Miramar College Transfer Center Point-of-Service Survey Executive Summary Spring 2009

Transcription

1 Miramar College Transfer Center Point-of-Service Survey Executive Summary Spring 2009 Prepared by: May 2009

2 Table of Contents Overview and Purpose... 3 Methodology... 3 Instrumentation... 3 Survey Population... 4 Procedure... 4 Data Collection... 4 Analytical Plan... 4 Student Profile... 4 The Findings... 6 Service Awareness... 6 Satisfaction with Services... 6 Student Comments... 7 Appendix A: Survey Instrument... 8 Appendix B: Respondent Comments

3 Overview and Purpose Methodology The Transfer Center at Miramar College assists students with the process of transferring to a four-year institution. Services available to students include: One-on-one and group counseling appointments Workshops Library of college catalogs and publications Transfer fairs Meetings with college representatives Campus tours Information on transfer admission guarantees Computer software for college research As part of the college s on-going effort to provide and maintain high quality service to students, Miramar College participated in an evaluation process aimed at assessing student satisfaction with the Transfer Center. The timing of this effort was prompted by the upcoming college accreditation site visit scheduled for Fall Therefore, in consultation with the Office of Institutional Research and Planning at the San Diego Community College District, Transfer Center staff developed a point-of-service survey to evaluate student satisfaction with the Transfer Center during the Spring 2009 semester. Instrumentation The referenced previous accreditation point-of-service surveys and worked with Transfer Center staff to develop and confirm the survey questions. The survey instrument contained 22 questions and took approximately 3 to 5 minutes for students to complete. A copy of the survey is provided in Appendix A. For reporting purposes, questions are not referred to in question order; rather they are clustered into 4 general areas: (1) Student Profile contained 5 questions in which students were asked to provide key demographic characteristics including: age, gender, ethnicity, primary language and service location. (2) Service Awareness included one question asking how the students learned about the Student Transfer services. (3) Satisfaction with Services contained questions evaluating student satisfaction with customer services. Students were asked to rate 12 questions according to a Likert-type scale ranging from 1-Strongly Disagree to 5-Strongly Agree. The scale included a mid-point, 3-Neither Agree nor Disagree. Instructions indicated that leaving an answer blank would indicate a question was not applicable to the student. Agreement with a statement equated to satisfaction with service(s), while disagreement with a statement equated to dissatisfaction with service(s). (4) Open-Ended Questions asked students to provide additional comments about what they liked best about the service they received, what they would change about the department or service, and if they would like someone to contact them for follow-up. Please note that for purposes of confidentiality, student contact information was not included in the report. 3

4 Survey Population Procedure Data Collection Analytical Plan Student Profile The asked Transfer Center staff to estimate the total number of visits by students to the office during the data collection timeframe. This request was made prior to data collection to enable a target number of completed surveys. Another request was made midway through data collection to assess the accuracy of the initial estimate. Transfer Center staff estimated the total number of visits by students to be relatively small (N=190). (Note that students may obtain services more than one time. Thus the estimate was a duplicated count of students.) Therefore, due to the size of the department and the relatively small number of potential respondents, a census of all students was warranted. A target of 190 completed surveys was attempted and a total of 93 surveys were returned. Caution should be exercised when interpreting the results. The total number of completed surveys did not meet the target goal. Consequently, results reflect the opinions of only those students who took the survey and may not reflect the opinions of the general population. Generally, the peak demand time for many student services is at the beginning of the semester. However, as the semester progresses, demand for service tends to decrease, particularly around the fourth week, the cut-off date in which students are no longer allowed to drop or add classes without a refund or grade transcript. Therefore, in order to control for the cyclical demand for student services, the Transfer Center Survey was conducted in one extended timeframe of 9 weeks, beginning on January 12 and ending on March 13, Department staff members were given instructions for administering the survey to each student receiving services and a drop box was placed in a designated area for submittal of completed surveys. As students completed their transactions of service, they were given a survey instrument and a standard Scantron form that served as the response form. Students were asked to complete it before leaving the office. In an effort to obtain honest responses, the surveys were confidential. Students returned completed response forms in the designated box and staff members were not allowed access to the response forms once they were completed. It should be noted that students were encouraged to complete a survey each time they visited the office. Therefore, data may include duplicated records of individual students. Thus, the unit of analysis for this study was the survey response itself and not the individual respondent. Analysis of each survey question was performed. Analyses of satisfaction questions were grouped into themes to enable further comparison. Students comments to the open-ended questions are listed verbatim in Appendix B. As indicated earlier, students were encouraged to complete a survey each time they visited the Transfer Center during the assigned data collection time period. Thus, the distribution of demographic characteristics described in this section may be skewed due to duplicated records. Also note that unreported responses are only included in the Student Profile. 4

5 Among Student Transfer Center respondents who completed surveys, males constituted 49% of the survey respondents and females constituted 47% of the survey respondents. (See Table 1.) The largest proportion of survey respondents were White students (31%), followed by Hispanic/Latino students (20%), Filipino students (19%), Asian/Pacific Islander students (15%), those students who chose the category other ethnicity (8%), and African American students (1%). Fifty-seven percent of students who responded indicated that they speak English as their primary language and thirty-eight percent indicated they primarily speak a language other than English. Students between the ages of 18 to 24 comprised the majority of the survey respondents (53%), followed by students between the ages of 25 to 29 (22%). Table 1. Profile of Transfer Center Survey Respondents # % Male 46 49% Gender Female 44 47% Unreported 3 3% African American 1 1% American Indian/Alaskan Native 0 0% Asian/Pacific Islander 14 15% Ethnicity Filipino 18 19% Hispanic/Latino 19 20% White 29 31% Other 7 8% Unreported 5 5% English 53 57% First Other 35 38% Language Unreported 5 5% Under % % % Age % % 50 and over 2 2% Unreported 2 2% Total % Source: Spring 2009 Point-of-Service Survey 5

6 The Findings Service Awareness Students selected one of the seven options listed as the manner in which they found out about the Transfer Center services: (1) campus flyer/publications, (2) counselor, (3) friend/other student, (4) instructor/staff, (5) letter/ from the college, (6) website, or (7) other. (See Table 2.) Students were asked to provide comments to other responses. These comments are listed verbatim in Appendix B. Table 2. Service Awareness # % Campus Flyer/Publications 7 9% Counselor 38 49% Friend/Other Student 5 6% Instructor/Staff 13 17% Letter/ from College 8 10% Website 4 5% Other 2 3% Total % Source: Spring 2009 Point-of-Service Survey Satisfaction with Services Results of individual satisfaction statements are additionally clustered into three commonly themed categories according to their similarity with each other. (See Table 3.) The first theme is identified as general service perception, which includes satisfaction questions 6, 7, 9, 11, 12, 14 and 17. Satisfaction questions 8 and 15 comprise the second theme, staff knowledge and communication skills. The last theme, convenience, timeliness and availability of service, includes satisfaction questions 10, 13 and 16. 6

7 Table 3. Student Satisfaction with Transfer Center Services Satisfaction Statements Total N Strongly Disagree Disagree Neither Agree/ Disagree Agree Strongly Agree Q6 I was treated courteously by the staff. 90 3% 0% 1% 26% 70% General Service Perception Q7 The staff was attentive to my needs. 88 2% 0% 1% 33% 64% Q9 The assistance I received from this department was useful. 87 2% 1% 2% 26% 68% Q11 Overall, I am satisfied with the services I received. 86 2% 0% 3% 28% 66% Q12 I feel comfortable returning for additional services if I need them. Q14 The Transfer Center helped me to become more prepared to transfer to a 4 year institution. Q17 As a result of this service, I have a clear understanding of my responsibilities in the transfer process. 88 2% 0% 7% 17% 74% 78 3% 1% 4% 28% 64% 79 1% 1% 5% 29% 63% General Service Perception Average % 1% 3% 27% 67% Staff Knowledge/ Communication Skills Convenience/ Timeliness/ Availability of Service Q8 The staff was knowledgeable and able to answer my questions. 89 2% 1% 2% 25% 70% Q15 The counselor/college representative informed me of the opportunities/options for transferring to a 4 year institution. 78 3% 1% 9% 29% 58% Staff Knowledge/Communication Skills Average % 1% 5% 27% 64% Q10 The office hours were convenient to meet my needs. 87 3% 2% 9% 29% 56% Q13 Time spent waiting for assistance was reasonable. 76 1% 3% 9% 36% 51% Q16 Information resources in the Transfer Center were current. 78 1% 0% 5% 27% 67% Convenience/Timeliness/Availability of Service Average % 2% 8% 30% 58% Overall Average Source: Spring 2009 Point-of-Service Survey % 1% 5% 28% 64% Student Comments Students comments to the open-ended questions are listed in Appendix B. Comments are listed verbatim and are edited with **** only in the case of profanity or to protect an individual s identity in evaluative questions. 7

8 Appendix A: Survey Instrument 8

9 EVALUATION OF STUDENT SERVICES Transfer Center We are pleased that you have visited the Transfer Center and now are asking for your help. Please take a few minutes to answer some questions about our service. Your suggestions and opinions are important to us. The responses will be evaluated and changes or improvements will be made in an effort to provide you with better services. Your responses will be kept completely confidential. Thanks for your participation! DIRECTIONS: For each question, please completely fill in the appropriate circle on the response form provided. Please select only one answer per question. Tell us about you 1. Your age: 1 -- Under and over 2. Gender: 1 -- Male 2 -- Female 3. Ethnic background: 1 -- African American/ Black Non-Hispanic 2 -- American Indian/Alaskan Native 3 -- Asian/Pacific Islander 4 -- Filipino 5 -- Hispanic/Latino 6 -- White Non-Hispanic 7 -- Other Non-White 4. Is English your first language? 1 -- Yes 2 -- No 5. Where did you receive the service(s)? 1 -- City College 2 -- Mesa College 3 -- Miramar College Please rate your level of agreement with the statements regarding Transfer Center service(s) according to the scale below. Leaving an answer blank means Not Applicable Strongly Disagree Disagree Neither Agree/Disagree Agree Strongly Agree 6. I was treated courteously by the staff. 7. The staff was attentive to my needs. 8. The staff was knowledgeable and able to answer my questions. 9. The assistance I received from this department was useful. 10. The office hours were convenient to meet my needs. 11. Overall, I am satisfied with the services I received. 12. I feel comfortable returning for additional services if I need them. PLEASE CONTINUE THE SURVEY ON THE BACK 9

10 Strongly Disagree Disagree Neither Agree/Disagree Agree Strongly Agree 13. Time spent waiting for assistance was reasonable. 14. The Transfer Center helped me to become more prepared to transfer to a four-year college/university. 15. The counselor/college representative informed me of the opportunities and options for transferring to a four-year college/university. 16. Information resources in the Transfer Center were current. 17. As a result of this service, I have a clear understanding of my responsibilities in the transfer process. 18. How did you learn of the service(s)? 1 -- Campus flyer/publications 2 -- Counselor 3 -- Friend/Other Student 4 -- Instructor/Staff 5 -- Letter/ from the college 6 -- Website 7 -- Other (See instructions below) If Other, please write in your response in the Comments Section on the right side of the response form under #1. Please write your responses to the next questions in the Comments Section on the right side of the response form under the appropriate number. #2. What did you like best about the service you received here? #3. If you could change one thing about this department or service, what would it be? #4. Would you like someone to contact you about your concerns? If so, please leave your name and phone number/ . (Optional) Thank you for taking the survey! Please drop the completed response form and the survey in the designated box. 10

11 Appendix B: Respondent Comments 11

12 How did you learn of the service(s)? [Other, specified] 1. Counselor Councelor 4. From the counselor s office Walk in to transfer center and signed up for class 7. Internet 8. Counselor Counselor 12. Called the Admin s office asked for a counselor & signed up for this. 13. From a walk-in counselor appt. at Miramar 14. I learned more how to input my CE requirements. 15. Received phone call 16. At Miramar College 17. Courses may art. 18. Friend/ other student 19. From the counselor who came to the clas room 20. Counselor 21. Give me knowledge of what I need to know. 22. By an instructor 23. Throu friends & counsolors. 24. Counselor came into class. 25. Staff 26. In class 27. Counselor 28. Online-college website 29. By walking in the transfer center What did you like best about the service you received here? 1. Clear, informative, not too time consuming. Very nice 2. Friendly + knowledgeable 3. All the information was clear an understandable 4. The staff was able to answer my questions about the application. 5. It was very informative 6. The detailed Presentation 7. The one-on-one advice based on our best interest that allowed me to better understand the importance of accurate information during the transfer process. 8. Very informative 9. The clarity 10. The knowldegable Presentation and visual examples of what to expect. 11. Everyone is very helpful and pleasant 12. All the information that was presented. 13. Clear and helpful 14. That I was able to figure out the GE section on an application. 15. Lot of useful information that would help in the worksheet for supplemental 16. Helpful, nice student service representative. 17. Nice step by step overview. She came prepared w/ my GPA grade for transferable classes 18. Presentation was real help & knowledge. 19. Courtious friendly service 12

13 20. The powerpoint was very helpful! Especially for steps I liked the handouts, and presentations because it provided a better picture 22. Presenter is knowledgeable. 23. I liked how our personal questions were answered on the spot. 24. Clear 25. There are workshops for transfering. Help when needed. 26. Open range of workshops available 27. Friendly staff Good info- what I really needed 28. The UC information 29. The hospitality of the staff 30. Counselor were friendly, course map art for you. 31. It was fun, I learned a lot everyone is nice and welcoming 32. Very informative 33. It will be useful in the future. 34. That she was aware of our questions 35. They answer all our questions 36. How they inform you about the transfer process. 37. Simple, easy information step by step 38. The lecture was very helpful. 39. I liked the idea of transferng and now it is easy steps to get to the college desired 40. Kind, quick, useful 41. Summer hterm 42. The results: hearing that I am able to transfer to UCSD! 43. University link info on allied health 44. I gain a lot more information about the sub. application If you could change one thing about this department or service, what would it be? 1. More staff 2. I feel that it was abit chort I rushed. 3. I felt like it was a little bit rushed, but it was very informative. 4. More staff availabity to students. 5. I would suggest more counselors like ****. They need more help with students during the transferring process. One person is not sufficient enough. 6. More time 7. None 8. More funding 9. None 10. Extended hours for student help 11. Nothing at the moment. 12. Nothing 13. Better Accessability 14. More advertisement. 15. I would like more one on one assistance. 16. More counselors available to talk to. 17. Nothing 18. Not pertain to just medical field 19. The hour working 20. Nothing 21. Done, maybe a larger building 22. Nothing realy 23. Nothing. 24. Nothing. 13

14 25. Nothing 26. Nothing 27. The hours a counselor is in. 28. Good as is 29. I would increase the amount of space in the building/office to make the area more comfortable. 30. I would like it if some one could look over my sub application. 14