The University of Toledo

On-campus residents soon will be asked to complete and return a U.S. census form that will impact The University of Toledo and the community for the next 10 years.

Forms will be hand-delivered to students during the week of March 22, and completed forms need to be returned to the front desks of their residence halls by Thursday, April 1.

The U.S. census is conducted every 10 years and is designed to produce an accurate count and location breakdown of the U.S. population. The data collected by census enumerators is used to apportion seats in the U.S. House of Representatives; determine how many Electoral College votes a state receives; and help federal and state governments and other organizations award research and grant funds.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the data is used to determine where to send upwards of $400 billion in federal funding for schools, roads, hospitals and job training centers.

“Getting an accurate count of our students on campus with the census is extremely important,” said Dr. Shanda Gore, assistant vice president for equity and diversity and U.S. census liaison. She added that this year the Census Bureau will not be including a margin of error in their results.

“Whatever our count is, that’s our count,” Gore said. “Each form represents a voice, and not returning the form hurts your ability to be heard. This data impacts the ability of researchers to have reliable census information and in some cases secure grant-funding opportunities. Services both on campus and in the surrounding community can also be adversely affected if we fail to demonstrate that populations that need these programs exist. Due to population counts, the census is even relied upon to help companies decide where to place grocery stores.”

Margarita De Leon, partnership specialist from the U.S. Census Bureau stationed in Toledo, said students shouldn’t need to worry about the census taking up too much study time.

“What’s great about the census this time around is it’s only 10 questions. You can easily fill it out in less than 10 minutes, and you’ll be impacting The University of Toledo and the city for 10 years,” De Leon said.

Hear more from De Leon about the importance of the 2010 census:

De Leon added that assistance will be available on campus for students or outside community members who need help completing or translating the form.

Questionnaire assistance will be available starting Friday, March 19, at the following locations and times:

Main Campus
International Student Services Office, Student Union Room 1533
Mondays, Tuesdays and Fridays
10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Health Science Campus
Hospital Lobby Information Desk (you will be directed to location)
Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays
10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

For more information about the 2010 census, visit 2010census.gov.

This entry was posted  on  Wednesday, March 17th, 2010 at  5:52 am and is filed under  News, UToday.
You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.  You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.