Student Opinion Survey (Two-Year College Form) | Spring 2007 |
For 74 years, North Idaho College (NIC), popularly known as "The College on the Lake," has provided postsecondary education for the people of Coeur d' Alene, Idaho, and the surrounding region. Kathleen Christie, Assistant Vice President for Planning and Assessment at NIC, recently talked about the college's goals and challenges and the ways in which data collected using ACT's Student Opinion Survey (Two-Year College Form) (SOS2) are used to address both.
NIC (approximate credit enrollment 4,500) offers traditional associate degree programs to about 3,900 students and technical programs to about 550 full-time students. Many of the students in the traditional program successfully transfer primarily to the University of Idaho, Lewis-Clark State College, and Eastern Washington University, while graduates of the technical programs enter and are successful in the workplace.
Christie explained that while the beauty of Coeur d' Alene has always drawn large numbers of tourists, a rapidly increasing number of people are discovering the area's wilderness, magnificent views, and wide variety of outdoor activities, making it a major tourist and resort area where jobs are plentiful.
However, while the community is growing, NIC has seen a rather flat credit enrollment in recent years. Specifically, they have seen an increase in the number of part-time students and a decrease in full-time students. Christie attributes the lower full-time enrollment growth to the very low local unemployment rate—as students often delay or cut back on attending college in lieu of taking available jobs. Assessing students' opinions about their NIC experiences can help the college better meet the changing needs of its dynamic student body.
Every other year since 2000, NIC has used ACT's SOS2 to assess their students' attitudes and opinions about the various aspects of their experiences on campus. They use the instrument regularly to assess college outcomes and to determine NIC's effectiveness in serving both students and the community. Christie pointed out that throughout the years, the findings from the study have "sparked conversations"—leading to questions about the ways things are done and the ways to improve how things are done.
The survey findings have also been used to identify trends and accomplishments in various areas. In most instances the trends remain consistently positive, reinforcing departmental and program and service pride. In other instances, they have been used to identify areas of concern and then to monitor improvement efforts.
SOS2 feedback is recognized for its value by both those in academics and those in programs and services at NIC. Following are some problems identified in findings from the surveys and the approaches taken by NIC to address those problems:
- Dissatisfaction with parking: Because NIC is bounded by the city on one side and the lake on the other, the addition of parking facilities was not feasible. Therefore, they added shuttle buses to provide students in outlying areas with transportation to campus.
- Dissatisfaction with the Student Union: Findings from the SOS2 were used to secure support and funding for a Student Union renovation.
- Online registration: Staff were able to substantiate the problems they found in the online registration process with findings from the SOS2.
- Financial aid: Findings from the SOS2 were used to support efforts to add staff in the office.
Christie says NIC finds particular value in the SOS2 30 additional-questions option. These allow NIC to monitor areas of interest unique to the college. Ten items give NIC data for the unique needs of, among others, faculty, staff, advising, and students with disabilities. Another question about the type of class in which the student is taking the survey allows the total data set for all items on the SOS2 to be subgrouped by students in academic or applied technology programs, day or evening classes, and on- and off-campus classes. Responses to all items on the SOS2 can be disaggregated in ACT's Subgroup Report by each of the three subgroups—allowing identification of specific strengths and weaknesses within the programs and carefully crafted plans of action for improvement and acknowledgement of success.
In addition to the Subgroup Report, Christie orders and finds value in all SOS2 reports available from ACT. She interprets the data and writes a narrative summary focusing on trends across the years. Her summary is then placed on the department website so it can be shared with the elected members of the Board of Trustees, the president's cabinet, the management team, deans, department chairs, and faculty. Appropriate data are sometimes used in reports for the Northwest Accreditation Agency and State Department of Education. All ACT reports are held in the library where they are available for anyone to review. The campus newspaper also reports selected findings to students.
North Idaho College has a strong commitment to continuous improvement in both academics and in programs and services. Along with other assessments, they continue to use the Student Opinion Survey (Two-Year College Form) to develop action plans to fulfill that commitment.