reward students who complete the survey,

Luna said.

Possible prizes include gift cards or a free parking spot, Luna said.

Most of the surveys the university conducted in the past were ones the university created, Luna said.

UNA will give 10 students an additional $20 in their LionLoot account for taking the survey, Luna said.

The Noel-Levitz survey will also help improve the university’s homemade surveys, Luna said.

Homemade surveys are more cost-effective, but a survey like the Noel-Leviz can provide more detailed information that UNA can use to compare themselves to other universities.

Most other universities conduct a survey similar to this every two years,

he said.

The survey will allow the university to see how UNA compares to other southeastern schools, Luna said.

“(It is) nice to hear directly from students (about) what they like and don’t like,” Luna said. “If students aren’t here, (faculty and staff) won’t be here.”

Emailing the survey to students is not the best way to get them to take it because most students do not regularly check their email, said sophomore Briana Thorn.

“I think having a link on the home page of Portal may spark students’ interests in giving their opinion if they can see the specific topic right at their fingertips,” Thorn said. “(That would be) much simpler than sifting through emails.”

Freshman Carter Mathis said the survey is a positive thing for students, but he will only take it if he has the time.

“I feel like there are some students out there who don’t really care,” said sophomore Victoria Moore. “But there’s a lot of us out there who want our voice to be heard, and we actually care about stuff that goes on on campus.”

Not many students are willing to voice their opinion through Student Government Association, but students might be more willing to speak up through a survey, Moore said.