A Student Paper Triggers Campuswide Changes
Student journalists at Alaska Pacific University fight for lower tuition and better customer service.
By Cotty Parks, Alaska Pacific University

At Alaska Pacific University, the campus newspaper, The Journal, is used as a tool to harness students’ opinions. As editor, my goal is to get readers to view The Journal as a proponent for change and a reliable source for information.

While registering for classes last fall, I noticed that tuition had gone up. In addition, students were never notified about this increase. I decided to ask a few questions of our president, Dr. Doug North, who explained, “Tuition is about half the cost of educating students here at APU.” I then asked students what they thought. The general consensus was that if tuition is half of the total expenditure of an education then "I want a refund." Students felt that the university wasn’t listening to their needs. “If I ran a business like our school is run, I’d be out of business,” a freshman student said. At an informal student gathering over lunch, many students indicated that they wanted to have some input regarding tuition cost.

I knew The Journal should get involved and mobilize students before tuition rose again. I wrote an article encouraging students to write letters to their Student Government representatives concerning tuition. The letters came in slowly, so my staff and I hit the campus, knocked on some doors, and encouraged students to speak out and be heard. The Journal staff attended SG meetings and urged members to get involved. We also put flyers up on campus and delivered propaganda to the dorms to remind students to write those letters. In the meantime, the SG selected a member to represent the student side and give the letters to the Tuition Ad-Hoc Committee.

The Ad-Hoc Committee informed Dr. North that the students opposed another increase in tuition. Dr. North listened to APU students and agreed to be their voice when he met with the board of trustees. When December rolled around, the students left for the holidays not knowing what the final outcome would be. However, on Dec. 30, 2000 during the evening news, a broadcaster announced that the students of APU banded together and the verdict was in: "There will be a grandfather clause that locks tuition for five years."

For years, students attending APU sat by, silently grumbling about the rising tuition costs until the day their campus newspaper gave them an opportunity to be heard. When the students got back and read the New Year’s issue of The Journal, they learned how effective a unified voice can be.

In response to students’ complaints about how they were treated by personnel at various administrative offices on campus, The Journal printed the articles "Financial Aid Woes" and "Trained Chimpanzees Could Do a Better Job.” Although The Journal made an effort not to point the finger at any one particular individual or office, the phones lit up and the e-mails poured in. Most calls were from office workers saying how they would never do anything like that and it must be office “x.” Instead of doing as the article advised and "evaluating your customer service,” they all wanted to put the blame on someone else.

In an attempt to evaluate the quality of customer service provide by APU’s offices and departments, The Journal staff developed and posted questionnaires for students, staff, and faculty. Also, to get people to fill out the surveys, the paper published articles detailing some of the negative interactions that occurred between individual students and office personnel. The Journal staff posted signs on campus and put the questionnaires in high-traffic areas. The survey gave students the opportunity to evaluate the customer-service skills of departments, commend offices that were already doing a good job, and to describe some of their personal experiences.

The efforts of The Journal staff paved the path for a new committee on campus composed of two students and middle management personnel from each office and department. The new committee will evaluate the customer service relationships of all their offices, pose remedies, and design a training outline to provide the best customer service possible.  The dean of students is heading this committee and has asked for all surveys or copies that were turned in. This outcome proves that one small paper can make a change.

None of this would have been possible without the collaborative effort on the part of The Journal staff, SG members and officers, and the students. You too can make a difference whether you’re at a small liberal arts university or a large public university. Being involved is only half the battle.  Students must also follow through and work to facilitate change.

Cotty Parks is a junior at Alaska Pacific University majoring in marketing and forensic psychology. He is vice-chair of the Student Government, a resident assistant, and editor of The Journal. For more information, contact Parks at raven1@alaskapacific.edu.

Copyright © 2005 Oxendine Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved