Mobility of MSUM Students
The student transit use survey for MSUM received responses from 460 students. The survey information provides insight into current transit issues including movement demands of campus students, perceptions of MAT services and campus parking, as well as campus public transportation and transit accommodations.
It is not possible with an electronic on-line survey to ensure equal participation from all students. However, there was a proportionate distribution from all undergraduate and graduate classes (Table 1). The junior class had the highest representation where all other categories were within 2.62% of actual class distribution.
Table 1. Survey Response Distribution Compared to Actual Class Distribution
| Classification | Actual Class Distribution (Fall '03) | Class Number | Responses Distribution | Survey Number |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Freshmen | 19.70% | 1516 | 18.48% | 85 |
| Sophomores | 18.79% | 1446 | 18.70% | 86 |
| Juniors | 18.95% | 1458 | 25.87% | 119 |
| Seniors | 32.08% | 2468 | 30.43% | 140 |
| Graduate | 7.40% | 569 | 4.78% | 22 |
| Non-degree | 3.08% | 237 | 1.74% | 8 |
| Total | 100.00% | 7694 | 100.00% | 460 |
Of the 460 students who responded, 327 or 71.1 percent were female, and 133 or 28.9 percent were male. The actual MSUM fall 2003 enrollment consisted of 4,759 females or 61.9 percent and 2,935 males or 38.1 percent. The percentage of women who responded to this survey is proportionately higher than the percentage of women attending MSUM.
Student's employment status often influences their attitude toward and use of public transportation. About one-fifth of the survey respondents were unemployed (Figure 1). Just over three-fifths of students are employed off campus and just under one-fifth of the survey respondents were employed on campus. Compared with the previous year, these figures show a slight increase in people shifting from on-campus employment to off-campus employment, with unemployment within .08 percent difference.
Figure 1. Student Work Status (n=460)
A further breakdown shows a slightly higher percentage of on-campus jobs are held by women (Figure 2). The percentage of female and male respondents who work off-campus are similar. More males identified themselves as unemployed. There is no survey information available to explain the differences.
Figure 2. Employment by Gender (n=327,133)
Whether students live on or off-campus was also evaluated. Nearly four-fifths of the students surveyed indicated that they live off-campus. The results show that 58% (49) of freshman live on-campus, while only 28% (24) of sophomores, 12% (14) of juniors, and a mere 9% (12) of seniors live on-campus. This indicates that many students must use some form of transportation to get to school.