Preliminary Summary of Needs Assessment Results prepared by Scott Friskics, for the President s Executive Committee

Transcription

1 Preliminary Summary of Needs Assessment Results prepared by Scott Friskics, for the President s Executive Committee From June 2009 to December 2009, 204 area residents completed the Fort Belknap College Community Educational Needs Assessment Survey, which was developed by college staff and faculty in collaboration with representatives of the Fort Belknap Planning & Development Corporation. The following report includes some noteworthy results from the survey. Demographic Information (1-16) Among survey respondents, the best represented age group was Twenty-one percent (21%) of all respondents were in this age group. The two next-highest age groups were and (14% each), so the survey responses reflect the ideas of a fairly young sample population. Forty-two percent (42.3%) of respondents live in the Hays-Lodgepole area, while 38 percent live in Harlem-Fort Belknap Agency. Almost 13 percent are from Havre. Fifty-seven percent (57.4%) of respondents reported that they have full time jobs, while 18.3 percent said they were unemployed. Thirty-five percent (35.5%) of respondents have attended some college but not completed a college degree. Twenty-six percent (26.1%) listed K-12 as their highest level of education, and ten percent (9.9%) hold GEDs. That means over 70 percent of respondents are potential firstdegree-seeking students at FBC. Forty-seven percent (47.5%) of respondents identified themselves as A aniinin and 39 percent identified themselves as Nakoda. Approximately ten percent (10.5%) self-identified as non- Indian. Almost three quarters of respondents (74.4%) were female. Use of College Services (17) Among the options listed, the most used college service was the library (58.4%), followed by KGVA (47.8%) and the Learning Center (29.2%). The least used services were USDA Research Services and the GED/ABE Programs (1.9% each). 1

2 Questions of General Need and Interest (18-54) On each of these questions, respondents were asked to rate the relative importance of a statement on a scale of 1-4, with 1 being Completely Unimportant and 4 being Very Important. Among all questions in this section, the range of average scores was very narrow, with the highest score being 2.95 and the lowest being In other words, respondents said everything was important-very important. The two questions with the highest average scores related to job preparation and availability. Specifically, Availability of employment opportunities in a specific field upon completion of coursework at FBC scored 2.95, and Upon completing a certificate or degree program at FBC, graduates are prepared to get a job in the local area scored The two questions with the lowest average scores were Affordability of certificate or associates degree programs and Opportunity for students to participate in educational programming which is rooted in both the Gros Ventre and Assiniboine cultural context (2.78 for both). Questions showed that respondents placed slightly higher importance on Opportunity to enroll in online or internet based courses (2.93), than either Opportunity to attend courses offered either in the evenings, or on weekends (2.90) or Opportunity to attend courses at a location other than the main FBC campus (2.84). Results also indicate that opportunities to receive vocational/technical training in building trades (2.88) were slightly more important than opportunities to receive training in computer hardware/software (2.87) and transfer preparation (2.83). On Question 26, approximately 41 percent of respondents said Opportunity to enroll in a bachelor s degree program through FBC was Very Important, (2.91 average score). Questions Related to Specific Areas of Study (55-63) These questions asked respondents to indicate their relative interest in a variety of course and program areas. Average scores ranged from a low of 2.80 to a high of Availability of courses and training in alternative and renewable energy development and production (wind, solar, bio-diesel) received the lowest score, and Availability of courses and training in entrepreneurship, business development, community planning and project management received the highest score, followed by computer data base management, storage and retrieval (2.89) and health care (2.86). 2

3 General Perceptions and Awareness (64-70) Most respondents said they became aware of FBC through family members (40.2%) and friends (36.3%), followed by current and former FBC students (44.1% combined). This highlights the importance of wordof-mouth information about the college within the community. On a positive note, almost 90 percent (89.2%) of respondents said that they would recommend FBC to a friend or relative; only four percent (3.9%) said they would not. When asked to identify the advantages of attending FBC, respondents said Close to home (84.5%), Small classes (67.5%) and Affordable (67%) were most important. The least advantageous things about attending FBC were Choice of career programs (30%) and Choice of academic programs (34.5%). Finally, 83.4 percent of respondents use cell phones, 76.4% use , and almost half (46.5%) use My Space. Open Ended Questions (71-81) The last eleven questions of the survey provided respondents with an opportunity to answer open ended questions. In the following analysis, I have grouped similar responses into general categories and identified the most common responses. In most cases, breaking down the responses into percentages seemed inappropriate because: (1) some respondents did not answer all questions, and (2) some respondents provided several answers to each question. Question #71 asked respondents to identify the biggest obstacles facing FBC students. By far, the most frequent answer was transportation (approximately 64 responses). The next most common responses, in order of frequency, were: child care (43), financial issues (26), housing (15), transfer-related issues (14), lack of self-confidence, motivation, will-power (14), and poor academic preparation prior to enrolling in college (11). Results from Question #72, which asked respondents to suggest how FBC could make things more convenient for students, deal with many of these same issues. For example, survey participants said that FBC could make things more convenient for its students by providing: (1) child care/day care (110), (2) transportation (26), (3) housing (20), (4) evening/weekend courses (18), (5) online courses (15), and (6) courses in Hays-Lodgepole (7). Questions #73 and #79 dealt with curriculum and academic programming issues. Specifically, Question #73 asked respondents to identify the specific jobs or employment skills FBC courses should provide to prepare graduates for successful employment. Question #79 asked them which specific professional or vocational technical program related internships, seminars, or workforce job training workshops they would like to participate in. The following table presents the most common responses to each question, as well as the number of respondents who identified that particular area of interest. 3

4 Area of Study Table 1 Number of Responses for Q#73 (Job skills provided in courses and programs) Number of Responses for Q#79 (Internships, seminars and workforce training workshop areas of interest) Health Care/Allied Health (includes medical terminology, First Aid/CPR, EMT, CNA) Carpentry/Building Trades 17 7 Computers Business (includes entrepreneurship) General Job Preparation 13 8 Communications (Oral and Written) 11 3 (includes storytelling) Real World Experience/On the Job Training 11 - Work Ethics 9 1 Counseling, Social Services, CDC 9 11 Education 9 4 Natural Resources 9 3 Tribal Management/Tribal Government 8 2 Alternative Energy/Green Energy 7 3 Native American Studies, Culture and Language 6 3 (includes FB History) Art - 3 Question #74 asked participants what role the community should play in revising, expanding and adjusting the college s course and degree offerings. Aside from a very small minority (4 respondents), all participants responding to this question thought the community should play some role, ranging from should have some input to should play a major role. Ten respondents thought community surveys (like this one) were a good way to involve the community, while eight respondents suggested holding public meetings. Among responses that offered concrete ideas about how best to solicit community 4

5 input, several participants also suggested advisory boards, updates on the radio and in the newspaper, committees, and meetings with tribal program directors and likely employers. Several participants said the Board of Directors should play a part in this process. Questions #75-#77 were presented as Yes/No questions and shared a common pattern: If FBC was entertaining, would you support the decision? Why? Responses to each question were overwhelmingly positive. For example, for Question #75, only one respondent did not support the idea of entertaining new programming which required the college to recruit and or retain more highly qualified instructors to teach additional courses in other certificate and degree programs. Not surprisingly, participants liked the idea of improving instructional quality, adding new courses, and expanding degree offerings. Similarly, for Question #76, only four respondents did not support the idea of providing distance learning (web based) courses or instruction at satellite sites other than the main campus. Participants felt these options provided better access and more flexibility for students. These ideas also addressed repeated concerns about limited finances, transportation issues, and child care, especially among residents living on the southern end of the reservation. Finally, for Question #77, everyone liked the idea of expanding current campus programming to include public transportation, childcare partnerships, and/or food & beverage cafeteria services. As one respondent wrote, Yes. Why not? In general, results for these three questions seem to have little value. Question #78 asked survey participants, Given the opportunity to attend any college or university in the area, would you select FBC, and if so, for what specific reasons? Overall, responses to this question were very positive, with approximately 70 percent of respondents choosing FBC, 23 percent choosing not to answer, and only seven percent saying they would not attend FBC. In addition, even among those who said they would not attend FBC, several stated that their reason was because FBC did not offer a degree at their level of interest (bachelor s or master s degree). Among the reasons given for choosing FBC, the most popular answer was, by far, close to home (58 responses). Other commonly cited reasons for attending FBC included: personal attention/small size/friendly atmosphere (26), affordable (14), quality academic programs (10), good place to start college/get basics out of the way (9), cultural education/language instruction (7), and convenient (6). This information seems to have potential use for shaping how the college markets itself in the local community. Question #80 asked participants to tell us the best way for FBC to share information with the community. The ten most frequent suggestions are listed in the table below, followed by the number of times each idea was mentioned. Table 2 Methods of Communication Number of Responses for Q#80 KGVA and Radio 99 Local Newspapers 54 5

6 Fliers and Posters 28 FBC Website and Internet FBC Newsletter/Newspaper 13 Word of Mouth 11 Community Events 10 Open Houses & Career Fairs 10 Brochures 10 As with Question #78, this question may provide useful data to inform public relations efforts and media campaigns. The final question of the survey, Question #81, asked respondents if they had a home computer with Internet access. Approximately 56 percent of respondents said they had a home computer (and only five of those said they had a home computer but did not have Internet access at home), 30 percent said they did not have a home computer, and the remaining 14 percent did not answer the question. 6