Through the Institute for Citizens & Scholars, Fairmont State University has received $2,300 to increase student participation in a campuswide immersion survey, which helps the university assess students’ understanding of civic discourse, misinformation and collaborative problem-solving. This grant was obtained with the assistance of Fairmont State’s Office of Sponsored Programs.
Funds will be used to incentivize student responses, which will ensure more representative data. The project will be led by Dr. Samantha Godbey, director of the Civics Institute. Godbey will work with Dr. Lindsey Guinn, executive director of Institutional Research, to deploy the survey and analyze the results. With the results, Godbey and Guinn will be able to identify areas for improvement in civic learning programming and guide implementation adjustments for the next academic year.
“We are excited about this initiative and hope the CWI survey will give us clear, data-driven insight into our students’ civic learning, media literacy, and ability to work collaboratively so we can better align programming, curriculum, and dialogue initiatives with actual campus needs,” Godbey said. “Because the grant will allow us to purchase survey incentives, we believe it will significantly increase student participation rates, ensuring we collect more representative and meaningful data to inform our civic engagement, media literacy, and collaborative learning initiatives.”
The Institute for Citizens & Scholars aims to create spaces where young people can practice three essential civic skills: having productive conversations, using credible information and collaborating to create solutions. The Institute for Citizens & Scholars ultimately encourages youth to turn their ideas into real impact. The CWI grant seeks to assist institutions of higher education to build incentives into campuswide surveys with the goal of improving response rates and supporting institutional research staff as they deploy the survey and analyze the results.
Godbey released the survey to students in March 2026. Once analyzed, the survey results will be used to ensure that workshops, lectures and other events at Fairmont State are as relevant and as valuable as possible for the students in the campus community.
Fairmont State University is A Great Place to Learn, to Work and to Call Home. The 120-acre main campus sits on a hillside in Fairmont, West Virginia, the county seat of Marion County. The university turns opportunity, passion and hard work into excellence in a vibrant, close-knit campus community. Students enjoy the opportunities offered by a comprehensive state university combined with the personal attention and campus atmosphere expected from a small, private school.
Learn more about Fairmont State University by visiting fairmontstate.edu.
