Graduate Survey REPORT. MT. San Antonio College Research & Institutional Effectiveness

Transcription

1 Graduate Survey REPRT MT. San Antonio College Research & Institutional Effectiveness Prepared by Annel D. Medina, PhD, Research & Institutional Effectiveness, Educational Research Assessment Analyst. ctober 1, 2014

2 Contents Highlights... 2 verall Satisfaction... 2 Lessons Learned... 2 Challenges... 2 Services and Campus Involvement... 2 Refine and Test Questions... 3 Sample Background... 3 Figure 1 Gender of Respondents... 3 Figure 2 Age of Respondents... 4 Figure 3 Ethnicity of Respondents... 4 Key findings... 5 Figure 4 Plans after Graduation... 5 Goals and Completion... 5 Lessons Learned... 6 Figure 5 Lessons Learned... 6 Challenges... 7 Figure 6 Challenges... 7 Figure 7 Challenges... 8 Services and Campus Involvement... 9 Figure 8 Services Used... 9 Additional Comments verall APPENDIX A GRADUATE SURVEY INSTRUMENT APPENDIX B QUESTIN MEAN REPRT Page 1

3 verall Satisfaction Highlights Most respondents (88.22%, N=297) reported that they were satisfied with their experiences at Mt. SAC. In the open-ended comments section, respondents were generally satisfied with their teachers, support staff, counselors, and tutoring. Lessons Learned Respondents were not as confident with Asking questions in class (3.95 Average), Getting together with other students (3.85 Average), and Understanding current political and environmental issues (3.83 Average). Challenges Students reported higher ratings amongst Financial Aid Issues (3.51 Average), Time management and balancing work, school, and family (3.73 Average). Services and Campus Involvement Respondents did not use many of the services offered on campus. Highest users selected Counseling/Advising in the Counseling Center (94%), Pell Grant/Board of Governor s Fee Waiver (79%), and Math/MARC (69%). Lowest service used included Associate Student Government (14%), Campus Clubs (33%), Performance Groups, Competition Teams/Department (17%), Bridge (18%), Honors (12%), and Calworks (7%). However of the services used, a majority of respondents expressed satisfaction (Combined 3, 4, 5 ratings) with the Counseling Center (87%), Pell Grant/Board of Governor s Fee Waiver (82%), Math/MARC (73%), Writing Center (65%), and Library Research Assistance (66%). Page 2

4 Refine and Test Questions After discussion at SP&S, a workgroup (Vice President of Student Services Audrey Yamagata-Noji, Counselor Alina Hernandez, and Educational Research Assessment Analyst Annel Medina) met over the course of to discuss and refine the Graduate Survey Questionnaire. Conducting a pilot study in March 2014, a group of students completed the questionnaire and then provided the workgroup with feedback to revise the survey. The survey instrument includes questions related to demographics (e.g. graduation term, gender, age, ethnicity, plans after graduation), goals and completion (e.g. educational goals, post-degree plans), lessons learned (e.g. critical thinking skills, future goals, etc.), challenges (e.g. financial issues, insufficient places to study on campus), and the use and rating of services and campus involvement (counseling services, financial aid, tutoring, student life/activities, and student services programs). Sample Background A total of 314 students that completed an optional graduate petition participated in the survey. A total of 3357 students (duplicate) were awarded a certificate or Associate of Science or Associate of Arts degree in (Summer 2013, Fall 2013, Winter 2014, Spring 14). Surveys were distributed by the Admissions and Records ffice. Due to the re-design time period, data collection began later in the year (March 2014) thus significantly affecting the number of respondents and overall survey response rate of 9.37%. The percentage of Female (N= 187, 59.55%) respondents was slightly higher in comparison to Male student respondents (N=121, 38.54%). Figure 1 Gender of Respondents Page 3

5 Among the age groups, the highest percentage of student respondents were 21 to 25 (N=174, 55.41%) with a total of 250 respondents between the age of 20 or less to age 30 (79.62%). Figure 2 Age of Respondents Figure 3 Ethnicity of Respondents ut of the total percentage of survey respondents, about 44.90% (N=141) received an Associate of Arts degree and 28.98% (N=91) received an Associate of Science degree with the remaining certificate. Page 4

6 Key findings ver 55.73% (N=175) of respondents reported that they would be planning to work either a full-time or part-time position after graduation. Figure 4 Plans after Graduation Goals and Completion Most respondents (72.93%N= 229) indicated that their educational goal included Transfer only, Associate Degree nly, and Associate Degree and Transfer. About 30.25% (N=95) of respondents indicated that they will continue to take classes at Mt. SAC in order to transfer to a University after receiving the Associate Degree. Page 5

7 Lessons Learned When asked Looking back on what you have learned as a Mt. SAC student, please tell us your level of strength is in these areas on a scale of 5 ( Major strength ) to 1 A Major Weakness and Not applicable, a majority of students reported a higher mean rating for selected institutional outcomes (See Figure 5). The top three ratings were Using Critical Skills (4.30, N=284), Improved Self-Confidence (4.23, N=281), and Ability to accomplish future goals (4.42, N=284). The following ratings were slightly lower (below a 4): Asking questions in class (3.95, N=283), Keeping up with the reading assignments on my own (3.94, N=281), and Getting to know other students in my classes (3.90, N=281) Figure 5 Lessons Learned Page 6

8 Challenges Students were also asked to rate the impact of challenging factors. Student respondents expressed a higher than neutral rating (3=Neither Agree or Disagree) with some challenges (Table 1) along the way including Level of Difficulty of Classes I Took (3.37, N=282), Financial Issues (limited resources to pay for my education) (3.51, N=284), and Time Management and Balancing Work, School, and Family (3.73, N=279). n the contrary, students scored lower than a 3 (neither agree or disagree, disagree, or strongly disagreed) on the majority of items in this category which indicates less perceived challenges in areas like language (1.40, N=272) and lack of access to a computer and/or internet (1.85, N=276). Figure 6 Challenges Page 7

9 Figure 7 Challenges Mean Ratings Number of Respondents (N) Workload (having to work to pay for school and family, not enough time to attend classes and 2.92 N= 280 Unsure of my goal or major 2.86 N=278 My math, reading, and writing abilities 2.61 N=278 Personal/Family emergencies 2.58 N=278 Family responsibilities unavoidable problems distracted me/kept me from class) 2.53 N=278 Lack of an educational plan 2.30 N=278 Lack of emotional support from family, friends) 2.15 N=279 Insufficient places to study on campus 2.11 N=275 Didn t know where to go for help 2.11 N=275 Lack of faculty interaction difficulty being able to meet with instructors to ask questions, get 2.11 N=279 Couldn t get information about required classes I needed 2.10 N=280 Language barrier 1.40 N=272 Lack of access to a computer and/or internet 1.85 N=276 The final section of the questionnaire asked students if s/he used specific campus resources. The question states, Please check if you used/received services on a Yes (1 point) and No (0 point) Scale Rating and then how would you rate the assistance you received? (High 5 to Low 0 Scale)? Greater than 50% ratings include the use of a variety of services such as the Counseling/Advising in the Counseling Center (83.76%, N=280), Pell Grant/Board of Governor s Fee Waiver Scholarship Program (69.11%, N=273), Tutoring/Learning Assistance Center (52.23%, N=274), Math/MARC (Building 11) (60.19%, N=274), and Writing Center (52.55%, N=274)(Table 2).. Page 8

10 Services and Campus Involvement Services and Campus Involvement Figure 8 Services Used Percent of Respondents Used Service N Used Yes Used No Counseling/Advising in the Counseling Center % 6.07% Transfer Center Advising/Assistance % 52.61% Career Placement/Interviewing/Resume Assistance % 74.63% Pell Grant/Board of Governonr's Fee Waiver % 20.51% Scholarship Program % 76.49% Tutoring/Learning Assistance Center (Library downstairs) % 40.15% Math/MARC (Building 11) % 31.02% Writing Center (Building 26) % 39.78% Language Center (Library upstairs) % 63.33% Library Research Assistance (Librarian) % 42.44% Associated Student Government % 85.77% Campus Clubs % 66.54% Performance Groups, Competitive Teams, Department Competitive Teams % 83.46% Bridge Program % 81.92% Aspire % 97.01% Arise % 97.76% ACES % 98.49% CalWorks % 93.26% EPS/CARE % 88.43% DSPS % 90.77% Honors/PTK % 87.59% International Students % 98.50% Student Health Center % 65.06% Veteran's Resource Center % 95.91% *Students did not select the "Not applicable" option If the service was not used, Students selected "0" rating instead of Not applicable rat Page 9

11 Figure 9 Program Service Ratings Services and Campus Involvement Rating Service N Percent of Program Service Ratings by Users High 5 High 4 Mid 3 Mid 2 Mid 1 0 Not Applicable Counseling/Advising in the Counseling Center % 21.67% 19.77% 3.80% 4.94% 4.18% 0.00% Transfer Center Advising/Assistance % 16.52% 12.50% 2.68% 3.57% 40.18% 0.00% Career Placement/Interviewing/Resume Assistance % 9.95% 6.97% 3.48% 1.00% 65.67% 0.00% Pell Grant/Board of Governonr's Fee Waiver % 13.11% 4.10% 0.82% 0.41% 16.80% 0.00% Scholarship Program % 5.50% 3.00% 3.00% 3.00% 67.50% 0.00% Tutoring/Learning Assistance Center (Library downstairs) % 22.81% 7.46% 2.63% 1.32% 31.14% 0.00% Math/MARC (Building 11) % 22.50% 8.75% 3.33% 0.83% 23.33% 0.00% Writing Center (Building 26) % 15.72% 15.28% 3.93% 2.18% 28.82% 0.00% Language Center (Library upstairs) % 12.94% 7.46% 1.49% 1.49% 49.75% 0.00% Library Research Assistance (Librarian) % 16.37% 8.85% 1.33% 0.00% 32.30% 0.00% Associated Student Government % 5.67% 4.64% 2.58% 0.52% 78.35% 0.00% Campus Clubs % 16.02% 7.77% 1.94% 2.91% 56.80% 0.00% Performance Groups, Competitive Teams, Department Competitive Teams % 2.50% 3.00% 1.00% 1.50% 75.50% 0.00% Bridge Program % 3.76% 2.15% 0.54% 0.00% 75.27% 0.00% Aspire % 0.57% 0.57% 0.00% 0.00% 94.29% 0.00% Arise % 0.56% 0.56% 0.00% 0.00% 94.35% 0.00% ACES % 0.56% 1.12% 0.00% 0.00% 94.38% 0.00% CalWorks % 0.00% 1.12% 0.00% 0.00% 90.45% 0.00% EPS/CARE % 3.37% 2.25% 0.00% 0.00% 83.15% 0.00% DSPS % 0.56% 2.79% 0.56% 0.00% 86.59% 0.00% Honors/PTK % 5.03% 1.68% 0.00% 0.00% 81.56% 0.00% International Students % 0.57% 1.14% 0.00% 0.00% 95.43% 0.00% Student Health Center % 11.68% 4.06% 1.02% 0.51% 54.31% 0.00% Veteran's Resource Center % 0.56% 1.13% 0.00% 0.00% 93.22% 0.00% *Students did not select the "Not applicable" option If the service was not used, Students selected "0" rating instead of Not applicable rating (range from 11 to 168 students) Page 10

12 Additional Comments Most respondents did not provide additional open ended comments (See Figure 10 pen Ended Comment Responses by Suggested Priorities). However students (122 Number) did provide some additional recommendations and/or comments. A total of 72 individuals out of the 122 responses described their experience with Mt. SAC in a positive manner. Respondents were generally satisfied with their teachers, support staff, counselors, and tutoring. Conversely, students also described some suggestions in terms increasing the number of counseling staff, requiring students to visit with a counselor at least once a semester, producing consistent information between counselors, and increasing appointment availability with counselors. Students reported lower levels of satisfaction with campus parking, class offerings, financial aid processing times, study locations, and campus food offerings. Page 11

13 Figure 10 pen Ended Comment Responses by Suggested Priorities pen -Ended Comments Suggestions Positive Experiences Total Count Highest Priority (Sum of 11 Responses) Needs more counseling staff; Require seeing a counselor at least once a semester; Easier appointments with counselors; Inconsistent information between counselors; Need more helpful counselors; Struggled making appts Love mtsac; Positive overall experience; Tremendous learning (53) Lowest Priority (Mentioned nce) More online classes; Better facilities and technology for the interpreting program; Moving smoking areas where there is not a lot of traffic; better wifi; better qualified tutors; improve college experience and atmosphere; extend selection of dental and nursing programs; more student interaction is needed DSPS is helpful; Additional Information from professors; Honor Society positive experience; WIN program experience; Great Instructors Revise partking permit system; Fix system; Lack of parking; Need more parking (multilevel) 6 Teachers (Positive experiences) 5 Add more classes; Difficult to get classes 5 Great support staff; Admission services; Resources for students 3 ther Items (Mentioned between 2 to 6 times separately) Student services disconnect, Needed more help with financial aid; Financial aid should arrive for certain a little sooner to help with the purchase of books and other things in a timely manner 4 Services are good just not needed (personal level) 2 Additional parking 4 Positive counselors, Bridge experience 2 Campus needs more study locations; adjust Library hours 3 Negative teachers paying attention to students causing students to drop the class 3 Better food supply is needed; more inexpensive 2 Great tutoring at Writing Center and Marc open ended responses in total (some more than one recommendation or comment) Page 12

14 verall Taking another look at the Services and Campus Involvement section, other items that performed slightly lower (below.5) could potentially be due to the structure of the survey which if the service did not apply to them then students appeared to select instead of the Not applicable option. This option impacted the results in a negative manner. Institutional outcome ratings like Critical Thinking (Mean=4.30, N= 284), Essay Writing (Mean=4.16, N=284), and Math Skills (Mean 4.01, N=284) described some of the learning taking place. Thank you to the workgroup (Vice President of Student Services Audrey Yamagata-Noji, Counselor Alina Hernandez, and Educational Research Assessment Analyst Annel Medina) and Admissions and Records Assistant Director Patricia Montoya. Page 13

15 APPENDIX A GRADUATE SURVEY INSTRUMENT Page 14

16 Graduate Survey RIE/ADM 3/17/2014 As you are an upcoming graduate, we are interested in receiving your feedback about your educational experiences at Mt. SAC. Your participation in answering the following questions will greatly help us to assess our effectiveness and will not impact your graduation. Month/Day/Year Section I. 1. Graduation Term: Fall Spring Winter Summer 4. Ethnicity (mark all that apply) White Hispanic/Latino Asian/Pacific Islander/ Filipino Native American Black/African American ther 2. Gender: Male Female 5. Tell us how you took your classes at Mt.SAC while pursuing your degree. Please, mark all that apply to you I primarily attended full-time (12 units or more each fall/spring term). I primarily attended part-time (less than 12 units each term). I took all of my college courses at Mt. SAC. I took classes at other colleges EITHER prior to/ during/r after attending Mt. SAC: 1 or more colleges 2 to 3 other colleges 4-5 other colleges Date: / / 3. Age Group: 20 or less 21 to to to to & older 6. Number of Years taken at Mt. SAC to obtain your degree: 1 year 2 years 3 years 4 years 5 years 5 or more years 7. Degree (s) I am receiving: A.A. AA-T A.S. A.S.-T Certificate 8. Major 9. Program: 10. Describe your plans AFTER graduation. Please, mark ALL that apply). I will start working full time in an area related to my major or degree at Mt.SAC I will start working part-time in an area related to my major or degree at Mt.SAC I will start working full time in an area NT related to my major or degree at Mt.SAC I will start working part-time in an area NT related to my major or degree at Mt.SAC. 11a. I will transfer to a four year college. Yes 11b. Name of University: 11c. Major at the University: II. Goals and Completion 12. When you started Mt. SAC, what was your educational goal at that time? Transfer only Career Certificate, Associate Degree and Transfer Associate Degree nly Undecided when I started Mt. SAC Associate Degree and Transfer Just enrolled to take classes of interest Career Certificate nly ther Career Certificate and Associate Degree 15

17 13. Now that you are about to receive your Associate Degree, what is your current status? I will continue to take classes at Mt. SAC in order to transfer to a University I will continue to take classes at Mt. SAC to obtain certificate and/or another Associate degree. I will continue at Mt. SAC to take other courses of interest. I will leave Mt. SAC because I have a job/career position based on what I studied at Mt. SAC. I will leave Mt. SAC to search for a job/position. ther III. Lessons Learned----Looking back on what you have learned as a Mt. SAC student, please tell us your level of strength in these areas: A Major Strength Somewhat Strong Average Somewhat Weak A Major Weakness Not applicable Using Critical Thinking Skills (e.g. select and evaluate materials, etc.) 15. Understanding of other ethnicities and cultures 16. Asking questions in class 17. Getting together with other students 18. Keeping up with the reading assignments on my own 19. Writing essays and/or complete a research paper 20. Researching and accessing information for papers and projects 21. Using Math skills and abilities 22. Citing information sources accurately 23. Studying and preparing for tests 24. Getting to know other students in my classes 25. verall Academic Ability 26. Improved Self-Confidence 27. Understanding current political and environmental issues 28. Knowledge of ethical decision making principles 29. Ability to accomplish future goals IV. Challenges---Please rate the impact of the following factors that may have challenged you as a student Strongly Agree Agree Neither Agree or Disagree Disagree Strongly Not applicable Disagree Financial Issues (limited resources to pay for my education) 31. Level of difficulty of classes I took 32. Unsure of my goal or major 33. Time management and balancing work, school, and family 34. Language barrier (English is not my first language) 35. My math, reading, and writing abilities 36. Lack of emotional support (from family, friends) 37. Lack of access to a computer and/or internet 38. Couldn t get information about required classes I needed 39. Lack of an educational plan 40. Insufficient places to study on campus 41. Didn t know where to go for help 42. Personal/Family emergencies (unavoidable problems distracted me/kept me from class) 43. Lack of faculty interaction (difficulty being able to meet with instructors to ask questions, get help) 44. Work load (having to work to pay for school and family, not enough time to attend classes and study) 45. Family responsibilities (child care and other obligations) 16

18 VII. Services and Campus Involvement: (STEP 1): Please check if you used/received services and then (STEP 2) how you would rate the assistance you received? STEP 1 Used/Received STEP 2 Rating High Low Counseling Services Yes No Counseling/Advising in the Counseling Center 47. Transfer Center Advising/Assistance 48. Career Placement/Interviewing/ Resume Assistance Financial Aid 49. Pell Grant/Board of Governor s Fee Waiver 50. Scholarship Program Tutoring 51. Tutoring/Learning Assistance Center (Library downstairs) 52. Math/MARC (Building 11) 53. Writing Center (Building 26) 54. Language Center (Library upstairs) 55. Library Research Assistance (Librarian) Student Life/Activities Not applicable 56. Associated Student Government 57. Campus Clubs 58. Performance Groups, Competitive Teams, Department Competition Teams Student Services Programs/Instructional Programs 59. Bridge Program 60. Aspire 61. Arise 62. ACES 63. CalWorks 64. EPS/CARE 65. DSPS 66. Honors/PTK 67. International Students 68. Student Health Center 69. Veterans Resource Center Very Satisfied Satisfied Dissatisfied Very Dissatisfied 70. verall rating of my experience at Mt. SAC 71. We would like to hear any comments about your college experience that might help us improve our services to students. Please, let us know. Thank you! 17

19 Graduation Ceremony The Mt. SAC Commencement Ceremony is scheduled for June. I plan to attend. I do not plan to attend. Please share with us any interesting, unusual, noteworthy facts or accomplishments related to your graduation from Mt. SAC. This will help us in preparing a report about this year s graduating class. For example, are you graduating along with another immediate family member? Are you a current employee of Mt. SAC? If you are over 50, do you mind sharing your age and any other information (number of children, grandchildren, etc.)? Have you recently returned from active military duty? If you were interested in having us share the above information during the graduation ceremony, let us know how we could contact you. Please, provide for us the following information: Name: Address: City/Zip: Phone (work) Phone (home) Phone (cell) 18

20 APPENDIX B QUESTIN MEAN REPRT Page 19

21 Question Mean Report Question Minimum Maximum Mean Graduation Term Gender Age Group: Ethnicity Tell us how you took your classes at Mt.SAC while pursuing your degree. Please, mark all that apply to you I took classes at other colleges EITHER prior to/during/r after attending Mt. SAC: Number of Years taken at Mt. SAC to obtain your degree: Degree (s) I am receiving: I will transfer to a four year college When you started Mt. SAC, what was your educational goal at that time? Describe your plans AFTER graduation. Please 1.00 mark all that apply Now that you are about to receive your Associate Degree, what is your current status? Using Critical Thinking Skills (e.g. select and evaluate materials, etc.) Understanding of other ethnicities and cultures Asking questions in class Getting together with other students Keeping up with the reading assignments on my 0.00 own Writing essays and/or complete a research paper Researching and accessing information for papers and projects Using Math skills and abilities Citing information sources accurately Studying and preparing for tests Getting to know other students in my classes verall Academic Ability Improved Self-Confidence Understanding current political and environmental issues Knowledge of ethical decision making principles Ability to accomplish future goals Financial Issues (limited resources to pay for my education) Level of difficulty of classes I took Unsure of my goal or major Time management and balancing work, school, and family Language barrier (English is not my first language) My math, reading, and writing abilities Lack of emotional support (from family, friends) /25/2014 Question Mean Report 20

22 Question Minimum Maximum Mean Lack of access to a computer and/or internet Couldn't get information about required classes I needed Lack of an educational plan Insufficient places to study on campus Didn't know where to go for help Personal/Family emergencies (unavoidable problems distracted me/kept me from class) Lack of faculty interaction (difficulty being able to meet with instructors to ask questions, get help) Work load (having to work to pay for school and family, not enough time to attend classes and study) Family responsibilities (child care and other obligations) Counseling/Advising in the Counseling Center Transfer Center Advising/Assistance Career Placement/Interviewing/ Resume Assistance Pell Grant/Board of Governor's Fee Waiver Scholarship Program Tutoring/Learning Assistance Center (Library downstairs) Math/MARC (Building 11) Writing Center (Building 26) Language Center (Library upstairs) Library Research Assistance (Librarian) Associated Student Government Campus Clubs Performance Groups, Competitive Teams, Department Bridge Program Aspire Arise ACES CalWorks EPS/CARE DSPS Honors/PTK International Students Student Health Center Veterans Resource Center Counseling/Advising in the Counseling Center Transfer Center Advising/Assistance Career Placement/Interviewing/ Resume Assistance Pell Grant/Board of Governor's Fee Waiver Scholarship Program Tutoring/Learning Assistance Center (Library downstairs) /25/2014 Question Mean Report 21

23 Question Minimum Maximum Mean Math/MARC (Building 11) Writing Center (Building 26) Language Center (Library upstairs) Library Research Assistance (Librarian) Associated Student Government Campus Clubs Performance Groups, Competitive Teams, Department competition teams Bridge Program Aspire Arise ACES Calworks EPS/CARE DSPS Honors/PTK International Students Student Health Center Veterans Resource Center verall rating of my experience at Mt. SAC The Mt. SAC Commencement Ceremony is scheduled for June /25/2014 Question Mean Report 22