SUMMARY
OF MEMBERSHIP SURVEY ON PROGRAMMING
PREFERENCES
Prepared by David Sims and Helen Marlborough with the
assistance of Alice Farrell.
Background:
At the meeting of November 1, 2013, the DES Committee on
Special Events and Projects (Dave Sims and Helen Marlborough) asked those in
attendance to complete a two-part survey that would help to identify their
preferences for future DES programs. The
first section of the questionnaire listed six kinds of programs and asked
respondents to rank them in order of preference; the second section listed 18
topics and asked respondents to check those topics that interested them.
[Copies of the questionnaire are available on request.] A final section invited members to suggest
interests such as book clubs or mentoring groups, and to give their names if
they wished to be contacted about forming a group.
Results:
We received 52 responses to the questionnaire. In Part I, where respondents ranked the kinds
of programs by preference, there were six possible numerical rankings. To
simplify the report on Part I, we have reduced the six responses in the
rankings to three; combining the numbers of respondents who ranked items 1 and
2, then 3 and 4, and then 5 and 6, gives three categories: high
interest, moderate interest, and low interest. The table below gives the six types of
programs with the numbers of responses in each category; note that not every
respondent ranked all the items, so that totals do not always add up to
52.
In this section of the survey, it’s clear that presentations and performances by students or alumni drew the most
interest, while there is little DES interest in programs from those outside the
university. Programs using faculty presentations or performances,
along with presentations by
administrators on university issues,
drew some interest. Programs focusing on retirement issues ranked high with some DES
members, but these types of program were ranked low by almost as many others,
suggesting that programs on retirement issues have an interested but smaller
following among DES retirees.
Table of Responses to Part I:
Type
of Program High Moderate Low
Programs
by Members of DES: 14
21 10
Presentations
by DPU administrators 22
10 11
on university issues:
Presentations
on retirement issues: 18
11 14
Presentations/Performances
by 25
16 7
DPU students or alumni:
Presentations/Performances
by 19
18 8
DePaul
Faculty:
Programs
from outside the university: 13
8 24
In Part 2 of the survey, respondents could check as many
topics as they wanted. Eighteen topics
were offered. The top five scores among the listed topics are:
The Arts: Music, Theater, Visual
Arts, Film, Literature: 36
DePaul Retiree-Specific Issues 28
Chicago: History or Current Events
27
Travel & Armchair Travel 22
Health & Wellness 21
Finally, a few responses indicated an interest in forming a
book club or doing mentoring, and a dozen people gave their names so they might
be contacted about these activities. The largest number expressed an interest
in the book club, so Helen Marlborough will arrange a meeting to discuss the
formation of a DES Book Club.
Future Planning:
Looking at the responses to both parts of the survey, we
have arranged the next luncheon program around student performances of literature
and will seek out students, alumni, and faculty who might feature in future
programs dealing with the arts, with Chicago topics, or with university issues.
We are open to suggestions for more specialized programs dealing with
retirement issues as well. Questions and
suggestions may be sent to Helen Marlborough,
hmarlbor@depaul.edu.
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