The results are in

If you attended class on Wednesday, January 27, 2010 at 10 am then you were more than likely a participant in the Noel Levitz student satisfaction inventory. It was a 100 question survey given to a random sample of students to gauge the strengths and weaknesses here at Independence Community College. The information from the survey was gathered by Ms. Debbie Phelps, Director of Institutional Effectiveness and Retention, and submitted for tallying by Noel Levitz. The purpose of the survey is to help close the gaps between how important a particular department is to students on campus and the level of student satisfaction with that department.

Results

Among the 193 students that were surveyed, 177 identified themselves as full time students. 52 percent of the students surveyed acknowledged that ICC was their first choice college. The male population here at ICC added up to 111 and the women only 76. This was a crucial demographic due to the fact that when it comes to college expectations, men are harder to please than women. Another important factor in the survey was that 122 students are in their first year or less. Students who attend college for the first time typically have high expectations, especially when deciding to live on campus away from home. Ninety students declared that their goal is to obtain an associate degree while 70 intend to transfer to a four year institution. This particular demographic shows that a majority of students at ICC are taking their education very seriously.

It seems with all the statistics gathered from the demographic portion of the survey ICC would have a horde of dissatisfied students. Surprisingly, 44 percent of students answered that their college experience has met their expectations compared to 39 percent in 2008. When asked to rank their overall college experience so far 29 percent of the students surveyed gave ICC a satisfied rating, up from 22 percent in 2008. And all in all, if students had the opportunity to go back in time to register and enroll, 30 percent of those surveyed said they would go with ICC again, a number 7 percent higher than in 2008. According to the survey results, there were ten top items that were ranked by importance to the students. The top three items on that list are that classes are scheduled at convenient times for students, adequate financial aid is available and that faculty is available after class and during office hours. The biggest gap between importance and student satisfaction is in the area of admissions and financial aid while the department of academic services has the smallest gap.

ICC has many strengths according to the survey including being able to register for classes with few conflicts, having approachable academic advisors, and being able to receive tutoring assistance. Some challenges for ICC to overcome include faculty providing timely feedback about student progress in a course, having adequate services to help students decide on a career, and the announcement of financial aid awards. When put side by side to community colleges across the nation, students at ICC have a higher satisfaction with their academic advisors and class schedule. Students have lower satisfaction when it comes to the variety of courses offered on campus. “Overall, students here at ICC are more satisfied when compared to previous surveys”, said Phelps. “Given the demographics and obstacles facing ICC, I think we did very well.” It is important for ICC faculty and staff to keep up their strengths and work on the weaknesses so that students and staff can enjoy attending and working at ICC while at the same time enjoying the campus and all it has to offer at its full potential.

 
By Andrew Mitchell
Buccaneer staff writer