The complete results of the poll, in addition to a breakdown of this semester’s approval ratings compared to the spring semester’s, can be found below.
On Dec. 3, The Phoenix sent its second campus student body poll to 596 randomly selected Swarthmore students, who represent 35% 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, including the faculty, administration, and student government. Beyond these institutions, the survey also asked students for their opinions on relevant college topics, including support for students of color, financial aid, the college’s responses to pro-Palestinian student activism and the second Trump administration, campus food and housing, faculty’s grading standards, grade inflation, generative artificial intelligence (AI), SAT/ACT requirements, and ideological diversity among students and faculty.
Of the survey’s 148 respondents (about a 25% response rate), 30% were first years, 30% were sophomores, 19% were juniors, and 20% were seniors. Therefore, underclassmen were overrepresented, and upperclassmen were underrepresented.
To compare the demographics of the respondent pool to that of the entire student body, the poll also asked students to choose their racial/ethnic and gender identity from the same categories used by Swarthmore for institutional research. Due to rounding, percentages in this article may not always add up to 100. 51% 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, 8% were Black, compared to the 9% of the college’s students who are Black. 8% of respondents identified as Hispanic, and less than 15% of the college is Hispanic. 5% of survey-takers shared that they were international students, while international students account for 15% of the student body. This disparity could be partially due to respondent confusion over the poll’s inclusion of “international students” under the category of race/ethnicity, a choice which mirrors the demographic categories used by Swarthmore’s institutional research and thus allows for easier comparison between the poll respondent pool and the student body.
Where the respondent pool more closely matched the college’s racial/ethnic breakdown were the 12% of respondents who identified as having two or more races (vs. the college’s 11%), 1.4% who identified as American Indian or Alaska Native (vs. <1%), 14% who identified as Asian (vs. 17%).
51% of the survey’s respondents identified as women, 43% identified as men, and 7% identified as non-binary/non-conforming. According to the Swarthmore Office of Institutional Research, 52.5% of the student body identify as women, and 47.5% as men, though the office’s numbers don’t include any third identification option.
55% of those who filled out the poll said they received financial aid, meaning the results closely reflected the 56% of the students that the Financial Aid Office reports received aid in the 2025-26 academic year.
The form also asked respondents in which division their primary major, intended major, or most of their studies are in. 43% of those who filled out the poll said they primarily studied the natural sciences and engineering, 42% said the social sciences, and 16% said the humanities. That distribution is comparable to the percentage breakdown reported by Swarthmore’s institutional research from 2022. Their data show that, in 2022, 18% of graduate seniors got a degree in the humanities, while 43% were in the natural sciences and 45% in the social sciences.
Notably, almost all the campus institutions and practices that the survey asked about saw increases in their approval ratings from the spring. The responses showed overwhelming approval of the college’s faculty (+95%), an increase of 8% from last semester, when faculty were already the most approved institution at the college. Students also heavily approved of The Phoenix (+68), the college itself (+58), and the Office of Admissions (+45). While parts of the administration, including President Val Smith’s office, the student Code of Conduct, and the college administration overall, all saw slight increases in their approval ratings this semester, they still face high levels of disapproval relative to other campus institutions. The department of Public Safety, which was highly disapproved of (-28) in last semester’s poll, saw an increase in approval of 14 percentage points this semester.
The Swarthmore Board of Managers, which has recently been the subject of criticism among student activists, saw the lowest net approval of any institution surveyed (-38).
Worth Health, the Office of Student Engagement, the honors program, and Athletics all saw strong net approval that remained mostly consistent with their numbers from the spring semester. Career Services saw a notable 12 percentage point increase in net approval from last year.
In the wake of the past Student Government election cycle, which had increased turnout after a slate of candidates dubbed “The People’s Slate” collectively based their campaigns on frustrations with the campus’ status quo, SGO had the largest increase in net approval of any campus institution/program polled — a positive swing of 23 percentage points. The Student Budgeting Committee (SBC) also saw a large increase (of 14 percentage points) in their approval rating.
The Phoenix also asked for students’ thoughts regarding how the college treats workers on campus. While treatment of student workers — specifically their compensation, workplace conditions, etc. — saw significant net approval (+33), respondents felt much more negatively (-14) about the college’s treatment of its staff.
While the consideration of legacy in Swarthmore’s admissions process saw a 14 percentage point increase in net approval from last semester, it still remains widely disapproved of among student respondents (-30).
Respondents were generally positive about both Swarthmore’s food and housing options, with almost 50% responding either “good” or “excellent.” This marks a substantial improvement in respondents’ feelings about both since the spring.
The survey showed a general sense of comfort when speaking up in class. Almost 70% of respondents felt either comfortable or very comfortable doing so, compared with only 14% who felt uncomfortable or very uncomfortable, again marking an improvement upon the spring semester’s already-high comfort levels.
The growing ubiquity of generative AI has brought with it questions about AI’s implications for higher education. More than half (55%) of Swarthmore students surveyed responded that they only use AI “for anything relating to [their] academics” monthly or less than once per month. 28% said they use it for such purposes weekly, and another 15% said they use it daily or multiple times per day.
Several weeks ago, The Phoenix reported on the college’s controversial decision to keep its application process SAT/ACT-optional for the coming years, citing what Vice President and Dean of Admissions Jim Bock ’90 called “not worrisome” differences in the success between matriculated students who submitted their scores and those who didn’t. A strong majority (62%) of student respondents support this decision, compared with only 22% who said the college should require standardized testing for admission, and 17% who were unsure.
Given increased discussions on campus about grade inflation this semester, including a recent edition of the regular column “Office Hours” on the topic, the poll asked students for their opinions regarding faculty grading practices and grade inflation. 20% of student respondents believe that there has been grade inflation in recent years, while nearly half were unsure, indicating a possible lack of familiarity with the issue among students. Correspondingly, 49% of respondents said that, if grade inflation were to be happening, they would be somewhat concerned, 45% said they would not be concerned at all, and only 6% reported that they would be very concerned.
Relatedly, more than half of student respondents felt that faculty’s grading standards were generally “just right,” though almost a third felt they were slightly or much too harsh. 12% felt they were somewhat too lenient.
While there was limited messaging from the college in the spring about its response to the federal government’s recent attacks on higher education, Swarthmore’s administration later directly lobbied against Trump’s endowment tax in the halls of Congress and signed several statements in favor of higher education’s independence. A majority of student respondents (69%) felt that the college’s overall response to the federal government’s attacks on higher education has been either slightly or much too passive, though 30% felt that it had been “just right.” Only two respondents (1.4%) felt it had been at all too oppositional.
There was a somewhat even distribution of students across how worried/confident they were about Swarthmore’s ability to fulfill its mission despite the federal government’s attacks on higher education. Almost half were somewhat or very worried, almost 30% were somewhat or very confident, and 23% were neutral.
While this semester has seen less activity from the college’s ongoing pro-Palestinian protests, many students were on campus in the spring for the college’s controversial decision to dismantle a campus encampment using law enforcement. More than 75% of student respondents said the college’s response to pro-Palestinian activism over three years had been slightly or much too harsh, whereas only 10% said it had been at all too lenient. 13% felt it had been “just right.”
Almost 75% of respondents felt that the college’s financial aid support was generally “sufficient,” while 25% said it was “lacking.” Only two students said they felt it was “excessive.”
On the college’s efforts to support students of color, 60% said that support was the same as that of peer institutions, and 30% said it was better than peer institutions. Only the remaining 10% said the college’s support for students of color was worse than that of peer institutions.
Leaders in both politics and higher education from across the political spectrum have long criticized elite colleges and universities for maintaining and fostering only a narrow range of political and philosophical views. 78% of student respondents felt that ideological diversity among students was at least somewhat important, with only 10% saying they were indifferent and 11% saying that it was at all unimportant.
Still, only 24% of those surveyed were at all dissatisfied with the amount of ideological diversity within the student body. 45% were somewhat or very satisfied, and 36% were neutral.
Similarly, 71% felt that ideological diversity among the faculty was at least somewhat important, though 22% were indifferent and 8% felt it was at all unimportant. Again, only 18% were at all dissatisfied with the faculty’s ideological diversity, with 45% neutral and 38% somewhat or very satisfied.
In the survey, many students told The Phoenix their thoughts on the poll itself and more on the topics it asks about. Some noted their concern about specific financial aid matters, while others voiced their desire for Swarthmore to divest, as demanded by the campus pro-Palestine movement. Other students voiced uncertainty about some questions, given their new arrival at Swarthmore or lack of experience with the matters asked about in those questions.
Response breakdowns in descending order of net approval (due to rounding, not all percentages will add up to 100%):
Swarthmore Faculty: 96% Approve, 3% Neutral, 1% Disapprove, 3% Don’t Know | +95% Net Approval
The Swarthmore Phoenix: 70% Approve, 20% Neutral, 2% Disapprove, 8% Don’t Know | +68% Net Approval
Swarthmore College: 72% Approve, 14% Neutral, 14% Disapprove, 0% Don’t Know | +58% Net Approval
Office of Admissions: 50% Approve, 35% Neutral, 5% Disapprove, 9% Don’t Know | +45% Net Approval
Treatment of student workers (compensation, workplace conditions, etc.): 47% Approve, 28% Neutral, 14% Disapprove, 11% Don’t Know | +33% Net Approval
Worth Health Center: 46% Approve, 26% Neutral, 14% Disapprove, 14% Don’t Know | +32% Net Approval
Honors program: 36% Approve, 34% Neutral, 6% Disapprove, 24% Don’t Know | +30% Net Approval
Career Services: 40% Approve, 34% Neutral, 11% Disapprove, 15% Don’t Know | +29% Net Approval
Athletics Department: 33% Approve, 32% Neutral, 12% Disapprove, 22% Don’t Know | +21% Net Approval
Office of Student Engagement (OSE): 41% Approve, 41% Neutral, 22% Disapprove, 5% Don’t Know | +19% Net Approval
Student Government Organization (SGO): 29% Approve, 43% Neutral, 16% Disapprove, 12% Don’t Know | +13% Net Approval
Swarthmore Forward (strategic plan): 19% Approve, 34% Neutral, 9% Disapprove, 38% Don’t Know | +10% Net Approval
Student Budgeting Committee (SBC): 26% Approve, 43% Neutral, 18% Disapprove, 14% Don’t Know | +8% Net Approval
Student Code of Conduct: 18% Approve, 34% Neutral, 28% Disapprove, 20% Don’t Know | -10% Net Approval
Treatment of college staff (compensation, workplace conditions, etc.): 22% Approve, 22% Neutral, 36% Disapprove, 19% Don’t Know | -14% Net Approval
Department of Public Safety: 31% Approve, 23% Neutral, 47% Disapprove, 1% Don’t Know | -16% Net Approval
President Val Smith (President’s Office): 17% Approve, 33% Neutral, 43% Disapprove, 7% Don’t Know | -26% Net Approval
Swarthmore Administration: 20% Approve, 24% Neutral, 49% Disapprove, 7% Don’t Know | -29% Net Approval
Consideration of legacy in admissions decisions: 15% Approve, 21% Neutral, 45% Disapprove, 19% Don’t Know | -30% Net Approval
Swarthmore Board of Managers: 7% Approve, 25% Neutral, 45% Disapprove, 22% Don’t Know | -38% Net Approval
The quality of food at the college is generally: 0% Terrible, 7% Poor, 28% Okay, 50% Good, 15% Excellent
The quality of housing at the college is generally: 1% Terrible, 8% Poor, 43% Okay, 47% Good, 1% Excellent
When deciding whether to speak in class, I generally feel: 1% Very uncomfortable, 13% Uncomfortable, 18% Neutral, 49% Comfortable, 20% Very comfortable
How frequently do you use generative artificial intelligence as a tool for anything relating to your academics at Swarthmore?: 40% for “Less than once per month,” 17% for “Monthly,” 28% for “Weekly,” 8% for “Daily,” 7% for “Multiple times per day”
Should Swarthmore require applicants to submit their SAT/ACT results as part of the admissions process?: 22% for “Yes,” 62% for “No,” 17% for “Unsure”
The faculty’s grading standards are generally: 0% for “Much too lenient,” 12% for “Somewhat too lenient,” 57% for “Just right,” 27% for “Somewhat too harsh,” 4% for “Much too harsh”
Do you believe that there has been grade inflation at Swarthmore in recent years?: 20% for “Yes,” 31% for “No,” 49% for “Unsure”
If grade inflation were happening at Swarthmore (whether you believe it is or not), how concerned would you be about this trend?: 6% for “Very concerned,” 49% for “Somewhat concerned,” 45% for “Not at all concerned”
The college’s response to the federal government’s recent attacks on higher education has generally been: 20% for “Much too passive,” 49% for “Slightly too passive,” 30% for “Just right,” 0% for “Slightly too oppositional,” 1% for “Much too oppositional”
How worried/confident are you about Swarthmore’s ability to fulfill its mission despite the federal government’s recent antagonistic approach to higher education?: 13% for “Very worried,” 36% for “Somewhat worried,” 23% for “Neutral,” 22% for “Somewhat confident,” 6% for “Very confident”
The college’s response to pro-Palestinian student activism over the last three years has generally been: 2% for “Much too lenient,” 9% for “Slightly too lenient,” 13% for “Just right,” 38% for “Slightly too harsh,” 39% for “Much too harsh”
The college’s financial aid support is generally: 26% Lacking, 73% Sufficient, 1% Excessive
Compared with peer institutions, the college’s support for students of color is generally: 10% for “Worse than peer institutions,” 60% for “The same as peer institutions,” 30% for “Better than peer institutions”
How important do you believe ideological diversity among students to be?: 33% for “Very important,” 45% for “Somewhat important,” 10% for “Indifferent,” 7% for “Somewhat unimportant,” 4% for “Very unimportant”
How satisfied are you with the amount of ideological diversity among the students at Swarthmore?: 6% for “Very dissatisfied,” 18% for “Somewhat dissatisfied,” 36% for “Neutral,” 30% for “Somewhat satisfied,” 10% for “Very satisfied”
How important do you believe ideological diversity among faculty to be?: 34% for “Very important,” 37% for “Somewhat important,” 22% for “Indifferent,” 6% for “Somewhat unimportant,” 1% for “Very unimportant”
How satisfied are you with the amount of ideological diversity among the faculty at Swarthmore?: 3% for “Very dissatisfied,” 15% for “Somewhat dissatisfied,” 45% for “Neutral,” 28% for “Somewhat satisfied,” 10% for “Very satisfied”
