The Board of Trustees discussed the results of a survey conducted by Superintendent-President Dr. Anthony Beebe.

The survey was put together by Beebe and sent to the public, and City College employees and students on his first day in office. It asked participants what the perceived strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats to City College were, in an open-ended format. It also gave individuals a chance to answer the question, “If I were President of City College I would…”

“Overall, I was very impressed with how much the community loves this college,” Beebe said.

Beebe reassured the board at their Thursday meeting that the survey was never meant to be scientific in any way, and was simply a means for him to gauge what some concerns were for City College. After reviewing the answers, he found that it also offers the school an opportunity to correct any misinformation the community may believe.

“I think it’s really good as far as misconceptions we can clear up,” Beebe said, while explaining that one of the main misconceptions was an unbridled growth of the college. “We have not grown in this district since ‘09-10. We’ve actually been declining in enrollment and population size.”

Although faculty has criticized the survey and expressed concerns about the negative image it creates of the college and the lack of representation, the board  agreed that the survey had a positive impact on the college.

“I think this is one of the most exciting things I’ve seen a president do,” said Trustee Dr. Marianne Kugler. Trustee Dr. Peter Haslund added by calling it a “very useful exercise.”

Trustee Veronica Gallardo also praised the survey for bringing up issues that the college needs to focus on.

“I definitely appreciated the results,” she said. “It was a reminder that we need to address some serious goals.”

Student Trustee Emily Gribble was concerned about the lack of student representation in the survey. Though the survey was distributed amongst students, the response rate was not high.

“The main issue that’s been brought up to me by students is, ‘How much will this be referenced?’”

If this isn’t a representative sample, how can it still be used in making decisions that affect students, such as housing, she asked.

Beebe was adamant that this wouldn’t be referenced too extensively, and warned against giving surveys too much power in the decision-making process.

“This is really more of a temperature gauge than anything else,” Beebe said.

Correction: Oct. 18, 2016
An earlier version of this story attributed a quote said by Trustee Dr. Marianne Kugler to Trustee Dr. Peter Haslund. The quote, “I think this is one of the most exciting things I’ve seen a president do,” was said by Kugler and not Haslund. The Channels regrets this error.