UIS Survey: Sangamon County citizens report better health than two years ago

The 2015 Sangamon County Citizen Survey, a collaborative project between the University of Illinois Springfield’s Center for State Policy and Leadership, the United Way of Central Illinois, and the Community Foundation for the Land of Lincoln, shows ninety-six percent of respondents report having health insurance. That is an increase of almost seven percentage points from the 2013 survey.

The telephone survey of landline and cell phone numbers is conducted every two years in order to assess the quality of life in Sangamon County. The survey included several questions examining the health of residents. On all health measures, the respondents report better health outcomes than they did two years.

In addition to a higher percentage of residents reporting being covered by some form of health insurance, the percent of individuals who report having poor physical or mental health has also decreased.

“The 2015 survey also found an increase in the number of residents who report having a primary care provider. Having access to health insurance and primary care could easily translate into a decrease in the number of poor health days, as demonstrated in the survey results,” said Ashley Kirzinger, director of the UIS Survey Research Office.

The survey is representative of Sangamon County, Illinois and the data was weighted for probability sampling and to match the most recent population estimates as provided by the U.S. Census Bureau. The results are based on 576 completed interviews with 68% of the interviews completed on cell phones. The overall response rate for the survey is 13.2%, the cooperation rate is 23.2%, and the margin of error is +/- 4.08 percentage points.

The survey covers nine topical areas including education, economy, culture and recreation, public safety, social well-being, government and civic participation, health, infrastructure, and the environment.

For more information on the survey, contact Ashley Kirzinger, director of the UIS Survey Research Office, at 217/206-7956 or akirz2@uis.edu.

The full survey is available at http://go.uis.edu/citizen. 

New UIS freshmen make connections during orientation

The University of Illinois Springfield is welcoming hundreds of new students to campus during Freshman Orientation in June and July. A total of five different orientation sessions are planned.

The two-day overnight orientation session helps students understand UIS academic expectations and major requirements, allow them to meet with an advisor and registering for classes.

“We hope they’ll fill comfortable having their schedule, having their id card, having made several friends, getting to know some of our current students (our orientation team members) and some of the faculty and staff,” said Lisa McGuire, UIS director of new student orientation and parent relations.

For students it’s also about getting to know their classmates. Incoming student Ashlee Knapik has already started to make friends.

“It’s been really great getting to meet a lot of the people I’m going to be seeing around here for the next four years of my life, especially the girls I’ve met. I’ve already made a lot of bonds,” she said.

Other students, such as Kiana Davis, are a little nervous about moving away from home for the first time.

“It’s a little overwhelming, but (orientation is) helpful and I’m getting more comfortable with the campus,” said Davis.

Student Orientation Coordinators Katie Selway and Duane Willingham try to reassure new students that they will find a place to fit in at UIS.

“They’ll be plugged into something on campus and there’s ways to get those jitters to go away,” said Willingham.

Orientation leaders hope the new students leave UIS with all of their questions answered and ready for their first day on campus.

Biannual UIS survey shows support for downtown Springfield growth

The 2015 Sangamon County Citizen Survey, a collaborative project between the University of Illinois Springfield’s Center for State Policy and Leadership, the United Way of Central Illinois, and the Community Foundation for the Land of Lincoln, shows strong support for growing downtown Springfield among Sangamon County residents.

The phone survey, which is conducted every two years in order to assess quality of life in Sangamon County, asked residents “How important, if at all, do you thinking growing downtown Springfield is to Sangamon County?” Nearly half of respondents report that it is “very important,” (47%), with an additional 39% reporting that it is “somewhat important.” In addition, African-American residents are slightly more favorable in their responses with 68% reporting that growing downtown Springfield is “very important.”

“What is especially interesting is that this year’s survey indicates more support for growing downtown Springfield among Sangamon County residents than the survey did in 2013,” said Ashley Kirzinger, director of the UIS Survey Research Office. “Both surveys found a majority of residents think growing downtown Springfield is important to Sangamon County, but the 2015 survey has a five percentage point increase from 81% to 86% of residents reporting this.”

The 2015 Sangamon County Citizen Survey is a telephone survey of landline and cell phone numbers in Sangamon County. The survey is representative of Sangamon County, Illinois and the data was weighted for probability sampling and to match the most recent population estimates as provided by the U.S. Census Bureau. The results are based on 576 completed interviews with 68% of the interviews completed on cell phones. The overall response rate for the survey is 13.2%, the cooperation rate is 23.2%, and the margin of error is +/- 4.08 percentage points.

The survey covers nine topical areas including education, economy, culture and recreation, public safety, social well-being, government and civic participation, health, infrastructure, and the environment.

For more information on the survey, contact Ashley Kirzinger, director of the UIS Survey Research Office, at 217/206-7956 or akirz2@uis.edu.

The full survey is available at http://go.uis.edu/citizen.  

UIS releases list of 2015 graduates

The University of Illinois Springfield celebrated the graduation of 1,606 bachelor's, master's and doctoral students on Saturday, May 16 during the 44th annual Commencement Ceremony.

See a printable list of graduates' names and degrees listed by the city of residence on file with UIS Records and Registration at the time of graduation.

PDF: Download the full graduate list

For photos, video and more from Commencement 2015 visit www.uis.edu/commencement.