Augustana College has always been open to comments and suggestions made by employees, faculties or students, showing its desire and willingness to listen to help make the college better. The college has generated some forms such as the Online Suggestion Box and the Report A Concern Anonymously, and most recently the Suggestion Box, which has been put into use since September 2015. It was added to the Campusnet landing page, in the column at the far right in yellow.
The suggestion box encourages every member of the community, from faculty members, staff, and students to share their concerns, complaints, and comments in a private way. They can choose to either identify themselves or remain anonymous. Concerns and suggestions can be about anything; they do not need to be academic. Comments will be forwarded to the appropriate office and authorities for consideration.
How does the process of fixing a problem work? First of all, the messages sent from the online suggestion box come to the Dean of Students’ office, the Dean will either respond and handle them as professionally and swiftly as possible or she will forward it to the department that can address it.
An example of the effectiveness of the suggestion box lies in the PepsiCo weight room. A student shared that the equipment in the Augustana weight room was not being cleaned properly after use. That concern went to the Director of IM and Recreational Sports, Don Umland, and he and his staff implemented a new protocol to make sure equipment is cleaned regularly.
Not all concerns result in a change, however. A student suggested designated parking for seniors and the committee that reviewed that suggestion did not feel it was appropriate to take parking away from residential students and commuters in favor of seniors.
Dean of Student Life, Dr. Evelyn Campbell, on the effectiveness of the suggestion box, said that the college receives feedback from the online suggestion box about 2 to 3 times a months and have received 17 suggestions regarding the student life issues. The suggestion page has been an effective communication tool between the college and the community. Many problems have been addressed and fixed, contributing to make the college a better place.