A large majority of Wyoming residents say the University of Wyoming has a strong level of engagement with its communities and acts in ways that reflect Wyoming values, new survey results show.

Additionally, most Wyomingites say UW does an excellent or good job of providing strong undergraduate education, preparing graduates to participate in the state’s workforce and keeping tuition as low as possible, according to the biennial election-year survey conducted by the Wyoming Survey and Analysis Center at UW.

And 88% of survey respondents answered “extremely well” or “quite well” when asked how well UW appeals to Wyoming students and their families as a desirable place to attend college.

This year’s statewide survey was conducted Sept. 24-Oct. 27, yielding 739 responses from randomly selected Wyoming residents. The margin of error for the distribution of responses on any individual survey question is plus or minus 3.6 percentage points. Men and women from all age groups and all counties in Wyoming are proportionally represented in the survey data. The final survey data have been weighted to reflect the actual population distribution in Wyoming on gender, age, county of residence, party affiliation and education.

“During a time when higher education is increasingly perceived negatively nationwide, we’re delighted to see overall positive responses from the people of Wyoming about their university,” UW President Ed Seidel says. “We’re particularly pleased to see improvement in perceptions of UW’s engagement with the state’s communities, as we are working on a number of levels to enhance our connections with and service to the state.”

Asked to rate UW’s performance in engaging with their communities, 20% of respondents said “excellent” and 44% “good,” for a total of 64%. That compares with 15% “excellent” and 43% “good” in the 2022 survey, totaling 58%, meaning there has been a 6% increase in the past two years. The number of people responding “fair” or “poor” to the question fell from 42% in 2022 to 36% in 2024.

Earlier this year, UW’s efforts to connect with Wyoming communities were recognized nationally by the American Council on Education and the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, which selected the university as having met the criteria for the 2024 Carnegie Elective Classification for Community Engagement.

In response to this question — “Based on what you know about the University of Wyoming, how often does the university act in ways that reflect Wyoming values?” — 50% responded “most of the time” and 9% said “all of the time,” for a total of 59%. Just 9% responded “very little” or “never,” while 31% said they weren’t sure. The 2024 survey was the first time this question was asked.

In response to another new question — “Is higher education having a positive or negative effect on the way things are going in the country these days?” — 44% responded “positive” and 33% “negative,” with 22% seeing neither or no influence.

UW continues to receive particularly high marks for what it offers to students.

Asked to rate UW’s performance in “educating young people to participate in Wyoming’s workforce,” 23% said “excellent” and 46% “good” — 69% combined.

Twenty-five percent rated UW’s performance as excellent in “providing an excellent undergraduate education,” with 53% rating it good — 77% combined. Twenty-one percent responded “fair” and just 2% “poor.”

On the issue of how well UW educates young people to participate in Wyoming’s workforce, 23% rated UW’s performance as excellent and 46% as good — 69% combined.

Respondents were asked to rate UW’s performance — excellent, good, fair or poor — on several other issues.

In rating UW’s performance on the topic of “keeping tuition as low as possible,” 21% responded “excellent” and 40% “good” — 61% combined. Thirty-one percent said “fair” and 8% “poor.”

Regarding the university’s efforts to maintain a safe campus for students, employees and visitors, 30% rated the performance as excellent and 53% as good — 83% combined.

-- When it comes to “being responsive to the needs of the state and its citizens,” 14% responded “excellent” and 49% “good,” for a total of 63%. Some 30% said “fair” and 7% “poor.”

Biennial surveys of Wyoming residents are conducted by UW’s School of Politics, Public Affairs and International Studies in partnership with the Wyoming Survey and Analysis Center. The questions focus on attitudes toward government, elected officials, candidates for office and contemporary policy issues. Questions regarding the survey can be directed to WyOpinion@uwyo.edu.

A random sample of all cellular and land-line telephones was generated for the UW survey. Selected respondents were contacted via email, mail and phone to complete the survey, with 59% of responses on the web and the remaining 41% via live-interviewer telephone (92% cellular).

“This approach to the survey methodology gives every person in Wyoming with a phone an equal probability of selection for the survey,” says Brian Harnisch, director of the Wyoming Survey and Analysis Center. “Survey respondents accurately reflect the statewide population in terms of general demographic characteristics that include age, gender and county of residence, as well as other benchmarks such as party affiliation and educational attainment.”