Written by Mattie Powers \/\/ Graphic by Cooper Turman <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Chartwells, Harding University\u2019s food service company, decided to hold focus groups this week to get feedback on campus dining services, aiming to improve the experiences of students, faculty and staff.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
An email was sent out March 21 asking for participation in their focus group sessions by applying online. The sessions took place March 29-30 at various times throughout both days. Spots were limited. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The focus group sessions included campus residents, faculty, staff and commuters. As an incentive to partake in the focus groups, participants were given 25 dining dollars and a free meal at the session.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Taylor Grant, a marketing manager at Chartwells and one of the coordinators of the focus groups, is seeking to have discussions that go beyond the limits of a survey.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt just gives us a good opportunity to sit down with students and faculty and staff as we do lots of surveys throughout the year, but a lot of times the results are very vague,\u201d Grant said. \u201cIt’s just, \u2018Better food, better quality,\u2019 but that doesn’t really give us a whole lot to go off of. So having these focus groups lets us sit down one-on-one and be like, \u2018Okay, what is better food for you,\u2019 because what I consider maybe better may not be something that our students, our staff consider.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This is not the first time Chartwells has organized focus group sessions for feedback as they held similar sessions the last two years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Many students signed up for this year\u2019s event, including freshman Reagan Marks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI\u2019m looking forward to watching what some people say turn into something positive for future students,\u201d Marks said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Another student who applied to be a part of a focus group session was sophomore Alyson Voigt, who believes the discussion can make a difference in Harding\u2019s dining experiences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI think if they take our advice, then it will [make a difference], \u2018cause if it just is a meeting, and they don’t act on it, then it won’t,\u201d Voigt said. \u201cBut I think if it does, then it’ll help.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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