We asked the University of Oklahoma community a series of questions about their experience of the Norman campus and their ideas for the future. Here is what they said.
Staff, students, and faculty all responded to the survey. Each community group features a distinct perspective on the campus.
Respondents came from four key groups: Faculty, staff, undergraduate students, and graduate students.
The single largest group is staff, making up about 42% of all responses.
Together, undergraduate and graduate students are about 35% of respondents.
Faculty accounted for roughly 22% of all respondents.
A person's experience of campus hinges on arrival and navigation.
The OU Norman Campus is a driving campus. About three out of four respondents drive alone to get here.
Walking is the next most common, but is only roughly one in eight respondents. Biking, scooting, carpooling, and transit each account for a small proportion.
Why so much driving? Respondents largely live relatively far from campus: about 75% live more than a mile from campus, and one in five face a drive of over twenty minutes.
Asked to rate seven pieces of the transportation network, there is a wide spread of opinions. Pedestrian access on campus rates especially well. Parking is a notable negative outlier.
Parking is the loudest complaint in the entire survey. Nearly seven in ten rate it below average or poor. Only one in ten rated as Good or Excellent.
Segmenting parking by affiliation reveals slight differences in the level of negativity: undergraduates are the most frustrated at 86% negative, while faculty are the least.
Once people are on campus, getting around on foot rates among the best parts of the network. This is an area of strength worth bolstering as campus grows.
Beyond logistics, the survey asked how campus feels in a single word, and across seven statements about identity, comfort, and belonging.
Asked for a single word to describe campus today, people answered with a revealing mix of affection and strain.
The most common word, by a wide margin, was beautiful. Highly common was also “pretty,” “vibrant,” and “historic”, reflecting that people clearly love how campus looks.
But the very next words reveal frustration: busy, crowded, congested, construction. A beautiful campus that increasingly feels full.
82% of respondents agreed that the campus has strong character and a unique identity. First impressions and a sense of pride also score high.
The weak link is feeling engaged in campus life and culture. Only about half agree, and more than a quarter were unsure.
Split by affiliation, the differences are more clear: undergraduates feel most plugged in, while graduate students feel the least.
Ease of navigation responses were surprising: undergraduates find campus easy to get around (80% positive), while staff report the most trouble.
Respondents rated thirteen kinds of campus space, from libraries to lab support.
Thirteen space types ranked in order of rating. The pattern reveals that places to gather and study rate highest, while everyday work and teaching spaces rate lowest.
The library and study spaces top the list, followed closely by outdoor social spaces, such as the ovals and lawns.
Core teaching and working spaces sit at the bottom of the ranking. It will be important for the plan to investigate the quality of classrooms and labs in particular: 55% of respondents rated these spaces as average and below.
Tastes differ by group. On dining, students are fairly content, but faculty are markedly more critical. Importantly, no groups rated dining as poor.
The survey asked respondents to drop pins on points such as their favorite building, the place that most needs investment, where they feel unsafe, and where a first-time visitor gets lost. Together, the pins draw a portrait of how the community perceives the campus.
Over 1,500 people pinned a favorite building. Click any dot to read why. The Bizzell Memorial Library was by far the most popular building on campus.
Add favorite outdoor spaces and green spaces show up around the buildings. The most popular spaces were the north and south Ovals, areas around the Bizzell Library and the Union, the stadium, and the engineering quad.
Many buildings and spaces were flagged as needing investment. The most commonly marked was the Physical Sciences Center. Other places included Dale Hall, the Oklahoma Memorial Union, Felgar Hall, Sarkeys Energy Center, Kaufman Hall, and Sarkeys Fitness Center.
The most commonly identified safety concerns were related to traffic and pedestrians, particularly along Lindsey Street. Nighttime safety was also a concern due to lack of lighting in some areas.
Finally, the wayfinding gaps: The highest concentrations are in buildings, especially the Memorial Union, Sarkeys Energy Center, Physical Science Center, and Thurman White Forum. This question did not allow specific comments to be provided.
All together: positive perceptions, investment needs, safety concerns, and wayfinding overlaid on one campus.
We asked: “If you could make one big change to the campus environment, what would it be?” The 1,469 answers were grouped by theme — tap a topic to read those responses.
Respondents were asked (optionally) about race, ethnicity, and gender. The answers show responses that reflect the diversity of the OU community.
Roughly three-quarters of those who answered identified as White.
After White, the next-largest groups were American Indian or Alaska Native and Latinx or Hispanic, which generally reflect Oklahoma’s demographic composition. A meaningful share chose “prefer not to disclose.”
Among those who answered, women outnumbered men by a significant margin.
The story above pulls out highlights. Below is the full set of questions, charted. Use the filter to see how any single group answered.