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UVI senior Akima George, a biology major, displays the iPad she received from Office of Institutional Research and Planning staffers Andrea Ruan, left, and Laurie Blake. The iPad was the featured incentive prize for students who completed the 2013 National Survey of Student Engagement at UVI.
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UVI senior biology major Akima George plans a temporary move to much cooler climes after she graduates in May. George has been accepted at the University of Michigan, where she will begin a six-year Ph.D. program in bioinformatics and computational biology.
When she begins classes at Michigan she will have the services of a brand new iPad at her command, thanks to her participation in a special student survey. The iPad was the featured incentive prize for participants in the 2013 National Survey of Student Engagement, administered at UVI during the spring semester by the Office of Institutional Research and Planning. The survey focused on freshman and senior students. Those who met the deadline for completing the on-line survey had their names entered in the random drawing, which was held April 2.
The survey is designed to help Universities improve their offerings for students. Participating institutions can expect reports by August 2013. The results are expected to show if the experiences of students inside and outside the classroom are consistent with good practices in undergraduate education. They will also help UVI to better assess and evaluate its overall educational effectiveness, an essential step in the accreditation effort planned in 2015. UVI offered the iPad prize in hopes of spurring student participation.
George began her studies on the Albert A. Sheen Campus on her native St. Croix and is concluding them on St. Thomas. She hopes to return to the territory after earning her Ph.D. and would like to apply her skills in a medical-related field.
