Survey results show parents would recommend Stanford to others
Spring 2009
A recent survey of parents, conducted by University Communications, reveals that 91 percent of Stanford parents would recommend the university to others.
The online survey, which elicited a nearly 30 percent response, also showed that 81 percent of parents believe their children are very satisfied at Stanford. Survey results will be used to enhance communication with parents and to improve the Parents' Newsletter, Parent Guide and parents' website.
Among the attitude changes the survey results reflected from five years ago—the last time the university questioned parents about their Stanford experiences—was that parents today are far more likely to ask their child when a question or concern for them as parents arises. Seventy percent of parents this year said they would ask their child first before turning to university resources, while 10 percent said so five years ago. After their children, parents turn to the parents' website and then to a specific university staff member for help.
Following are other results of the survey:
- Parents are attending more events in their local area than five years ago.
- Eighty-five percent of parents said that feeling confident that their children were well taken care of at Stanford was very important to them, followed by knowing staff members of offices to contact with questions or concerns and being informed about resources and academic opportunities at the university.
- When asked overall how well Stanford enables them to have the kind of relationship with the university they want, the results are virtually unchanged from five years ago, with 41 percent answering excellent and 44 percent answering good.
- Sixty-four percent of parents “mostly” read the president’s annual letter, followed by Stanford Magazine at 49 percent and the Parents' Newsletter at 46 percent. Sixty-one percent of parents indicated they had visited the parent web pages within the past month.
