SURVEY THE

To gain a more holistic perspective of the ways in which student utilize, navigate and interact with Auraria Campus, I conducted a survey of current undergraduate students, graduate students, and staff on the campus.

While I had questions for students attending MSU and CCD, I was only able to survey CU Denver students and staff across areas of study and year in school. Of the 63 responses, 71% do not live on campus or in nearby student housing. 58% of respondents started at CU Denver as first-year students while 41% transfered to the university.

Of the 18 provided campus locations, 54% of respondents reported that they spend a majority of their time in the Tivoli Student Union between classes. The next most frequented locations were Learning Commons (36%), North Classroom (34%), and the Auraria Library (25%). As I only surveyed CU

Denver students, the results of this question are skewed towards buildings located in the CU Denver neighborhood, or the shared neighborhood, of campus. After demographic information, I also asked respondents a series of questions that asked if they knew the location of a campus resource, and then if they were able to navigate to the resource on their own. These questions were asked in the form of a scale from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree).

Finally, I asked respondents a series of free reponse questions asking what campus spaces and experiences that they believed should be improved and why. (See pg. 020 for survey responses).

In addition to conducting a survey, I asked nine CU Denver students to draw their typical daily route on campus. Although I was unable to ask students attending MSU or CCD for this exercise, this exercise enabled me to get a better sense of which areas of campus are most trafficked by students of different majors and who use different modes of transportation to get to campus.

My First Time on Auraria Campus, I Could Find My Way Around Easily.

I Feel Comfortable Navigating Campus

What campus space do you think needs to be improved? Why? (hard to find, uninviting atmosphere, no space to study, etc)

“Lynx Central because I don’t even know where that is or what is there as resources to students.”

“Offices inside of the Tivoli, they’re incredibly hard to find”

“When looking for my classes the first time, I had some trouble identifying the buildings, but the maps helped. It was also impossible to find the class spaces in the Tivoli”

“The Art Building is probably the space that needs to be improved the most. Never have I felt like I was back in high school quite like that building”

“Its not a specific space I think make a clear sign for the buildings like the academic building I had no clue where it was until I looked it up online.”

“I feel like the buildings could be identified by their acronyms on schedules as well as their actual names, because I have trouble finding places. ”

What community space on campus do you think needs to be improved? Why? (hard to find, uninviting atmosphere, no space to study, etc)

“Tivoli or at least navigating to the Comcast center there. Maps are confusing and overwhelming”

“For me the most difficult part is to find buildings in general. But once I find it then it’s easy. Also sometimes it’s difficult to find bathrooms or classes. It’s was super difficult to find class building for Tivoli. ”

“Tivoli Quad. There’s needs to be more seating arrangements and ways to develop a sense of unity with all three campuses ”

“Seeing as I don’t know where any of the offices are for any kind of student life, that could probably be improved. This is my third year on campus and I have never found these offices.”

“The maps on campus, it can be hard to find some of the buildings”

“Parts of the Tivoli. It is so hard to navigate around there the first several times you go. There’s some sort of courtyard area that doesn’t make sense, and I didn’t even know half the offices in there even existed because they’re so hard to locate.”

I Know Where the CU Denver Counseling Center Is.

I Can Navigate to the CU Denver Counseling Center Easily and Without Much Assistance. The Signs on Campus Help Me Navigate to New Locations Easily. The Building Names are Clearly Displayed and Easy to Find.

What do you think could improve students finding belonging on campus in their first semester?

What experiences have you had when accessing campus resources that should be improved?

“Maybe make better maps and name buildings the way it can be seen clearly from far away.”

“Clear signage directing students to certain buildings.”

“Possibly more signs in the buildings such as the Art building and the Tivoli? Or at least more accessible maps?”

“Guides on campus or more signs saying “this way is this building.” Maps can only do so much.”

“Clear signage directing students to certain buildings.”

“It was just hard to find classes and buildings in general.”

“A lot of the offices for campus resources are in the Tivoli, which is notoriously difficult to navigate.”

“A better way to navigate the campus or some type of somewhat detailed tour of the landscape of the campus with an easier way to understand where to go and where resources are accessible for students.”

“I felt like things should be easier to find. In general.”

“I’ve had a pretty good experience navigating resources once I have explored the campus. But needless to say, it’s very difficult to find anything if you just started going to CU Denver. There needs to be enhanced maps tied to each school/ building that tells you what offices are where and what things are available in each building. ”

“I had no idea where the counseling center was on campus. I never would have found it if one my RAs didn’t show me where it was. I think its important to know where it is because if there is a student who needs help, they should know directly where they can go. ”