SGA Iegs Report of Findings

The Johns Hopkins University114th Student Government Association

Internal Effectiveness and Governance Survey (IEGS)

Report of Findings

Outline of Report

Outline of Report 2

Data Visualization 3

Overall Scores 3

Categorical Means 3

Categorical Breakdowns 4

Areas of Greatest Concern: 7

Themes of Insufficiency: 8

1. Senators want clearer strategic direction as a group 8

2. Visibility into work is insufficient 9

3. Judiciary has a visibility problem 10

4. New members need better onboarding 11

5. Meetings are inefficient 12

6. Members want more meaningful work 13

Attendance Policy Findings 14

Providing Additional Support to Senators 15

Conclusion 16

Data Visualization

Overall Scores

Categorical Means

Categorical Breakdowns

Areas of Greatest Concern:

Themes of Insufficiency:

1. 1. Senators want clearer strategic direction as a group

Survey Results:The most common theme across open-ended responses was a desire for a stronger understanding of what SGA is working toward as an institution. Feedback from Senators:

• Need for senators to be briefed on Executive priorities and organizational goals so that members can discuss them with constituents and contribute additional perspectives.
• “Group direction” is the greatest internal need of the Senate and this senator noted a feeling of directionlessness when first entering SGA. Suggested more collective collaboration and initiative development.
• Organization and structure within the senate as the greatest priority.
• Increased goal alignment and collaboration among senators

Actions Taken and Recommendation:The Executive Board has presented their vision for the 2026-2027 administration. This presentation is the initial viewpoint, and the executive board will continue to identify priorities for SGA and via cabinet reports during GBM and other presentations, will keep senators and students updated on:

• Strategic priorities
• Major ongoing initiatives
• Advocacy campaigns
• Institutional objectives
• Progress toward major goals

The upcoming execution of the three-pillar vision will likely address many of the concerns expressed in the survey, which was reflective of the SGA under President Yu’s leadership.

2. 2. Visibility into work is insufficient

Survey Results:Many senators reported uncertainty regarding what committees are doing, what other senators are working on, executive efforts, administrative engagement, and especially on judiciary activities. Feedback from senators:

• Requested a shared calendar of administrator engagements and advocacy activities.
• Suggested creating shared records of senator-admin interactions and resources
• Expressed desire for systems that allow senators to better understand each other’s ongoing projects and initiatives.
• Cited the need for better communication regarding Senate initiatives and ongoing work.
• Recommended regular inter-committee updates and shared progress reports.

Actions Taken and Recommendation:The executive board has commissioned a final year computer science student to develop an Internal Management System for SGA that will include:

• Initiative tracking
• Shared administrator engagement tracker
• Centralized project database
• Other features as requested during the pilot launch of the platform

3. 3. Judiciary has a visibility problem

Survey Results:The Judiciary emerged as the single least-understood part of the SGA. Respondents rated: “Understand the Judiciary” at 3.31 and “Belief that the Judiciary is effective” at 3.29. This is less reflective of the Judiciary as a branch, and more so about visibility. The quantitative finding was qualitatively reinforced in the open-ended feedback portion:

• Expressed curiosity regarding what the Judiciary actually does and how its work differs from that of senators and executive leadership.
• Requested ongoing updates regarding Judiciary activities rather than just the single presentation at the beginning of the semester.
• Suggested a Judiciary presentation to improve understanding.

Actions Taken and Recommendation:The executive board has already started working with the judiciary more closely to make full use of all three branches of the SGA. We will also recommend the Judiciary interacts with the rest of SGA more often, and provides frequent updates and insights into:

• Constitutional interpretation
• Election oversight
• CSE Functions
• Case responsibilities
• Recent accomplishments and activities
• Decision-making authority.

Most importantly, members need to understand why the Judiciary exists and how it affects Senate operations.

4. 4. New members need better onboarding

Survey Results:Several respondents described entering SGA without sufficient guidance regarding expectations, opportunities, or organizational structure. Senator feedback:

• Freshman senators largely had to “figure things out on our own” and would benefit from structured onboarding.
• Similarly noted feeling directionless during initial months in SGA.
• Discussed a divide between highly active and less-active senators and suggested additional structures that could encourage initiative and engagement.
• Noted that she did not receive governing documents until well into her service despite finding them extremely useful once received.

Actions Taken and Recommendation:President Sumi has already reorganized the google drive, and Vice President Patel has worked on placing the necessary documents in their appropriate folders. The executive board will develop a structured onboarding system administered by the Student Body Vice President and the President of the Senate, including:

• Standardized orientation curricula for all new senators
• Senator workflow flow chart
• A mentorship program, revitalized from previously
• Governance and guiding document training
• 30/60/90-day expectations and recommendations for new senators.

5. 5. Meetings are inefficient

Survey Results:This was one of the most repeated concerns that senators had. Members repeatedly noted:

• Lengthy meetings
• Bloated agendas
• Excessive discussion with repetition
• Time spent on low-priority matters.

Specifically, members gave the following feedback:

• One simply stated meetings need to be more concise.
• Senate agendas often become too bloated and lengthy
• Identified time management during GBM as a major need.
• Suggested making GBMs more direct and reducing time spent on minor issues.
• Expressed concern that bills towards the end of the meeting are processed too quickly without enough opportunity for deliberation.

Actions Taken and Recommendation:Survey results indicate a problem not with meeting length, but with meeting design. The executive board and Internal Affairs committee will look into, or have already started looking into:

• Agenda reform overall, possibly workshopping during cohort time to solicit more feedback.
• Structured deliberation and more intentional “cutting-off” or encouraging yielding time if a point has been made.
• Consent agendas for low-priority bills or actions that need to be taken.
• Committee-level discussion before floor debate on high-priority issues.
• Written solicitation of feedback rather than whole-body comment.

6. 6. Members want more meaningful work

Survey Results:Several responses suggested that some senators struggle to identify meaningful ways to contribute, and thus feel left behind or dissatisfied. Senator feedback:

• Questioned whether certain committees rely too heavily on tabling while lacking larger strategic projects.
• Noted that leadership could improve delegation to provide more opportunities for rank-and-file committee members.
• Suggested delegation of more substantive work to committee members.
• Discussed challenges associated with assigning meaningful member-level responsibilities while still maintaining ownership and initiative development.

Action Items and Recommendations:The executive board has already committed to working more closely with committee leadership. This includes more regular meetings between committee chairs, and also monthly committee health reviews via written reports submitted to the President of the Senate, Executive President, and Executive Vice President. Additionally, committee leadership should have a small training conference to address all concerns, and key themes should include:

• Delegation
• Project ownership
• Member development
• Succession planning
• Creating engagement opportunities

Attendance Policy Findings

Members were polled on their understanding of attendance policies, as well as belief in fairness.

• “Understanding attendance policies” was rated at 4.31
• “Attendance policies are fair” was rated at 4.21
• “Attendance policies are consistently applied” was rated at 3.54

Importantly, senators generally understand the rules and believe that they are fair. The issue appears to be consistency of enforcement rather than the policies themselves. Additionally, responses regarding policy severity varied significantly:

• 21 Senators (70%) believed attendance policies are fair
• 5 Senators (16.67%) believed attendance policies are too harsh.
• 1 Senator (3.33%) believed attendance policies are too lenient.
• 3 Senators (10%) did not believe they had adequate understanding of attendance policies to provide reasonable judgement on the question.

Thus, it appears attendance is widely considered fair, but inconsistently applied.

Providing Additional Support to Senators

Based on overall survey scores and qualitative feedback, several individuals appear either less engaged or less satisfied than Senate averages. Their names will not be mentioned in this public report, however, the Executive Vice President and/or President of the Senate will check in with these individuals. Additionally, its noted that first-term senators are in need of more guidance and could benefit from more frequent check-ins. Vice President Patel will ensure he checks in with every new senator (from this point onwards) within the first month of their term and provides relevant resources and guidance.

Conclusion

The survey does not indicate a Senate suffering from interpersonal issues, dissatisfaction with leadership accessibility, or toxic organizational culture. In fact, most respondents express confidence in leadership and satisfaction with their SGA experience. Instead, the dominant message from the survey is that senators want greater clarity, visibility, effectiveness, and impact. Members largely believe in the organization and its leadership. They simply want a clearer understanding of where SGA is going, how decisions are made, what everyone is working on, and how their efforts contribute to meaningful outcomes for students. That is a significantly better problem to have than widespread dissatisfaction, and it provides a clear roadmap for both retreat planning and long-term organizational development.