Published by the Office of Institutional Research and Advancement

Published by the Office of Institutional Research and Advancement

OVERVIEW The purpose of the New Student Survey is to assess student services and the College s marketing plan from the viewpoint of our newest students. The findings from this survey are used to create and monitor measurable performance objectives for student services. The New Student Survey was administered during fall term orientation. Of the 200 students enrolled in orientation, 176 completed the New Student Survey yielding a 88% response rate. Of the 176 respondents, medical assisting was the largest major, represented by 22% followed by automotive technology (7%). The majority (82%) of the respondents attend day classes, while (18%) attend classes at night. Eighty-two percent (82%) of the respondents stated they applied for financial aid while 18% did not. Ninety-three (93% ) of the students who applied for financial aid indicated they were satisfied to very satisfied with the service received from financial aid staff; while 5% were dissatisfied and 2% were very dissatisfied. Twenty-two (22%) percent of the new students indicated employment on a full-time basis while 30% were employed part-time and 48% were not employed. Fall 2013 New Student Survey 3

FINDINGS The respondents were asked to indicate their first source of information about Trenholm. The information sources ranked highest to lowest were as follows: Friends & Family (30%) TV Commercials (9%) Other (4%) Employer (1%) Recruiter (1%) Website (28%) High School Counselor (6%) Information Mailed (2%) Billboard (1%) Direct Mail (0%) Campus Visit (11%) Radio Commercials (5%) Newspaper (1%) Agency (1%) In order to generate a valid satisfaction mean score, those not responding to an item or having no experience with an item were removed from this statistic. The following student services areas received a rating of satisfied to very satisfied: Placement Assessment Time (96.59%) Registration (89.14%) Course Availability (96.03%) Info Mailed (84.57%) College Advertising (95.7%) Telephone Inquiries (77.59%) Compass Testing (94.35%) Bookstore (66.29%) Admissions (94.32%) Class Time Convenience (93.68%) 4 TrenholmState Assessment

Seventy-six percent of the respondents indicated they knew their Trenholm State E-mail address while 24% did not. The statistic (93%-Yes; 7%-No) was generated for students who knew their student ID numbers. When asked whether the survey respondents pre-registered, 55% did so, while 45% did not. The following reasons were given for not pre-registering: New student (47) I am a cash paying student (4) I missed the deadline (8) Financial Aid not finalized (4) I did not know anything about pre-registration (8) Other (1) Financial Problems (6) BOOKSTORE AND TELEPHONE INQUIRIES FOR THE PAST SIX YEARS OF FALL TERMS (SATISFIED TO VERY SATISFIED IN PERCENTAGES) Item Helpfulness of Bookstore Staff Handling of Telephone Inquiries Fall 2008 Fall 2009 Fall 2010 Fall 2011 Fall 2012 Fall 2013 84.5% 79.9% 85.7% 90.0% 89.8% 66.3% 75.8% 55.6% 75.6% 73.6% 78.2% 77.6% SCALE: (4)Very Satisfied, (3) Satisfied, (2) Dissatisfied, (1) Very Dissatisfied NEW STUDENTS SATISFACTION IN RANK ORDER Rank Mean Score Item 1 3.44 Availability of courses 2 3.41 Convenience of class times 3 3.36 Admissions office service 4 3.36 Availability of COMPASS assessment times 5 3.34 Helpfulness of LEC staff 6 3.25 Registration process 7 3.22 College advertising, marketing and public relations 8 3.01 Information that was mailed to you 9 2.87 Handling of telephone inquiries 10 2.53 College Bookstore SCALE: (4) Excellent, (3) Good, (2) Fair, (1) Poor Fall 2013 New Student Survey 5

What is your major? Accounting (2) Air Conditioning & Refrigeration (3) Apparel & Design (2) Automotive Collision Repair (5) Automotive Manufacturing (0) Automotive Technology (13) Computer Information Systems (7) Cosmetology (10) Culinary Arts (9) Dental Assisting (2) Diagnostic Medical Sonography (12) Diesel Mechanics (3) Drafting & Design (6) Early Care & Education (4) Electrical Technology (10) Emergency Medical Services (9) Entertainment Media Production (2) Graphic Design (4) Industrial Electronics (0) Industrial Maintenance (1) Machine Tool (1) Medical Assisting (39) Medical Radiology (6) Nursing Assisting/Home Health Aide (10) Office Administration (6) Practical Nursing (4) Therapeutic Massage (3) Truck Driving (0) Undeclared (1) Welding (4) 178 Student Sample 6 TrenholmState Assessment

Are you currently employed? Yes, full-time (39) Yes, part-time (52) No (84) 0 20 40 60 80 100 175 Student Sample Did you apply for Financial Aid? Yes (143) No (32) 0 30 60 90 120 150 175 Student Sample If yes, how would you rate the staff's service? Very Satisfied (70) Satisfied (63) Dissatisfied (7) Very Dissatisfied (3) 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 143 Student Sample When do you attend the majority of your classes? Day (144) Evening (32) 0 30 60 90 120 150 176 Student Sample Fall 2013 New Student Survey 7

Please indicate your PRIMARY source of information about our college: 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 176 Student Sample Friends and/or family (52) Trenholm's Website (50) Campus Visit (20) Television Commercials (16) High School Counselor (11) Radio Commercials (8) Other (7) Information mailed to you (3) Do you know your student ID number? Billboard (2) Employer (2) Visit to your high school by one of our college representatives (2) Agency (Vocational rehabilitation, WIA etc.) (2) Newspaper (1) Direct Mail insert (college information in the mall) (0) Telephone book (0) The Montgomery Bulletin Board (0) Yes (162) No (13) 0 50 100 150 200 Trenholm State maintains a student friendly culture conducive to learning? 175 Student Sample Strongly Agree (75) Agree (100) Disagree (1) Strongly Disagree (0) 0 20 40 60 80 100 176 Student Sample 8 TrenholmState Assessment

Do you know your Trenholm State E-mail address? Yes (170) No (6) 0 50 100 150 200 176 Student Sample If yes, do you check it regularly? Yes (128) No (41) 0 30 60 90 120 150 169 Student Sample Did you pre-register (Early Bird Registration) for this term? Yes (97) No (78) 0 20 40 60 80 100 175 Student Sample If you did not pre-register, why not? 78 Student Sample 0 10 20 30 40 50 New Student (47) Financial Problems (6) I did not know anything about pre-registration (8) Financial Aid not finalized (4) I am a cash paying student (4) Other (1) I missed the deadline (8) Fall 2013 New Student Survey 9

Bookstore Book store did not have enough help, went in almost 2 hours early to purchase books, and I made it to my next class on the Patterson campus with less than 5 min to spare. The young man was helpful but needed help. My only concern is about the books are so high and I'm a new student so, therefore i can't give a clear assessment about Trenholm State Technical College. I'm thankful that I m here!!! Financial Aid I had a terrible time dealing with the financial aid adviser at the campus on the corner of Troy highway and the Southern Blvd. The Financial Aid office should participate with student loans. The only negative feedback I have is the handling of the post-911 GI bill process. I had to check on the certification of my enrollment through the VA multiple times to find out from them that Trenholm had not submitted the correct paperwork. Instruction I m taking my orientation to college on my 4th semester. Why doesn t the college make it official for this course to be mandatory on the students first semester? I had such a hard time when I started; I was lost!! It would be helpful if it was evening classes for the nursing program. It would be helpful if we could receive a full course catalog like most schools offer in addition to the online catalog. I would like to read a little more about the courses available from a catalog that I can just pick up from time to time. Job Placement Have some type of job search program for felony students to have for obtaining a job Admissions More help at the Patterson campus for admissions General COMMENTS As a student of Trenholm State Technical College, your opinions and suggestions are very valuable to us. If you have any comments or suggestions, please state them below. Please be specific so that we can use your suggestions. This is my first college experience so far, very good but adjustment was really tiring. Even though everything was last minute I felt like everyone was caring and supportive. None that I can think of. I like the school and the teachers are very friendly. Why I didn t get enough help for school 10 TrenholmState Assessment

OFFICE OF INSTITUTIONAL RESEARCH AND ADVANCEMENT H. Councill Trenholm State Technical College Post Office Box 10048 Room 411 Learning Resource Center 3086 Mobile Highway Montgomery, Alabama 36108 www.trenholmstate.edu Dr. Mimi Johnson, Director 334.420.4243 334.420.4246 (Fax) mjohnson@trenholmstate.edu

H. Council Trenholm State Technical College is an equal opportunity employer. It is the official policy of the Alabama Department of Postsecondary Education, including postsecondary institutions under the control of the State Board of Education, that no person shall, on the grounds of race, color, handicap, gender, religion, creed, national origin or age be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any program, activity, or employment. H. Councill Trenholm State Technical College will make reasonable accommodations for qualified disabled applicants or employees.