SA R63 (2025-2026): Recognizing September 25 and Establishing a “Survey Service Window” Administered by Student & Campus Life

Returned by the President

• Resolution:
  SA R63 (2025-2026): Recognizing September 25 and Establishing a “Survey Service Window” Administered by Student & Campus Life
• Day:
  April 23, 2026
• Action:
  Returned by the President
• Summary / Notes:
• File Attachments:
• Text Attachment:

  Dear Zora, 

   

  Thank you for conveying Resolution 63: Recognizing September 25 and Establishing a “Survey Service Window” Administered by Student & Campus Life and for the attention you are giving to the use of surveys to better understand the student experience at Cornell. 

   

  I share the Assembly’s interest in encouraging greater participation in and better data collected from these surveys, but I must return Resolution 63 to the Assembly for further work. The topic the resolution addresses raises important issues that are critical to ensuring that survey data are reliable, meaningful, and usable for institutional decision‑making, and would benefit from a collaborative approach with other organizations. I strongly encourage the sponsors and the Assembly to work closely with the Director of the Assemblies to coordinate a meeting with the Cornell Survey and Assessment Review Group (CSARG) to discuss this resolution. The committee comprises representatives from Student and Campus Life (SCL), Institutional Research and Planning (IRP), and other appropriate Cornell organizations. 

   

  CSARG can provide the Campus Pulse Committee with useful insight on Cornell’s existing survey processes and timelines, and will be able to discuss options and ideas for encouraging greater student survey participation while mitigating the potential practical and methodological challenges this resolution presents in its current form. Past work in this area suggests, for example, that surveying students so early in the academic year may not capture the data needed for enhancing the student experience.  

   

  Engaging with campus leaders and administrators early in the development of ideas—before submitting resolutions—can help refine proposals, surface constraints, and strengthen outcomes. I welcome this kind of collaboration, which benefits both the Assembly and the institution and ultimately helps move good ideas forward more effectively. 

   

  I appreciate the Student Assembly’s interest in strengthening student participation in these important surveys around the student experience, which inform decisions that impact the Cornell community. 

   

  Sincerely, 

   

  Michael Kotlikoff 

   

  Michael Kotlikoff, V.M.D., Ph.D., Sc.D. (h.c.)

  President and Professor of Molecular Physiology

  Cornell University