EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: Three-quarters of the students surveyed reported being very or somewhat interested in attending campus arts events. Three-fifths said they are aware that UMass students can attend any Fine Arts Center event for five dollars or less. Slightly more than two-fifths of the students reported having attended an event offered by the Fine Arts Center Series. Two-fifths reported having visited Hampden Gallery, and nearly one-third said they had visited University Gallery. One-quarter of the students said they have taken a course through the Performing Arts Division, and one-tenth said they have taken the Lively Arts Course. Approximately one-quarter of the student surveyed expressed a high level of interest in attending the following three types of arts events: Broadway musicals, theater, and popular music.
On Tuesday, February 27, 1996, Project Pulse conducted a telephone survey for the Fine Arts Center. The survey was designed to determine what types of events students would like to attend at the Fine Arts Center. Interviewers attempted to contact 1,283 students who were randomly selected from the entire undergraduate population. Of these, 563 were sucessfully contacted and 447 (79.4%) agreed to be interviewed. The final disposition of the sample is presented in Table 1. Demographics of the survey respondents are presented in Table 2. Sampling error for the survey is plus or minus approximately 4% at the 95% level of confidence.
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Table 1: Final Disposition
of Sample
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|
|
N
|
% of Total
|
% of Contacted
|
| In & cooperated |
447
|
34.8
|
79.4
|
| Contacted, but refused |
116
|
9.0
|
20.6
|
| Not contacted |
501
|
39.0
|
|
| Unobtainable phone no. |
213
|
16.6
|
|
| Ineligible |
6
|
0.5
|
|
| Totals |
1,283
|
100.0
|
100.0
|
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Table 2: Demographics
of Respondents
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|
|
N
|
%
|
| Female |
230
|
51.5
|
| Male |
217
|
48.5
|
| First-year |
132
|
29.6
|
| Sophomore |
100
|
22.4
|
| Junior |
109
|
24.4
|
| Senior |
105
|
23.5
|
| On-campus |
298
|
66.7
|
| Off-campus |
149
|
33.3
|
|
Average age = 20.6 years
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Initially students were asked about their interest in attending campus arts events. One-fifth of the students (21.9%, n=98) said they are "very interested" in attending arts events such as theater, musical performances, and art shows, while an additional 53.5% (n=239) said that they are "somewhat interested." Next, students were asked how much money per month they spend on arts entertainment such as concerts, plays or dance performances. Approximately one-quarter (26.2%, n=117) of the students reported that they do not spend any money on arts entertainment. One-quarter of the students said they spend $3-10 on average per month, while 26.4% said they spend $11-20. Three-fifths of the students surveyed (60.9%, n=272) are aware that they can attend any Fine Arts Center event for five dollars or less.
Next, students were informed that the Fine Arts Center is an organization which offers a variety of arts entertainment events, art galleries, and arts programs on campus. Students were read a list of specific programs offered by the Fine Arts Center and were asked to report their familiarity with each. Figure 1 illustrates the percentages of students who said that they had visited each of four art galleries on campus.
Slightly more than one-third (35.9%, n=150) said they have heard of the Residential Arts Program, while 29.2% (n=126) said they have heard of the University Arts Council.
Figure 3 illustrates the percentages of students who rated their interest in attending each arts event a "4" or "5" on a scale ranging from 1 to 5 where 1 is "not at all interested" and 5 is "very interested."
Figure 4 illustrates the percentage of students who said that they obtained information about Fine Arts Center events from each of a variety of sources.