On April 21, The Phoenix sent its inaugural campus opinion survey to 593 randomly selected Swarthmore students, representing 34.8% of the student body. The survey asked students to indicate whether they approved, strongly approved, disapproved, strongly disapproved, felt neutral, or didn’t know of twenty campus institutions, depicted in the graphic above. Beyond these institutions, the survey also asked students for their analysis of relevant college topics, including support for students of color, financial aid, the college’s recent response to student activism, the college’s response to the second Trump administration, campus food and housing, and faculty’s grading standards. The Williams Record, the student newspaper of Williams College, offered advice on the modeling and planning of this poll. The Record conducts a campus approval ratings poll every semester.
Of the survey’s 162 respondents (a response rate of around 27%), 28% were first-years, 23% were sophomores, 23% were juniors, and 26% were seniors. The survey had a ±7.4% margin of error for all results of percentage approval ratings, given a sample size of 162 out of 1702 students at a 95% confidence interval.
To compare the respondent pool to that of the entire student body, the poll also asked students to choose their racial/ethnic identity from the same categories used by Swarthmore for institutional research. 43.8% of those who completed the survey identified themselves as white, an overrepresentation of the 30% of the student body that is white. Of the survey takers, 6.2% were Black, less than the 9% of the college’s students who are Black. 9.3% of respondents identified as Hispanic, less than the 15% of the college that is Hispanic. 6.2% of survey-takers shared that they were international students, far less than the college’s international student percentage of 15%. This disparity could be partially due to respondents’ potential confusion over the inclusion of “international students” under the category of race/ethnicity. Where the respondent pool more closely matched the college’s racial/ethnic breakdown were the 10.5% of respondents who identified as having two or more races (vs. the college’s 11%), 1.2% who identified as American Indian or Alaska Native (vs. <1%), 21.6% who identified as Asian (vs. 18%), and <1% who identified as Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander (vs. <1%).
54% of the survey’s respondents identified as women, 36% identified as men, and 9% identified as non-binary/non-conforming. According to the Swarthmore Office of Institutional Research, 47.5% of the student body identify as men, and 52.5% as women, though the office’s numbers don’t include any third identification option.
59% of those who filled out the poll said they received financial aid, an overrepresentation of the 52% of the college that the financial aid office reports received aid in the 2023-24 academic year.
The responses show strong approval of the college’s faculty and Admissions Office, as well as The Phoenix. Notably, in the wake of intensified student activism and an increasingly defensive college administration, the Department of Public Safety, Office of President Val Smith, College Code of Conduct, and the Swarthmore Administration at large all face high levels of disapproval relative to other campus institutions.
After a slow release of information, perspective, and planning from the college this semester about its response to the second Trump administration, around 75% of students said they thought the college’s response to the second Trump administration had so far been generally too passive.
As the college closes an academic year that saw a student get suspended and 13 others sanctioned for conduct violations relating to pro-Palestine protests, as well as changes to the college’s Code of Conduct to further restrict certain protest activity, almost 80% of students said the college had generally been too harsh in its response to student activism.
The college’s efforts saw relatively more approval with regard to its financial aid support and support for students of color. 76% said the college’s financial aid was generally sufficient, and almost 90% of respondents (including 91% of respondents who did not select “white”) said that Swarthmore supported students of color at least as well as peer institutions.
A plurality of respondents, 46%, said that the grading standards of the college’s faculty were “just right,” compared to 40% who felt they were slightly too harsh and 9% who saw them as slightly too lenient.
Despite the student body’s disapproval of many institutions of Swarthmore’s administration, the college’s overall approval rating was 65%. Additionally, the student life institutions on campus (the Office of Student Engagement, Student Government Organization, and Student Budget Committee) received a high number of “neutral” responses, potentially inviting efforts to improve these institutions’ outreach. This year’s student government elections saw significantly increased turnout after many candidates based their campaigns on the potential frustrations of the student body about a previously quiet SGO.
Potentially less controversial campus offices like Swarthmore Transportation Services (shuttles), Student Disability Services, Worth Health Center, and the Athletics Department all had more normal approval distributions. The Career Services department, despite having been the recent subject of accusations of ineffectuality, maintained a positive approval rating, with 36% indicating approval, 19% indicating disapproval, and 45% saying they were neutral or didn’t know.
Students generally approved of the college’s Honors Program (+31%) and Writing Course requirements (+33%), as well as its small but continued use of Merit Scholarships to recruit students (+25%). The consideration of legacy in admissions decisions, a highly debated topic in a changing higher education landscape, was widely disapproved of, with a -44% approval rating.
The college’s food offerings and housing both saw generally neutral to positive reviews. In the wake of significant renovations and construction projects at Swarthmore over the past few years and into the near future, students indicated some division over infrastructural changes on campus. 28% of students thought these changes were either “poor” or “terrible,” while 35% believed them to be “good” or “excellent.” 37% of students said that they were “okay.”
Respondents generally reported a sense of comfort to speak up in class, a question many colleges are investigating. 60% of students felt either comfortable or very comfortable doing so, compared to only 17% who felt uncomfortable or very uncomfortable.
Response breakdowns in descending order of net approval (due to rounding, not all percentages will add up to 100%):
Swarthmore Faculty: 88% Approve, 7% Neutral, 1% Disapprove, 3% Don’t Know | +87% Net Approval
The Swarthmore Phoenix: 62% Approve, 26% Neutral, 9% Disapprove, 3% Don’t Know | +53% Net Approval
Swarthmore College: 65% Approve, 21% Neutral, 13% Disapprove, 1% Don’t Know | +52 Net Approval
Office of Admissions: 56% Approve, 33% Neutral, 7% Disapprove, 4% Don’t Know | +49% Net Approval
Worth Health Center: 52% Approve, 23% Neutral, 17% Disapprove, 7% Don’t Know | +35% Net Approval
Writing Course Requirements: 50% Approve, 28% Neutral, 17% Disapprove, 4% Don’t Know | +33% Net Approval
Honors Program: 36% Approve, 38% Neutral, 5% Disapprove, 21% Don’t Know | +31% Net Approval
Swarthmore Transportation Services: 45% Approve, 29% Neutral, 17% Disapprove, 9% Don’t Know | +28% Net Approval
Office of Student Engagement (OSE): 41% Approve, 39% Neutral, 16% Disapprove, 4% Don’t Know | +25% Net Approval
Merit Scholarships: 37% Approve, 34% Neutral, 12% Disapprove, 17% Don’t Know | +25% Net Approval
Student Disability Services: 31% Approve, 35% Neutral, 8% Disapprove, 25% Don’t Know | +23% Net Approval
Athletics Department: 36% Approve, 35% Neutral, 15% Disapprove, 14% Don’t Know | +21% Net Approval
Career Services: 36% Approve, 36% Neutral, 19% Disapprove, 9% Don’t Know | +17% Net Approval
Student Budgeting Committee (SBC): 22% Approve, 41% Neutral, 27% Disapprove, 10% Don’t Know | -5% Net Approval
Student Government Organization (SGO): 20% Approve, 43% Neutral, 30% Disapprove, 8% Don’t Know | -10% Net Approval
Code of Conduct: 17% Approve, 28% Neutral, 42% Disapprove, 14% Don’t Know | -25% Net Approval
Department of Public Safety: 21% Approve, 28% Neutral, 49% Disapprove, 1% Don’t Know | -28% Net Approval
President Val Smith (President’s Office): 14% Approve, 33% Neutral, 48% Disapprove, 5% Don’t Know | -34% Net Approval
Swarthmore Administration: 18% Approve, 25% Neutral, 56% Disapprove, 2% Don’t Know | -38% Net Approval
Consideration of legacy in admissions decisions: 7% Approve, 31% Neutral, 51% Disapprove, 10% Don’t Know | -44% Net Approval
The college’s response to the second Trump administration has generally been: 25% Much too passive, 49% Slightly too passive, 23% Just right, 3% Slightly too oppositional, 0% Much too oppositional
The college’s response to student activism has generally been: 5% Much too lenient, 3% Slightly too lenient, 13% Just right, 32% Slightly too harsh, 48% Much too harsh
Compared with peer institutions, the college’s support for students of color is generally: 10% Worse than peer institutions, 59% The same as peer institutions, 32% Better than peer institutions
The college’s financial aid support is generally: 21% Lacking, 76% Sufficient, 3% Excessive
The faculty’s grading standards are generally: 1% Much too lenient, 9% Slightly too lenient, 46% Just right, 40% Slightly too harsh, 4% Much too harsh
Recent and upcoming changes/additions to campus buildings and infrastructure are generally: 7% Terrible, 22% Poor, 36% Okay, 32% Good, 4% Excellent
The quality of food at the college is generally: 3% Terrible, 9% Poor, 31% Okay, 46% Good, 11% Excellent
The quality of housing at the college is generally: 1% Terrible, 10% Poor, 48% Okay, 38% Good, 4% Excellent
When deciding whether to speak in class, I generally feel: 1% Very uncomfortable, 15% Uncomfortable, 24% Neutral, 44% Comfortable, 16% Very comfortable
