Summary of Results
The Lift Readership Survey was administered electronically in partnership with the Council for Advancement and Support of Education. It was distributed from April 14, 2016 to May 14, 2016. The survey was sent to all current Lift (print edition) recipients who have active email addresses in the Embry-Riddle alumni database. Below is a summary of the most pertinent results. Download/view all of the quantitative results here. Thank you to all of our readers who participated in this effort.
Respondents: 2,431
Sample: n = 30,803
Response rate: 7.9 percent
How do respondents acquire information about their school?
42 percent acquire most to all of their information about Embry-Riddle from Lift;
52.4 percent acquire most to all of their information about Embry-Riddle from email communications;
33.7 percent acquire most to all of their information about Embry-Riddle from the school website;
17.1 percent acquire most to all of their information about Embry-Riddle from Facebook;
3.4 percent acquire most to all of their information about Embry-Riddle from Twitter;
6.8 percent acquire most to all of their information about Embry-Riddle from other institutional publications;
7.2 percent acquire most to all of their information about Embry-Riddle from local or national media;
22.7 percent acquire most to all of their information about Embry-Riddle from word of mouth/other alumni;
6.1 percent acquire most to all of their information about Embry-Riddle from other sources.
How often do respondents read Lift?
74 percent read most to every issue of Lift.
How much of Lift do respondents read?
61.8 percent read most to all of Lift.
How long do respondents keep Lift?
70.5 percent keep their issue of Lift for up to or more than one month.
How much total time do respondents spend with Lift?
54.6 percent spend 30 minutes or more with each issue of Lift. Of these, 14.2 percent spend 60 minutes or more with each issue.
Reading preferences
Reading preferences
58 percent prefer to read Lift in print;
14.8 percent prefer to read Lift online and/or on their mobile devices;
27.2 percent prefer to read Lift both in print and online/mobile.
Top subjects of interest in Lift
Academics and Intellectual Life
22 percent of respondents are very interested in student research/academic experiences, with an additional 42.8 percent interested (64.8 percent interested to very interested);
17.3 percent of respondents are very interested in faculty research, with an additional 41.1 percent interested (58.4 percent interested to very interested);
Of least interest in this category is: faculty selection, promotion and retirements (21 percent not interested); and faculty awards and achievements (18.7 percent not interested).
Campus Life
18.4 percent of respondents were very interested in student achievements with an additional 40.4 percent interested (58.8 percent interested to very interested);
12.5 percent were very interested in visiting speakers, with an additional 37.3 percent interested (49.8 percent interested to very interested).
Student issues and opinions and campus controversies also ranked high among reader interest, with 47.4 percent interested to very interested in campus controversies; and 48 percent interested to very interested in student issues and opinions.
Of least interest in this category is: athletics (21.7 percent not interested) and individual student profiles (21.0 percent not interested).
Alumni Life and Activities
29.8 percent of respondents are very interested in alumni in their professions, with an additional 44 percent interested in this area (73.8 percent interested to very interested);
24 percent are very interested in alumni chapter activities/regional programming, with an additional 39 percent interested in this area (63 percent interested to very interested);
16.9 percent are very interested in individual alumni profiles, with an additional 37.6 percent interested (54.5 percent interested to very interested).
Of least interest to readers is alumni in their personal lives (19.7 percent not interested); obituaries (16.8 percent not interested); and class notes (16 percent not interested).
Institutional Affairs
Institutional history and traditions at Embry-Riddle are the most popular among readers in this category, with 25.6 percent very interested and 41.5 percent interested (67.1 percent interested to very interested).
Campus facilities and growth is also popular, with 24.5 percent very interested and 43.7 percent interested (68.2 percent interested to very interested).
Of least interest in this category are stories about donors (26.3 percent not interested); stories about admissions policies and results (20.7 percent not interested); fundraising efforts (19.7 percent not interested); staff selection, promotion or retirements (18.5 percent not interested); and commencement convocations or ceremonies (17 percent not interested).
General Interest
36 percent of readers are very interested in science, technology and engineering topics, with an additional 41.4 percent interested (77.4 percent interested to very interested);
25 percent of readers are very interested in business and industry, with an additional 42.2 percent interested (67.2 percent interested to very interested);
20.1 percent of readers are very interested in global/international issues, with an additional 36.9 percent interested (57 percent interested to very interested in this topic).
Of least interest to readers in this category is religion/faith-based issues (40.5 percent not interested); followed by health and healthcare (29.2 percent not interested).
Quality
Quality
Lift readers rated the magazine high overall in quality, with 41.5 percent praising the cover as excellent (84.3 good to excellent); 39 percent ranking the photography as excellent (82.9 good to excellent); and 30.7 percent rating ease of reading as excellent (80.4 good to excellent).
75.9 percent rated the content as good to excellent; 78.6 percent rated the layout and design as good to excellent; and 77 percent rated the writing as good to excellent. Less than 1 percent of respondents ranked the quality of the magazine in any category as poor.
Connection with Alma Mater
19.7 percent of respondents strongly agree that Lift strengthens their personal connection to the institution. Another 59.6 percent agree with this statement.
73.2 percent of respondents said the magazine reminds them of their experience at the institution; and 52.7 percent said the magazine provides useful career and networking information.
Only 134 respondents indicated Lift does not enhance their connection to Embry-Riddle. Reasons cited were that that magazine does not reflect their personal experience at the institution (81 respondents); the magazine is primarily a fundraising tool (60 respondents); the magazine does not address topics of interest to me (58 individuals); and the magazine is not an objective source of information about the institution (44 individuals).
Actions taken as a result of reading Lift
41.7 percent of respondents have saved an article or issue of Lift; 37.5 percent have recommended the institution to a potential student or family member; 33.3 percent have discussed or forwarded an article or issue to a friend; and 32.6 have visited the magazine’s or the institution’s website.
Credible source of information
Lift earned high marks for credibility: 31.9 percent of respondents believe Lift consistently portrays the institution accurately and objectively or is generally accurate and objective (30.2 percent). Only 2.2 percent of readers believe Lift is not a good source of objective information.
Demographics
84.8 percent of respondents were alumni
6.2 percent were parents/relatives of an alumnus/student
6.6 percent were current students
9.2 percent were faculty/staff
2 percent were retired faculty/staff
1.2 percent attended but did not graduate
8.3 percent are donors
Age
3.9 percent are under 25
18.1 percent are 25-34
32 percent are 35-49
34.4 percent are 50-64
11.5 percent are 65 and older
Gender
19.6 percent are female
80.4 percent are male