October 14, 1997
Campus Partners contracted with Ohio State's Survey Research Unit to include questions regarding the neighborhoods around the Columbus campus in its 1997 OSU Poll. The poll was conducted by telephone March 4 through April 22, 1997, with separate questionnaires for faculty members, staff members, undergraduate students, and graduate students. The questions submitted by Campus Partners were asked only of the undergraduate student sample (301 students) and the graduate student sample (302 students).
Printed below are the questions which were asked of both student samples and the results. For more information on the data, contact Steve Sterrett, community relations director of Campus Partners, at (614) 294-7300.
Now, I would like to ask you a few questions about the neighborhoods and businesses around OSU. As you may know, the university is supporting a major effort to improve the quality of life in the neighborhoods near the university and along High Street.
CP1. On a scale from 0 to 10, with "0" being "very poor," "10" being excellent," and "5" being "average," how would you rate the appearance of the neighborhoods around the university?
The mean response for undergraduates was 4.27 and for graduate students was 3.79.
CP2. On a scale from 0 to 10, with "0" being "very poor," "10" being "excellent," and "5" being "average," how would you rate the businesses along High Street in meeting your shopping and entertainment needs?
The mean response for undergraduates was 5.35 and for graduate students was 4.17.
CP3. Assuming you were considering whether or not to rent an apartment or house in the neighborhoods around the university, please tell me how important each of the following factors would be in choosing to live in the university neighborhood.
Would you say that personal safety is "very important," somewhat important," "not too important," or "not at all important"?
| Undergrad | Graduate | |
| Very important | 78.4% | 86.4% |
| Somewhat important | 17.9 | 13.3 |
| Not too important | 3.3 | 0.3 |
| Not at all important | 0.3 | 0.0 |
| Uncertain | 0.0 | 1.3 |
CP4. The availability of parking at your residence?
| Undergrad | Graduate | |
| Very important | 63.5% | 75.2% |
| Somewhat important | 29.2 | 20.9 |
| Not too important | 5.0 | 2.3 |
| Not at all important | 1.7 | 1.3 |
| Uncertain | 0.7 | 0.3 |
CP5. The walking distance to the university?
| Undergrad | Graduate | |
| Very important | 37.9% | 30.5% |
| Somewhat important | 50.8 | 50.3 |
| Not too important | 10.3 | 14.6 |
| Not at all important | 1.0 | 4.6 |
| Uncertain | 0.0 | 0.7 |
CP6. The availability of businesses on High Street to meet your shopping and entertainment needs?
| Undergrad | Graduate | |
| Very important | 16.3% | 13.2% |
| Somewhat important | 46.8 | 42.4 |
| Not too important | 30.6 | 35.4 |
| Not at all important | 6.3 | 8.3 |
| Uncertain | 0.0 | 0.7 |
CP7. The quality of rental housing to choose from?
| Undergrad | Graduate | |
| Very important | 72.1% | 70.5% |
| Somewhat important | 25.2 | 26.2 |
| Not too important | 2.3 | 2.0 |
| Not at all important | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Uncertain | 0.3 | 1.3 |
CP8. Affordable monthly rent?
| Undergrad | Graduate | |
| Very important | 82.7% | 74.4% |
| Somewhat important | 14.6 | 22.6 |
| Not too important | 1.7 | 2.3 |
| Not at all important | 0.3 | 0.0 |
| Uncertain | 0.7 | 0.7 |
CP9. Cleanliness of the neighborhood?
| Undergrad | Graduate | |
| Very important | 49.2% | 59.6% |
| Somewhat important | 42.9 | 37.7 |
| Not too important | 7.0 | 2.6 |
| Not at all important | 0.7 | 0.0 |
| Uncertain | 0.3 | 0.0 |
CP10. Do you have a car or other motor vehicle in the local Columbus area?
| Undergrad | Graduate | |
| Yes | 65.1% | 92.4% |
| No | 34.9 | 7.6 |
Demographic information
Year of birth of respondents.
Undergraduates |
Graduates |
||
| Percent | Year of Birth | Percent | Year of Birth |
| 17.9 | 1978 | 0.7 | 1976 |
| 18.6 | 1977 | 2.0 | 1975 |
| 15.0 | 1976 | 7.0 | 1974 |
| 15.9 | 1975 | 10.6 | 1973 |
| 11.0 | 1974 | 11.9 | 1972 |
| 5.0 | 1974 | 10.9 | 1971 |
| 1.7 | 1972 | 11.3 | 1970 |
| 14.6 | 1971 or earlier | 6.3 | 1969 |
| 5.0 | 1968 | ||
| 3.0 | 1967 | ||
| 4.3 | 1966 | ||
| 3.3 | 1965 | ||
| 5.0 | 1964 | ||
| 18.9 | 1963 or earlier | ||
Race of respondents.
| Undergrad | Graduate | |
| American Indian | 0.7% | 0.3% |
| Asian | 3.7 | 11.3 |
| Pacific Islander | 0.0 | 0.3 |
| White | 74.0 | 70.5 |
| African-American | 7.0 | 2.6 |
| Black | 3.7 | 3.0 |
| Hispanic | 1.3 | 0.7 |
| Other | 8.7 | 9.9 |
| Refused | 0.7 | 1.3 |
Ever been married?
| Undergrad | Graduate | |
| Yes | 10.4% | 40.2% |
| No | 89.2 | 59.5 |
| Cohabitating | 0.3 | 0.3 |
Of those who have been married, what is your current marital status?
| Undergrad | Graduate | |
| Married | 80.6% | 86.9% |
| Divorced | 16.1 | 10.7 |
| Widowed | 3.2 | 0.8 |
| Cohabitating | 0.0 | 0.8 |
Class standing as of winter quarter 1997.
| Undergrad | Graduate | ||
| Freshman | 25.9% | Senior | 1.7% |
| Sophomore | 21.2 | Masters | 36.8 |
| Junior | 20.9 | Ph.D. | 28.1 |
| Senior | 30.2 | Professional | 33.4 |
| Masters | 0.3 | ||
| Professional | 0.7 |
Type of student residence.
| Undergrad | Graduate | |
| Residence hall | 40.1% | 2.0% |
| Married housing | 0.3 | 2.0 |
| Off-campus apartment | 33.4 | 53.6 |
| Other off-campus | 26.1 | 42.4 |
1996 Pre-tax household income.
For undergraduates, 39.3 percent reported $10,000 or less in 1996 pre-tax household income, while for graduate students the percentage was 25.2 percent. Please note that both undergraduates and graduate students were asked the same question: "Was (your)(your family's) total household income from all sources, before taxes for 1996…more than $10,000? More than $20,000? More than $30,000? More than $40,000? More than $50,000? More than $60,000? More than $75,000? More than $100,000? More than $150,000?" An uncertainty is whether the question clearly delineated in a dependent student's mind whether to respond in terms of his or her own income or his or her family's income. Erik Stewart of OSU Poll reports that "the question was developed and asked in such a manner that the student's family's income was the focus. In some cases (students independent of their parents and/or "non-traditional" students) this consisted of the student themselves and/or their own primary family (wife and possibly children) and in some, if not most cases, it was the student and their parents/siblings."
Citizen status.
| Undergrad | Graduate | |
| U.S. citizen | 92.3% | 85.1% |
| Non-citizen resident | 3.3 | 4.0 |
| International student | 4.3 | 10.9 |
Gender.
| Undergrad | Graduate | |
| Female | 44.4% | 48.3% |
| Male | 55.6% | 51.7% |
Zip codes.
Each respondent was asked to report his or her zip code while attending Ohio State. The following zip codes are listed in the order of being reported by undergraduates. (The poll included 301 undergraduates and 302 graduate students, but enrollment on the Columbus campus is about 35,000 undergraduates and about 13,000 graduate and professional students.)
| Undergrad | Graduate | |
| 43210 | 116 | 14 |
| 43201 | 89 | 72 |
| 43202 | 19 | 30 |
| 43215 | 6 | 11 |
| 43235 | 6 | 12 |
| 43214 | 5 | 17 |
| 43081 | 5 | 5 |
| 43212 | 4 | 26 |
| 43085 | 3 | 5 |
| 43123 | 3 | 3 |
| 43213 | 3 | 0 |
| Uncertain | 3 | 0 |
| 43229 | 2 | 12 |
| 43017 | 2 | 5 |
| 43206 | 1 | 7 |
| 43026 | 1 | 7 |
| 43221 | 0 | 12 |
| All others | 27 | 41 |
| TOTAL | 301 | 302 |
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