Results are based on a random sample of 355 NYU undergraduate students surveyed between Dec. 3 and Dec. 7. For results based on the total sample of NYU undergraduates, one can say with 95 percent confidence that the maximum margin of error is plus or minus 5.0 percentage points in any one poll. In-person interviews were conducted with respondents over two days to reduce the impact of the loss of the student population with block scheduled classes. Multiple locations were chosen to help represent the entire undergraduate population at NYU, including commuter students, part-time students and upperclassmen living off campus. In addition to sampling error, wording of questions and difficulty understanding directions can introduce bias and error into the findings of this poll. Principle design of the Washington Square News’ 2010 global expansion polling was completed by Jaywon Choe, Kelsey Desiderio and Eric Platt. Omari Allen, Bridgette Doran, Sarah Feng, Lizzy Ott, Jordin Rocchi, Alex Silady, Ashley Steves, Jackii Wang and Yingying Yu contributed to polling efforts.
Despite what you may hear in the Silver Center elevators, an overwhelming majority of students said they were satisfied with their time at NYU, according to a poll conducted by the Washington Square News.
WSN found that 79.9 percent of students polled said they were pleased with their overall NYU experience.
Katie Sylvester, the University Senate chair, was pleasantly surprised by the numbers.
"I'm at the end where I [only] hear when people aren't satisfied," she said. "[So] it's really nice to hear that."
Students listed tuition, financial aid and a sense of community as the issues that concerned them most.
"I work with upperclassmen who have found their sense of community, and I work with freshman who are in my room all the time, upset because they haven't found it yet," Sylvester said.
ON THE SQUARE
Over the course of a week, WSN surveyed 355 undergraduates on issues that included the university's global expansion and the work done by NYU President John Sexton.
In the poll, 52.5 percent of students said they approved of Sexton's performance.
"John is generally well-liked among the faculty and the whole NYU community; even most of those with doubts about some policies like him personally," professor Craig Calhoun said.
But 20.8 percent of students said they did not approve of Sexton.
Calhoun said that Sexton, like any leader, has weaknesses.
"He's often so excited by what he's doing and where he's headed that he dismisses the risks of being over-extended and takes for granted that everyone will eventually share the vision that inspired him," Calhoun said.
Jeffrey Lehman, former president of Cornell University and a good friend of Sexton, said there is a tremendous pressure to balance the needs of students and faculty today with the needs of future cohorts.
"One of the real challenges and also the great excitements of the role of the university president is you have to try to be attuned to what it is that will best enable and continue faculty innovation and productivity 10 years, 20 years down the road," he said.
On the issue of Sexton's accessibility, students were roughly evenly split, with about a third each who said Sexton was accessible, inaccessible or that they had no opinion.
But for students who have reached out to him, many have received personal feedback.
CAS senior Amanda Alampi said she was surprised that Sexton responded so promptly after she e-mailed him late Monday night for help on a paper she was writing that included a section on NYU Abu Dhabi. By 8 a.m., Alampi found a thoughtful response in her inbox from the president.
Sylvester said that in meetings, Sexton constantly references student e-mails he's received.
A large number of students expressed no opinion on several parts of the survey — one in five undergraduates said they neither approved nor disapproved of NYUAD, and slightly more than one in four students said they had no opinion about Sexton's accessibility or job performance.
Sylvester wasn't fazed by the number of students who said they had no opinion.
"We live in a huge city, there's so much going on here," she said. "Some students really want to know what's going on in campus, and some students just don't care."
As the university looks to grow within the city, half of undergraduates surveyed said they supported NYU Plans 2031 — an ambitious expansion project that will add some six million square feet to the Washington Square campus by the university's bicentennial in 2031.
GOING GLOBAL
Approval ratings were also relatively strong for NYU's rapid expansion abroad.
Almost 60 percent of students said they supported NYU Abu Dhabi and 61.8 percent said they supported the university's plans for a third degree-granting institution in Shanghai.
Calhoun said many professors supported the global network university concept but that "the big issue is [the] large majority of faculty and students who haven't yet figured out what the global university means for them."
Andrew Ross, professor of social and cultural analysis and vocal critic of the university, doesn't think the numbers tell the full story.
"I think it would shock many of the students to know that their professors are not consulted about [NYU's global expansion]," Ross said. "Most of them probably just assume professors see the need for this or that or the other campus in another part of the world, when in fact there's no faculty consultation on these matters."
