A survey is being conducted to assess the infrastructure and overall living quality of the campus’ academic buildings and residence halls at Southeast Missouri State University. Students can access the survey on the Southeast Portal.

The project, called the University Master Plan, has been in effect since the beginning of last summer. The university has partnered with the Lawrence Group, an architectural firm stationed in St. Louis, to assist in guiding the Master Plan. The Lawrence Group is responsible for several structural changes on campus, including the renovation of Academic Hall and Grauel Building, and the River Campus Dobbins Center.

The survey covers a broad variety of topics. Kathy Mangels, vice president for finance and administration, said the main focus of the survey will be on how the spaces of facilities suit the needs of those using them.

“They’re really trying to get at the feeling of how current spaces meet needs,” Mangels said. “Whether … I’m an employee and how does my work environment meet what we need to do as a department? From a student, if I’m living on campus, how does my living space meet my needs? And what are some suggestions that would enhance that?”

The focus of the survey will determine how the university will create a comfortable and safe learning environment for both students and faculty.

“We’re at a point in time as an institution, we’ve had a lot of growth,” Mangels said. “Now it’s time to where we need to kind of step back … and look at where we’re at and where we’re going and how we’re going to update our infrastructure to meet those goals.”

The survey is reaching out to collect input from students from all campuses and facilities of Southeast, including students from the Sikeston, Malden and Kennett, Missouri, campuses as well as the university farm. This will be a way for the university to extend its assessment to suit the needs and desires of various facility circumstances, from agriculture students wanting to discuss the university farm to residents wishing to improve the state of the residence halls. The survey is designed in a way that will cover as many perspectives of campus life as possible.

Once the survey is finished, the data will be collected and analyzed by the Lawrence Group, who will then finalize and submit the full University Master Plan as a guide for courses of action to be taken in the following months to improve the campus.

Consultants of the Lawrence Group will meet with campus leaders for further discussion in February.

Students wishing to participate in the Master Plan survey may find it in the Luminis Announcements in the Southeast Portal web page. The survey will close on Jan. 31.