"How is UB feeling today?"
The UB Student Wellness Team is currently looking for an in-depth answer to that question. The National College Health Assessment (NCHA) survey is sent out to the entire student body between Feb. 19 and March 9, and is promoted by the program "UB Measuring Your Health."
"We have a lot of networks with other campuses, and we base a lot of what we know from other campuses," said Sherri Darrow, director of Wellness Education Services. "But this survey gives us an idea about UB and this data on our students helps us to fine tune on our students."
The survey is designed to determine the overall health and wellness of students in higher education.
"There are many things we can't predict," Darrow said. "Having data on the priorities of the UB students is a big step forward."
The "20-minute survey" asks about topics typically associated with college, she said. It includes questions about the emotional status of students, their sleep habits, alcohol consumption, as well as contraception use.
"We want to have a closer look," Darrow said. "This survey is a really good tool, and we haven't used it before."
The survey aims to reveal the health and wellness issues of each individual group at UB, such as the differences between graduate and undergraduate students, male and female students' health concerns, and how international students fit in. The UB Health and Wellness Team strives to answer all these questions in order to plan programs and prioritize resources to the best of the UB students.
"UB has a lot of international students," Darrow said, adding that the survey was important "so we can see what their health needs are compared to American freshman."
To encourage students to fill out the survey, a ticket for a chance drawing for a laptop, printer and two iPod Nanos is given to everyone that completes it. The prices have already helped the UB Health and Wellness team to reach their goal of 2,500 responses. However, each additional completed survey helps to change UB for the better, Darrow said.
In 2004-2005, more than 200 colleges took advantages of the NCHA and examined more than 140,000 students.
"Having a microscopic view on UB is a big step forward," Darrow said. "We are excited because we don't know what we are going to see."
