Last month, we asked readers to give us their opinion about the Gazette to help gauge whether the Gazette is meeting their needs and what improvements might be made.
We received 239 responses divided as follows:
• 170 from support staff (71 per cent)
• 45 from faculty staff (19 per cent)
• 24 from retirees, students and others (10 per cent)
Readers were generally pleased with the features of the Gazette. For example, more than 90 per cent of respondents among support staff said that they were generally satisfied, while 68 per cent of professors expressed the same level of satisfaction.
Almost 75 per cent of respondents said that they always or often read the print version. Almost 60 per cent of respondents said that they would never read the Gazette if it were only available online.
Respondents generally expressed strong interest in the content of the Gazette, with the most popular topics being general campus news, news about major research at the University, and news about members of the support staff and their work, which reflects the large proportion of respondents from support staff.
The Gazette e-zine generally received positive feedback with 69 per cent of respondents saying that they visited the Web site at least some of the time and general satisfaction with the overall web content and services. In addition to overall Web content and services, “Canada’s university in the news” was ranked among the most useful features by the majority of respondents while the “Quick poll” and “Speak out” feedback tools, were the lowest ranked features.
More than 60 per cent of respondents were aware that most articles appear in English and in French in the online version of the Gazette.
One concern often expressed by readers was the need for more articles of interest to support staff. In addition, some readers felt that the publication does not offer enough critical analysis and is the administration’s marketing tool.
The Gazette Advisory Committee made up of representatives of the University community met in late January to discuss the findings, mandate and strategies for the Gazette and to suggest improvements.
Readers can expect to see a few changes in the coming months, including more features on support staff and their work and changes to the Quick poll feature.
Thank you to all who contributed to the survey.
The winners of the $50 gift certificates to the University Bookstore are:
Véronique Duvieusart, Human Resources
Richard Hogan, Library
Michelle Lukaszczyk, Department of Mathematics
