A recent campuswide survey at Georgia Gwinnett College (GGC) is sending a clear message: students want fewer emails — and better ones.
Conducted March 2-23, 2026, the Student Communications Survey gathered 1,188 responses and was one of the key tactics established by the National Institute for Student Success Student (NISS) Communications Committee. As part of GGC’s engagement with NISS, student communications were identified as one of four institutional challenges affecting student understanding, engagement and progression.
The results offer a detailed look at how students receive and engage with college communications. While overall satisfaction remains relatively strong, the findings point to a growing disconnect between the volume of messages sent and their usefulness to students.
Too many emails, not enough impact
The most consistent theme across the survey is email overload. Nearly three-quarters of respondents said they receive “a few too many” or “too many” communications. Students described their inboxes as cluttered with repetitive or nonessential messages, making it harder to identify what they say matters to them.
Several respondents noted that important updates — like registration deadlines or financial aid notices — can get lost in the volume.
“I repeatedly get a lot of emails for the same events or organizations I am not interested in,” one student wrote. Others echoed the need to reduce duplication and combine messages into fewer, more meaningful communications.
Relevance matters
While most students rated communications as at least “somewhat relevant,” nearly one-third said messages were only slightly relevant or not relevant at all. Students expressed frustration with receiving information that does not align with their major, class standing or interests.
“I receive a lot of irrelevant emails for other programs,” one respondent shared. Another added, “As a senior, I am getting emails that are not useful for my stage of college.”
Students are asking for more personalized, targeted messaging that reflects their academic journey and campus involvement.
Call for prioritization
Students also emphasized the need for clearer prioritization. Many said important messages should be clearly labeled or flagged so they stand out in crowded inboxes.
“Please mark important emails as top priority,” one student suggested, while another recommended sending reminders for critical deadlines through multiple channels.
The feedback points to a desire for a communication system that distinguishes between urgent, time-sensitive information and general updates.
Centralized events calendar in demand
Another major takeaway: students want a single, easy-to-use hub for campus events.
Currently, events are shared across multiple platforms — email, social media, student organizations and third-party apps — making it difficult to keep track. Students expressed strong interest in a centralized events calendar or weekly digest that consolidates everything in one place.
“If all events could be gathered into one weekly email or an ‘Upcoming Events’ page, it would be far easier to plan,” one student noted.
Balancing channels
While email remains the primary communication channel, students indicated interest in more strategic use of other platforms, especially text messaging and learning management systems for urgent or high-priority updates.
At the same time, many cautioned against overusing texts, suggesting they be reserved for critical information only.
What’s working
Despite the concerns, students generally view communications as clear and easy to understand, with nearly nine in 10 rating them as “very clear” or “mostly clear.” Many respondents also expressed appreciation for the effort to keep students informed and engaged.
The bottom line
Students are not asking for more communication — they are asking for better communication.
The survey underscores a need to shift from high-volume messaging to a more thoughtful, student-centered approach: fewer emails, more relevance, clearer priorities and easier access to information.
As one student summed it up: “Combine related updates, reduce duplicates and make important information stand out. That would make everything easier to manage.”