Six weeks into the school year, the Office of Student and Family Transitions sent out a survey to evaluate how well UNK is accommodating students. Out of 814 student responses, 401 were first-year students, 124 were sophomores, 152 were juniors and 137 were seniors.

Here’s what they had to say:

90% of first-year students felt supported by UNK in their transition to campus.

After attending Blue Gold Welcome, 91% of students felt supported, 93% of students felt welcomed and 89% of students felt connected to the campus community.

76% of students attended at least one Blue Gold Welcome event.

95% of first-generation students are proud to be first generation.

79% of first-year students were satisfied with their overall social life at UNK.

We would like to congratulate the associated UNK offices, faculty and staff members on a job well done. Blue Gold Welcome week set a record this year with the most people in attendance, and there were over 40 events scheduled for the largest freshman class our university has seen in over a decade.

Even so, the officials realize there are improvements to be made:

35% of first-year students were influenced to attend Blue Gold Welcome by a resident assistant.

29% of first-year students attended the SwiftKicks Kick Off speaker.

It may be beneficial to tweak the leadership programs that are offered so these percentages can be improved. In the future, we urge more organizations to coordinate with Residence Life during move-in weekend.

Perhaps UNK athletes could stay for the full move-in time slot to help families and Loper Leaders carry luggage. It would also be helpful for mentors or academic community leaders to be in the dorm lounges if parents or students have questions.

Next, first-year students evaluated their New Student Enrollment experience:

43% of students turn to parents about financial aid information where 40% turn to the Office of Financial Aid.

35% of students heard about student organizations through word of mouth.

54% of students were influenced to attend Blue Gold Welcome by NSE.

We appreciate that UNK officials are working to highlight financial aid during NSE presentations. It will also benefit students if they can discover involvement opportunities when they register for classes. It’s up to student organizations to get their names out there, too.

Finally, the students commented on involvement opportunities at UNK:

80% of students joined a student organization to meet new people.

57% of first-year students who visited the Learning Commons heard about services through the First Year Ready Orientation.

 21% of first-year students heard about student organizations through fliers.

Joining on-campus groups is a wonderful way to meet people, and it’s easier with social media and the Student Organization Fair at the beginning of September. It’s hard work for student leaders to keep organizations afloat, so it’s helpful when they have a support system of motivated members behind them.  

In fact, these successes would not have been possible without the motivated students who volunteered their time and efforts to welcome the class of 2025.

After reviewing the six-week survey results, we would also like to thank the UNK Admissions team, the Office of Student & Family Transitions, Residence Life, the Loper Programming Activities Council and all other students and UNK community members.

We appreciate it when student voices are listened to. Now let’s keep this welcoming attitude constant throughout the school year.