In the fall, we asked readers of The Scranton Journal to fill out a survey that would help us improve the magazine. We were thrilled to hear from hundreds of respondents, most of whom still prefer to get the magazine in print. In the past decade, we’ve conducted this survey several times, and your feedback has shown an upward trend in most categories, from content to design. But, we know there is still room for improvement! In the coming issues, we will consider all feedback to make sure this magazine helps connect you to your alma mater.
The survey, which allows us to compare our magazine to other alumni magazines as well as our past surveys, was hosted by the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE). See below for a snapshot of the survey results.
Print or Online?
The Journal was rated the second most important source of information about the University (52%) after emails (56%), and print is still the preferred delivery method (66% vs 10% online, 25% both).
The above 50 population likes it in print; over 65 could do without any online content; 50-64 prefers both. Surprisingly, even the under 34 set prefers to read in print or both in print and online.
Content and Design
Ratings on content, ease of reading, cover, and layout design continue to improve each time we run the survey.
Topics
84%
of survey respondents said they were interested/very interested in campus facilities and growth
80%
said they were interested in Class Notes (NOTE: THIS IS 21% higher than ALL magazines)
Open-ended Answers
What do you like most about the magazine?
30%
say they like the sense of community it provides them
24%
said they like Class Notes best
23%
said they like it for the Alumni News
“It feels like home when I receive it! It reminds me that so much good is happening in towns and cities across the globe thanks to the unique educational and social environment at Scranton.”
What do you like least about the magazine?
“A hint of being too 'uppity.' We don't all become lawyers.”
“The Journal talks about facilities that I know nothing about.”
What changes or improvements would you suggest?
47%
said “nothing”
16%
said “more about alumni” or something along those lines
What are your suggestions for new topics?
21%
say student-centered
20%
say percent say none
14%
say more diverse alumni stories
“I enjoy the in-depth profiles of professors, particularly what they're researching or look at someone's career if they're retiring.”
Stay tuned for changes to the magazine that will respond to suggestions and information we learned from the survey.
