Original Source: Cal Poly
Reporter: Cynthia Lambert
Date: March 5, 2026
Link: https://www.calpoly.edu/news/heard-heard-student-feedback-drives-change-cal-poly
The new Grocery Tripper shuttle service launched this January for Cal Poly students, providing a free ride to off-campus stores like Trader Joe’s and Target. It has been hugely popular, with full shuttles transporting 1,894 students off campus from Jan. 9 – Feb. 15.
The program is a partnership between Associated Students, Inc. (ASI) and Campus Health and Wellbeing’s Basic Needs, but another, possibly lesser-known Cal Poly program deserves some credit — a qualitative market research program called The HEARD.
The HEARD, within the Assessment and Research unit of Cal Poly’s Strategic Enrollment Management and Student Affairs division, launched in 2017 to amplify the student voice to campus leadership. Through student focus groups and surveys, The HEARD provides a platform for students to tell administrators how to improve the programs and services that impact their campus experience. The in-depth findings are a tool for student and administrative leaders to advocate for campus improvements.