Survey says SWT alums hold alma mater in high esteem

SAN MARCOS — Alumni of Southwest Texas State University have an excellent image of their alma mater, according to a survey recently commissioned by the SWT Alumni Association.

Ninety-eight percent of respondents to the survey said they had a positive image of SWT and 85 percent said their feelings about their school were “strongly positive.” Only one percent said they had a negative image of the university.

Using a scale of zero to 10, survey respondents had a mean score of 9.08 when asked how proud they were of their degree from SWT, and they rated the quality of education they received at SWT as 8.94.

“Considering that on a scale of 0 to 10, an 8.6 is a benchmark for satisfaction among stakeholders, SWT should be pleased with the results to these questions,” the report stated.

The survey was conducted by Baselice & Associates in early January. Alumni were randomly selected from three groups: Alumni Association members who are not current donors to SWT, donors who are not members of the Alumni Association, and alumni who are neither donors nor Alumni Association members.

Sixty-two percent of those surveyed said they had heard of proposals to change the name of SWT. Sixty-eight percent said they oppose the name change. However, 54 percent of respondents said they would support a name change if the university would receive more prominence and benefits as a result.

Half of those surveyed said a name change would not affect their donations to SWT. Thirty-nine percent said a name change would make them less likely to donate, and 11 percent said it would make them more likely to donate.