EWU Transfer Needs Assessment Survey Results

Transcription

1 SURVEY INTRODUCTION AND METHODOLOGY The Eastern Washington University Transfer Needs Assessment Web Survey was administered via in May of This Survey was sent to the total population of EWU transfer students who were enrolled in at least one of the following quarters: fall, winter or spring of Of the 1,483 students invited to participate, 242 completed the assessment, resulting in a 16% response rate. The questions asked included: the student s current class standing, the level of awareness of student services, interest in on campus housing, transfer student orientation attendance and students satisfaction with various student services. Student perceptions were encouraged in four open-ended questions (see appendix A). DEMOGRAPHICS OF RESPONDENTS (Self-Reported) 63% female, 36% male (note: less than 1% Other) 72% Caucasian, 8% Hispanic, 6% Multi-Racial, 5% Asian, 5% Declined to State, 2% African American and 2% American Indian/Alaska Native 84% junior, 9% sophomore and 8% senior class standing AWARENESS OF SERVICES AND ORIENTATION ATTENDANCE Seventy-four percent of students surveyed did not participate in EWU s transfer student orientation. The data shows that students who attended the transfer student orientation were more aware of EWU services (see chart below). Hnewell: Office of Institutional Research, Demography & Assessment Page 1

2 The percentages of awareness for all students were highest in Advising and Student Online Academic Review (SOAR). 84% Advising 56% Student Online Academic Review (SOAR) 47% Student Activities 45% Student tutoring 27% Learning Commons 26% Learning Community in residence halls 23% Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) FINDINGS Transfer Student Housing Non-Interest-Over seventy percent (N=160) of respondents selected that they had no interest in on-campus housing with other transfer students. The most commonly expressed reason stemmed from student s already having an established residence off-campus. Other reasons consisted of: family obligations, personal preferences and financial reasons (see appendix: A). Interest-Of the twenty-nine percent (N=66) of students who showed interest in transfer student housing, 91% were in junior class standing. Many students expressed that meeting new friends and other transfer students were the primary reasons they held interest in transfer student housing (see appendix: A). SATISFACTION Satisfaction with EWU Services Students were asked for their levels of satisfaction in seven areas: Advising, Transfer Credits, Relationships with faculty, Campus activities (clubs, intramurals, etc.), Career advising, Records and Registration and Financial Aid. Levels of satisfaction were measured using the scale: Very Satisfied, Satisfied, Neutral, Unsatisfied, *Very Unsatisfied and No Opinion. Below are highlights of the results along with a table containing percentages for all questions (see satisfaction table & note: Page 6). Percent Satisfied/Very Satisfied Of the seven student service areas, relationships with faculty and Financial Aid were rated the highest in level of satisfaction by the students. Transfer Credits, Advising, Records and Registration were rated equally in level of satisfaction. 69% Relationships with faculty 61% Financial Aid 58% Transfer Credits, Advising, Records and Registration Hnewell: Office of Institutional Research, Demography & Assessment Page 2

3 Neutral/No Opinion Career Advising and Campus Activities had a high percentage of students responding with Neutral/No Opinion. Career Advising was not present in the Student Awareness question, yet yielded a high percentage of responses in Neutral/No Opinion. These Neutral/No Opinion percentages may be due to a lack of experience in these EWU service areas. 62% Career Advising 58% Campus Activities GENERAL THEMES Two general themes were present in this Transfer Needs Assessment Survey. Students expressed concern with transfer credits and advising service areas. These were expressed in four of the eleven survey questions. There were between 150 and 185 open ended responses provided for each question. Counts and examples of open ended student responses related to transfer credits and advising are provided below. ADVISING While 58% expressed satisfaction in advising services, students also expressed some advising concerns in the open ended responses. Selected representative responses are provided below. Advice for New/Transferring Students (54 responses regarding Advising) I would tell them to make sure to get in contact with his/her advisor quickly. Also, to make sure all of his/her credits will transfer well. To utilize academic advisors and the learning commons. Helpful Knowledge prior to Transferring (23 responses regarding Advising) How to find out who your advisor is. How to do a degree audit. How to declare your major without being confused. Minimal online classes offered.. It would have been nice to sit down with an older student in my own major so that we could discuss which advisor to go to, which classes are necessary immediately, and such. It would also have been good to know about the deadlines for out-of-state tuition discounts. Number one thing EWU can do for Transfer Students Hnewell: Office of Institutional Research, Demography & Assessment Page 3

4 (28 responses regarding Advising) Make sure new students have easy access to advisers who can help them will all necessary paperwork, course and program requirements. When in doubt, go see your advisor. Do not be afraid to ask questions because if you don't know, you need someone who can truly explain things to you. TRANSFER CREDITS While 57% expressed satisfaction in transfer credits, some students expressed concern with this service area in the open ended responses. Selected representative responses are provided below. Advice for New/Transferring Students (28 responses regarding the transferring of credits) Stay on top of everything. Double check on all your transfer credits. Make sure that your credits transfer and if not find out why. Helpful Knowledge prior to Transferring (18 responses regarding the transferring of credits) Information on transfer credits. I didn't know that they only transferred 90 of my credits so I have to take some extra Gen. Ed. classes that I wasn't anticipating. Number one thing EWU can do for Transfer Students (24 responses regarding the transferring of credits) The best thing that EWU can do for their incoming transfer students is to sit them down individually to make sure they know exactly how many credits they are transferring in with and what requirements need to still be completed in order to graduate. Hnewell: Office of Institutional Research, Demography & Assessment Page 4

5 CONCLUSION EWU transfer students are concerned about transfer credits and advising. Less than 30% are interested in student housing and seventy four percent did not participate in transfer student orientation. Students showed an increased awareness of EWU services by attending the new transfer student orientation. Only one in four transfer students were aware of the Learning Commons, Learning Communities and Counseling and Psychological Services. Student responses of no opinion or neutral may indicate a lack of knowledge or experience in Career Services advising and campus activities. Hnewell: Office of Institutional Research, Demography & Assessment Page 5

6 Satisfaction Column Valid N % Very Satisfied 23.5% Satisfied 34.5% Advising Neutral 23.9% No Opinion 1.7% Unsatisfied 16.4% Very Satisfied 24.7% Satisfied 33.6% Transfer Credits Neutral 20.0% No Opinion.4% Unsatisfied 21.3% Very Satisfied 25.2% Satisfied 44.1% Relationships with Neutral 25.2% faculty No Opinion 0.0% Unsatisfied 5.5% Very Satisfied 10.5% Campus activities Satisfied 24.1% (clubs, intramurals, Neutral 39.7% etc.) No Opinion 18.6% Unsatisfied 7.2% Very Satisfied 8.4% Satisfied 17.7% Career advising Neutral 43.0% No Opinion 19.0% Unsatisfied 11.8% Very Satisfied 19.0% Satisfied 38.8% Records and Neutral 25.3% Registration No Opinion 3.4% Unsatisfied 13.5% Very Satisfied 23.8% Satisfied 38.1% Financial Aid Neutral 19.7% No Opinion 7.1% Unsatisfied 11.3% (SPSSTransferHousingOutput.spv) *Note: Very Unsatisfied was unintentionally labeled as Very Satisfied in error. Less than 2.5% of all respondents choose this selection, (6 or fewer students in each question). The table above has excluded this category. Hnewell: Office of Institutional Research, Demography & Assessment Page 6