10.01.2023

ISYY’s member survey 2022: alcohol-free events and mental health and wellbeing themes are important for students

The Student Union of the University of Eastern Finland (ISYY) organised a survey for its members on 8.11.-4.12.2022. The purose of the member survey was to collect information about how familiar our members are with the Student Union and its services, to collect feedback about them and also ideas how to improve our services, activities and communication.

We got 192 answers in total. Thanks to everyone who answered the survey! 

With the survey we got a lot of useful information to further our actions. The answers will be gone through collectively with the ISYY Staff and Executive Board in the beginning of 2023. With this information it is good to begin the new year.

Below you can find some things that were raised from the answers.

Alcohol-free activities that connects students across the study fields are important

Going through the answers, it is clear that for students it is important that we offer versatile events and communities that connect students across the study fields and also across campuses to bring balance to the everyday studying.

The answers presented a need for student events, that are free of charge, alcohol-free and that furthers the interaction between different study fields, communality spirit, but also the wellbeing and and through that the study ability. Free-time possibilities are also needed for some special groups, like for people who study remotely from other cities, for students that have children and for older students.

Dissatisfaction towards the mental health services and students livelihood is highlighted 

In the survey we asked, to what questions ISYY should make an impact. Above all, students are wishing that ISYY would make an impact to the mental health themes. Words like mental health, mental health services, loneliness, bullying, study ability, stress, coping and the workload of studies was repeated many times in the answers.

Also the livelihood (e.g. insufficient financial support, emphasis on taking the student loan, living costs), dissatisfaction towards the FSHS-services and also themes of academic affairs (e.g. trainee supports, tuition fees and the quality of education) was also repeated multiple times.

The newsletter stays in its place as the most popular communication channel

The newsletter sticks to its place as the most popular communication channel of ISYY. Of the people who answered, 87 % read the newsletter, 54 % read it every week and 26 % a few times per month.

The second mostly followed channel is Instagram, where ISYY is followed by 48 % of the people who answered. From the answers we can clearly say, that Facebook has lost its popularity (2021: 31 % > 2022: 11 %), and at the same time the popularity of Yammer has been risen (2021: 2 % > 2022: 21 %). In the communications questionnaire 2021 almost half, 45 %, wished that ISYY would communicate in Yammer more and to this we have been reacted during 2022. ISYY communicates about its actions actively in Yammer’s Students-channel.

ISYY reaches its members fairly well. With the rating from 1 to 5 (1=bad, 5=excellent) 40 % gave us a rating 4 (4 = good) and 11 % rating 5 for how ISYY's communication reaches. When asked about how interesting ISYY’s communications are, we got a rating 4 from 36 % and rating 3 (3 = I don’t know) from 32 %. In that we need to do better.

Also in communications ISYY members are interested mostly about the events. Also the statements about themes that are current and important to students are found interesting. More information about ISYY’s services and actions are wished to the channels, but also more communication about the themes of mental health and wellbeing. Additionally, students wish that ISYY would communicate more about the actual interest advocacy work.

Do you still want to give feedback?

If you still want to give us ideas or tell us where we could do better, you can always take contact to our staff or executive board members. You can give feedback also with the feedback form that can be found from the websites.

Read more:

Isyy.fi, opens in a new tab: Answer to the ISYY member survey and take part in a raffle!

Isyy.fi, opens in a new tab: Give Feedback

Isyy.fi, opens in a new tab: Staff Contact Information

Further information:

Ada Hyytiäinen, Communications Planner, The Student Union of the University of Eastern Finland, tiedotus(at)isyy.fi, p. 044 576 8426