Research Briefs from the Volume 4 Department of Planning & Research Number 2 Central Piedmont Community College

June 2002

Results from the Spring 2002 Curriculum Student Survey

Central Piedmont Community College periodically surveys its curriculum students to collect information essential to improving the College’s instructional programs and student/college services. In addition to demographic data. Students report information about their educational history and goals along with their experiences with CPCC programs and services. Researchers selected a randomized cluster sample of curriculum classes (N=411) from each of five CPCC campuses and the City View Center. Instructors distributed questionnaires directly to students to be completed during class time. A total of 2,464 surveys were distributed in April and 1,187 were returned for a return rate of 48.2%. This return rate is higher than the previous curriculum student survey done in Spring 2000 reflecting higher participation from faculty. Consequently, the results can be considered relatively high in validity and reliability. Of the completed surveys, 456 students were attending classes at the Central Campus, 342 at the South Campus, 190 at the North Campus, 11 at City View, 230 at the Southwest Campus, 176 at the West Campus and 72 students were taking classes via College Without Walls (CWW). A separate survey was also developed and distributed (via email) to 1,844 College Without Walls students from spring 2002 and 362 completed the surveys and submitted responses (return rate = 19.6%). Because many survey questions on the CWW survey were different, these results will be presented separately at the end of this Research Brief.  Student Recommendations of CPCC: Over 70% (804) of the student respondents indicated that they would recommend CPCC without reservation. Another 313 (27.3%) said they would recommend CPCC with some reservation and 30 (2.6%) said they would not recommend CPCC. Of those surveyed, 97.1% (1,117) indicated that they were somewhat satisfied, satisfied, or very satisfied with their CPCC experience. Only 2.9% (N=34) claimed to be dissatisfied.  Overview of Respondent Demographics: In general, demographic information closely matched that of the entire curriculum student population at CPCC in spring 2002. Student demographics were as follows:

Survey Respondents CPCC Spring 2002  Gender Male 556 (47.7%) 6,624 (43.6%) Female 610 (52.3%) 8,573 (56.4%) Missing 21 2

 Age Survey Respondents CPCC Spring 2002 <20 392 (33.4%) 2,921 (19.2%) 21-25 291 (24.5%) 4,374 (28.8%) 26-30 157 (13.4%) 2,178 (14.3%) 31-40 177 (15.1%) 3,022 (19.9%) 41-50 110 ( 9.4%) 1,785 (11.7%) 51+ 48 ( 4.1%) 917 ( 6.0%) Missing 12

 Ethnicity Survey Respondents CPCC Spring 2002 White 762 (65.0%) 9,357 (61.6%) Black 276 (23.5%) 3,991 (26.3%) Asian 47 ( 4.0%) 786 ( 5.2%) Hispanic 41 ( 3.5%) 602 ( 4.0%) Native American 14 ( 1.2%) 70 ( .5%) Other 33 ( 2.8%) 391 ( 2.6%) Missing 14

 Language Spoken in the Home English 1,049 (89.7%) Spanish 32 ( 2.7%) Other 88 7.5%)

A typical student respondent was female, white, under 30 and employed full or part-time . Economic Indicators for Students  Education of Students Prior to Attending CPCC Students were asked to indicate their level of education prior to attending CPCC. Approximately 3% of students surveyed were dually or concurrently enrolled high school students. An additional 32.2% had some college credit when they came to the college and 23.3% had already earned some type of college degree (associate, bachelors, masters, doctorate) prior to attending CPCC.

Education Level Number (Percent) Less than 12 years 47 (4.0%) High school diploma/GED 599 (50.7%) Some college 372 (31.5%) Associate degree 68 ( 5.8%) Bachelors degree 72 ( 6.1%) Masters degree 6 ( .5%) Some graduate school 14 ( 1.2%) Doctorate or professional degree 4 ( .3%) Missing 5

 Education Level of Students' Parents When asked about the educational level of their parents/guardians, 34.1% of fathers/male guardians and 32.6% of mothers/female guardians were college graduates or had attended graduate school. The survey also indicated 3 that 39.9% of fathers/male guardians had never attended college and 39.4% of mothers/female guardians had never attended college. Number and percent by education levels of both fathers and mothers is as follows:

Father/male guardian Mother/female guardian

Less than 12 years 150 (12.9%) 121 (10.5%) High school grad/GED 314 (27.0%) 334 (28.9%) Some college 246 (21.1%) 286 (24.8%) College graduate 234 (20.1%) 275 (23.8%) Graduate school/degree 163 (14.0%) 102 ( 8.8%) Don’t' know 58 ( 5.0%) 36 ( 3.1%) Missing 22 33

Upon further examination, it was determined that 44.6% of male students were first-generation college students and 49.5% of female students were first-generation college students. When these were combined, the survey revealed that: 46.3% of CPCC curriculum students were first-generation college students (neither parent had graduated from college).

 Current Employment Status Students were asked about their employment status. It was found that 83.5% of curriculum students worked full or part time. Numbers and percents by employment category are as follows:

Full time (40 hrs. or more per week) 405 (34.4%) Le a d ing Part-time (21-39 hrs. per week) 343 (29.1%) Ind ic a tors Part-time (less than 20 hrs. per week) 177 (15.0%) Unemployed 254 (21.5%) Missing 8

It should be noted that the percentage of students who are unemployed has increased over the past two years from 16.5% to 21.5%. The percentage of students working full-time decreased from 47.8% to 34.4%. This can be explained by changes in the economy in Mecklenburg County.  Students' Personal Annual Salary Students were asked to indicate their personal (not household or family) income. It was found that a greater percentage (54.4%) of CPCC students earn less than $20,000 per year as compared to two years ago (42% in spring 2000). When compared with data collected in spring 2000, a smaller percentage of students (16.4%) reported that they earned more than $40,000. The Spring 2000 survey reported that 22.1% earned more than $40,000. Number and percent by income level are as follows: Income Level Number (Percent) Less than $ 10,000 389 (35.0%) $10 - 19,999 215 (19.4%) $20 - 29,999 196 (17.7%) $30 - 39,999 128 (11.5%) $40 - 49,999 79 ( 7.1%) More than $50,000 103 ( 9.3%) Missing 77 4

 Goal in Attending CPCC Students could select multiple reasons for attending the College. Of those surveyed, 63.1% were credential-seeking students (intending to obtain a two year degree, certificate or diploma). Responses indicated that 53.1% of students were transfer students (intending to take classes or complete a degree and transfer to a four- year school). Responses also indicated that 57.9% of students had job-related goals (to improve job- related skills for their current / new job, obtain a degree and enter workforce, improve reading, writing and math). An additional 18.5% of students indicated they were taking courses for personal interest. Number and percent by stated goal are as follows: Goal Statement Number (Percent) Obtain 2 yr. degree and enter the workforce 385 (32.4%) Obtain 2 yr. degree and transfer to a 4 yr. school 333 (28.1%) Take courses and transfer to a 4 yr. college 295 (24.9%) Obtain a diploma or certificate 193 (16.3%) Prepare for a different job 151 (12.7%) Personal interest/enrichment 147 (12.4%) Update skills for current job 119 (10.0%) Improve reading, writing and math skills 60 ( 5.1%) Prepare for my first job 50 ( 4.2%)

 Location and Time of Classes Students indicated all the campuses and times when and where they were currently attending classes. It was found that 38.4% of respondents attended classes at the Central Campus, 28.8% at South, 19.4% at Southwest, 16.0% at North, 14.8% at West and .9% at the City View Center. College Without Walls and off-campus locations accounted for 6.1% and 1.7% respectively. As campuses are developed, more CPCC students are attending classes at more than one campus (College Without Walls was counted as a virtual campus.) Number of campuses attended are as follows: Number (Percent) of Campuses Attended 729 (78.3%) attend classes at only one campus 211 (17.8%) attend classes at two campuses 34 ( 2.9%) attend classes at three campuses 6 ( .5%) attend classes at four campuses

Responses also indicated that 72.7% of students attended classes during the day, 51.9% attended at night and 5.9% on the weekend. Of those students, 26.8% were attending both day and night classes and 1.9% were attending classes at all three times, during the day, night and on the weekend.  Factors Influencing the Decision to Attend CPCC. Students were asked to rate factors they felt were (1) very unimportant, (2) unimportant, (3) somewhat important, (4) important and (5) very important in their decision to attend CPCC. The factors are ranked below in order of most importance to least importance: 5

% Scoring Factor as Important or Very Important

Academic reputation 87.6% Academic courses/programs offered 84.5% Low tuition costs 80.9% Convenient locations 79.7% Easy transfer of credits 78.3% Class schedules that allow for work 77.7% Relevance to job 64.1% Small class sizes 59.3% Appearance of grounds/facilities 47.6% Admission regardless of grades 45.0% Availability of financial aid 41.9% Availability of job placement/career counseling 45.6% Availability of coops, internships, etc. 40.5% Accessibility by public transportation 18.2%

 Satisfaction with Instructional Elements of the College Students were asked to rate their satisfaction with various elements of CPCC instruction from (1) very dissatisfied to (5) very satisfied. The instructional items in terms of percent satisfied are rank ordered as follows: % Satisfied Item (Somewhat to Very) Mean

Quality of instruction 93.5% 3.94

Classroom facilities 93.6% 3.91 Times classes are offered 89.7% 3.82 Campus/site where classes were offered 87.2% 3.81 Availability of instructors 91.3% 3.74 Quality of faculty advisor 88.0% 3.68 Availability of classes 88.3% 3.67 Library resources 88.1% 3.65 In general, student respondents were satisfied with the instructional elements at CPCC.  Satisfaction with Student Support Services Students were asked to rate their satisfaction with student support services from (1) very unsatisfied to (5) very satisfied. Overall, student respondents were satisfied with service areas at CPCC. Student Services areas are rank ordered from most satisfied to least satisfied as follows based on mean satisfaction: Importance of and % scoring Factor as Satisfaction Important or Very % Satisfied Mean with Services Important (Somewhat to Very) Satisfaction

Computer Labs 77.3% 93.2% 4.06 College Webpage 70.9% 92.6% 3.99 Registration Services 84.9% 92.2% 3.98 Security 79.5% 91.2% 3.96 Welcome/Information Center 68.9% 93.5% 3.95 Records/Transcripts 78.5% 92.1% 3.90 Testing/Assessment Center 82.3% 91.1% 3.86 6

Instructional Labs 73.2% 90.5% 3.85 Student Career Services 78.6% 90.9% 3.81 Library 77.6% 79.6% 3.79 Parking 91.7% 83.3% 3.76

Importance of and % scoring Factor as Satisfaction Important or Very % Satisfied Mean with Services Important (Somewhat to Very) Satisfaction

Student Life Activities 53.3% 86.9% 3.70 Academic Learning/Tutoring 59.6% 89.5% 3.69 Telephone Information 68.0% 88.2% 3.67 Counseling 69.9% 85.2% 3.61 Financial Aid 64.4% 80.6% 3.59 Food Service/Vending 58.7% 85.3% 3.57 Academic Advisement 69.8% 84.2% 3.56 Bookstore 76.6% 76.5% 3.41 Fitness/Weight Room 48.3% 75.1% 3.34

 Satisfaction with Areas Considered Most Important to Students

The Current Curriculum Student Survey asked students to make two assessments of college services. First they were asked to rate the importance of various college services to them as students from (1) unimportant to (4) very important. This assessment was done to help the College determine its performance gaps between what students consider important and their satisfaction with those services. If students do not consider a service to be important, chances are they do not use it and have little or no opinion in regard to satisfaction. The College can focus on student satisfaction with services students deem most important to them. The following services are rank ordered in terms of most important to least important to students. The mean satisfaction score for those students who rated services as important or very important are listed below. Items are rank ordered from greatest importance to students to least importance to students: Service % Ranking Item Mean Area Important or Very Satisfaction Important Score

Registration services 74.4% 4.12 Parking 74.1% 3.90 Bookstore 68.7% 3.59 Security 60.9% 4.16 Computer Labs 59.1% 4.28 Records/Transcripts 58.7% 4.08 College Webpage 58.6% 4.27 Academic Advising 54.6% 3.76 Library 54.4% 4.00 Testing/Assessment Centers 49.8% 4.14 Instructional Labs 48.2% 4.11 Welcome/Information Center 46.9% 4.23 Counseling 45.1% 3.76 Food Service/Vending 41.7% 3.79 Telephone Information 41.4% 3.97 Student Career Services 33.9% 4.10 Financial Aid/Veterans Benefits 31.7% 3.86 Academic Learning/Tutoring 30.2% 3.98 Student Life Activities 27.1% 4.06 7

Fitness/Weight Room 17.6% 3.69

In general, student satisfaction was higher for students for whom services were important than for those for whom services were not important. Considering only the students for whom services were important, the most highly rated student service areas in terms of satisfaction are rank ordered as follows:

 Computer Labs  The Web Page  Welcome/Information Center  Security  Testing/Assessment  Registration Services  Instructional Labs  Career Services

 Communication of Information to Students

Students were asked to identify important factors associated with the ability to be informed about courses and programs at CPCC. Not surprisingly, the class schedule and the college catalog topped the list. % Indicating Important to Very Important Schedule of Classes 922 (79.1%) College Catalog 912 (77.7%) Internet CPCC Webpage 760 (65.1%) Articles in the Newspaper 338 (29.8%) High School Counselor 331 (28.7%) Circulars Mailed to You 445 (28.3%) High School Teacher 300 (26.0%) Newspaper Ads 298 (25.6%) Television Ads 268 (23.1%) Radio Ads 253 (21.8%)

 Student Satisfaction by Campus Students were able to indicate the campus where they attended classes. Many students took classes at more than one campus so the numbers at each campus do not add to the total (n=1,187). City View and off-campus were left out of the analysis due to small sample sizes. The demographic profile of student respondents by campus is as follows: Central South North Southwest West Students: n=456 n=342 n=190 n=230 n=176

Gender: Male 38.8% 51.9% 49.2% 63.3% 46.8%

Female 61.2% 48.1% 50.8% 36.7% 53.2% 8

Age: < 21 29.2% 49.7% 46.9% 19.0% 33.1%

21-30 42.0% 28.3% 35.3% 42.4% 35.5%

31-40 16.9% 10.6% 5.8% 22.6% 18.0%

41-50 9.1% 7.9% 7.9% 13.3% 8.7%

>50 2.7% 3.6% 4.2% 2.6% 4.7%

Students were asked to rate their satisfaction with instructional areas of the college according to a Likert- type scale with (1) indicating very unsatisfied and (5) indicating very satisfied. Means by campus are listed below:

Instructional Area Central South North Southwest West Availability of Classes 3.61 3.69 3.72 3.48 3.86 Availability of Instructors 3.71 3.78 3.70 3.58 3.86 Campus/site Where Classes are Offered 3.77 3.99 3.70 3.54 3.80 Classroom Facilities 3.76 4.06 3.75 3.92 4.10

Library Resources 3.81 3.62 3.45 3.54 3.67 Quality of Faculty Advisors 3.62 3.70 3.49 3.64 3.91 Quality of Instruction 3.94 3.95 3.91 3.89 4.01 Times Classes are Offered 3.82 3.88 3.75 3.64 4.03

Overall, students were satisfied with elements of instruction across the campuses. Students were also asked to rank their satisfaction with various student and campus services. Mean scores by campus are as follows: Service Area Central South North Southwest West Academic Advising 3.50 3.67 3.17 3.53 3.85 Learning/Tutoring 3.78 3.73 3.38 3.59 3.98 Bookstore 3.55 3.81 3.19 3.12 3.03 Computer Labs 4.03 4.20 3.82 3.92 4.27 CPCC Webpage 4.04 4.04 3.81 3.93 4.11 Counseling 3.63 3.72 3.14 3.65 3.82 Financial Aid 3.68 3.58 3.25 3.73 3.62 Fitness/Weight Room 3.53 3.10 3.34 3.35 3.59 Food Services/Vending 3.59 3.65 3.43 3.47 3.78 Instructional Labs 3.86 3.85 3.53 3.84 4.10 Parking 3.28 3.96 3.69 3.87 4.05 Library 3.96 3.81 3.40 3.82 3.78 Records/Transcripts 3.92 4.03 3.61 3.77 3.96 Registration Services 3.93 4.13 3.82 3.92 4.02 Student Life/Activities 3.61 3.84 3.33 3.65 3.95 Security 3.88 4.00 3.68 3.98 4.29 Student Career Services 3.88 3.85 3.53 3.72 3.90 Telephone Information 3.72 3.65 3.38 3.63 3.90 Testing Center 3.93 3.78 3.66 3.85 4.00 Welcome Center 3.99 4.02 3.67 3.90 4.09

Student satisfaction with services varied slightly across campuses with students at West and South ranking most areas slightly higher than students at other campuses.

 Interest in Student Life 9

In order to expand or improve programs and services, student activities staff wanted to ask students about the types of programs and activities they felt were important. The following percentages are rank-ordered based on what students felt were most important.

Program Area % Indicating Important to Very Important

Educational Workshops 54.2% Leadership Development 53.5% Multi-cultural Programs 45.0% Program Area % Indicating Important to Very Important

Community Services 44.4% Recreational Activities 42.3% Student Clubs and Organizations 40.6% Live Music and Entertainment 37.0%

Staff also wanted to know the time of day when students would be most interested in participating in student activities. The following number and percent indicated a preference for the following days and times.

Weekday Mornings 214 (18.0%) Weekday Lunchtime 278 (23.4%) Weekday Afternoons 229 (19.3%) Weekday Evenings 296 (24.9%) Weekend Days 313 (26.4%) Weekend Evenings 167 (14.1%)

Student activities staff also wanted to know the mediums that are the most effective in communicating with students about programs and services at the various campuses. The following percentages are rank-ordered based on what students felt were the most important means of communication. Student Activities Communication Method % Indicating Important to Very Important Picnic Tomorrow Campus Signs 54.5% Classroom Announcements 53.7% Word of Mouth 53.7% Fliers or Bulletin Boards 50.3% The SPARK (student newspaper) 29.3% CPCC – TV 28.2%

Distance Education: Student/College Services, Instructional Elements and Student Satisfaction

Due to the nature of distance education students, a separate online survey was created and sent to all College Without Walls Students in online classes during the Spring term, 2002 (N=2,304). Surveys were completed by 362 students resulting in a 16% return rate. Many of the questions on the survey were the same as those of the Current Curriculum Student Survey and were asked to determine the relative importance of various student services to distance education 10 students and their satisfaction with those services. Demographic characteristics of student respondents are compared to those of all CWW students as follows: CWW Spring 2002 Respondents CWW Students  Gender: Male 77 (22.3%) 800 (33%) Female 269 (77.7%) 1,627 (67%)

 Race: White 256 (72.7%) 1,689 (69.6%) African American 65 (18.5%) 565 (23.3%) Asian 12 ( 3.4%) 75 ( 3.1%) Hispanic 6 ( 1.7%) 46 ( 1.9%) Native American 3 ( .9%) 9 ( .4%) Other 10 ( 2.8%) 43 ( 1.8%) CWW Spring 2002 Respondents CWW Students

 Age: < 21 50 (17.0%) 331 (13.6%) 21-30 60 (20.4%) 1,073 (44.3%) 31-40 106 (36.1%) 620 (25.5%) 41-50 62 (21.1%) 307 (12.6%) > 50 16 ( 5.4%) 96 ( 3.9%)

Employment Status of Students: Employed Full-time (40 hrs. or more per week) 191 (53.8%) Employed Part-time (>20 hours per week) 61 (17.2%) Employed Part-time (<20 hours per week) 32 ( 9.0%) Unemployed 71 (20.0%)

Previous Education Level of Student Prior to Attending CPCC Less than 12 years 2 ( .6%) High School Diploma/GED 121 (33.7%) Some College 148 (41.2%) Associate Degree 33 ( 9.2%) Bachelors Degree 39 (10.9%) Some Graduate School 5 ( 1.4%) Masters Degree 11 ( 3.1%) Doctorate/Professional Degree 0

Goal in Attending CPCC (students could select more than one answer) Obtain 2 yr. degree and transfer to a 4 yr. school 143 (39.7%) Obtain 2 yr. degree and enter the workforce 130 (36.1%) Take courses and transfer to a 4 yr. College 61 (16.9%) Personal interest/enrichment 45.(12.5%) Prepare for a different job 54 (15.0%) Update skills for current job 58 (16.1%) Obtain a diploma or certificate 55 (15.3%) Improve reading, writing and math skills 10 ( 2.8%) Prepare for first job 5 ( 1.4%)

Distance education students are slightly different than other students at CPCC. CWW students are older, more are female, fewer are minority, more work fulltime and they were more educated when they came to CPCC. More CWW students are interested in transferring to a four-year college/university. Almost eighty-seven percent (86.7%) of CWW students have taken a traditional course (in the classroom) at CPCC. 11

Distance Education students were asked multiple questions about where and how they use computers for their CPCC classes. Students indicated the location they used primarily for their distance education courses. Student results are rank ordered from greatest to least use as follows (students could list more than one location): Location Number (percent) indicating primary use Home 334 (92.8%) Work 96 (26.7%) CPCC 76 (21.1% Public Library 21 ( 5.8%) Friend’s House 14 ( 3.9%) Other 5 ( 1.4%)

Students were asked about the type of Internet connection their computer has and about their Email use with the following results: Type Number (percent) indicating use Dial-up Modem 181 (50.8%) DSL/Cable/Roadrunner 162 (45.5%) Don’t know 13 (3.7%)

Email Use Daily 268 (75.1%) Few times a week 71 (19.9%) Once or twice a week 17 ( 4.8%) Almost never 1 ( .3% Never 0

Use of Instant Messaging Yes 181 (51.1%) No 173 (48.9%)

Student Type and Class Selection

Students were asked about their enrollment status (full or part-time) and the time of day they preferred taking classes. Students were also asked about the preferred method for receiving services. The results were as follows:

Student Status Number (percent) Part-time (3-11 credits per term) 230 (64.6%) Full-time (12 or more credits per term) 126 (35.4%)

Preferred Time for Taking Classes Number (percent)

Daytime 160 (45.5%) Evening 171 (48.6%) Weekend 21 ( 6.0%)

Preference for Receiving Services Number (percent)

Everything at a distance (services, advising, instruction) 145 (40.3%) Student services on campus (instruction at a distance) 43 (11.9%) Instruction on campus (student services at a distance) 53 (14.7%) Everything in person 58 (16.1%) 12

Other 48 (13.3%)

Suggestions made under the “other” category were that students didn’t have to have every service online but they preferred it that way. Many students said they took a common sense approach to taking classes online, such as taking the hard courses in a traditional classroom and the easier ones online or taking their major courses in the traditional classroom and their general education and elective courses online.

Comparing Distance Education Classes to Traditional Classroom Courses

Students were asked about the number of distance education classes they have taken and if they had taken traditional classroom courses. Results were as follows:

Number of Distance Number Have You Taken Traditional Education Classes Taken (percent) Classroom Courses

1 Class 122 (34.4%) Yes 312 (88.4%) 2 Class 70 (19.7%) No 41 (11.6%) 3 Class 45 (12.7%) 4 Class 42 (11.8%) 5 or more Classes 76 (21.4%)

Students were asked to compare their level of satisfaction with distance education courses compared to traditional classroom courses according to the following scale: (1) very dissatisfied, (2) dissatisfied, (3) somewhat satisfied, (4) satisfied, (5) very satisfied and (6) no opinion. No opinion answers were treated like missing data and removed from the analysis. Students compared the following elements of instruction:

Instructional Area Distance Traditional Course Mean Course Mean

Responsiveness of the instructor to your questions or needs 4.01 4.25 Question? Content preparation demonstrated by the instructor 4.14 4.31 Course materials preparation demonstrated by the instructor 4.16 4.32 Course website/classroom preparation demonstrated by the instructor 4.08 4.22 Degree to which instructor encouraged/supported interaction with other students 3.90 4.17 Productivity of course time 4.17 4.07 Convenience of testing/assessment methods 4.11 4.03 Overall learning experience 4.17 4.31

Overall, students were satisfied with elements of instruction in both the traditional classroom and via online courses. Students were slightly more satisfied with traditional classroom instruction in the areas of instructor preparation, interaction with other students, responsiveness of instructors and the overall learning experience. Students were slightly more satisfied with distance education classes in the areas of use of class time and convenience. 13

Students were asked to rate their satisfaction with elements of instruction on the same Likert-type scale : (1) very dissatisfied, (2) dissatisfied, (3) somewhat satisfied, (4) satisfied, (5) very satisfied and (6) not used. “Not used” answers were treated like missing data and removed from the analysis. Several additional elements of instruction were assessed for distance education than were for traditional classroom students. The mean scores of CWW students for instructional areas are rank-ordered from most satisfied to least satisfied as follows:

 Satisfaction with Elements of Instruction: % Satisfied Item (Somewhat to very) Mean

Quality of instruction 97.1% 3.95 Format in which classes are offered 87.5% 3.84 Library resources 89.1% 3.78 Classroom facilities 90.8% 3.75 % Satisfied Item (Somewhat to very) Mean

Location for materials pick-up 85.5% 3.65 Availability of instructors 92.8% 3.64 Technical facilities 83.6% 3.62 Times classes are offered 83.3% 3.58 Quality of faculty advisor 83.6% 3.45 Campus/site where classes were offered 80.3% 3.45 Availability of classes 5.7% 3.43

Overall, CWW students were satisfied with elements of instruction. However, with the exception of "quality of instruction," CWW students ranked elements of instruction slightly lower than did traditional classroom students. It is critical that service for College Without Walls students be evaluated since many of them utilize services on-line or via telephone. Students were asked to rate student/college services according to the same Likert- type scale: : (1) very dissatisfied, (2) dissatisfied, (3) somewhat satisfied, (4) satisfied, (5) very satisfied and (6) not used. “Not used” answers were treated like missing data and removed from the analysis. Students were also asked if they used these services “face-to-face” or on campus. The mean scores of CWW students for students/college service areas are rank-ordered from most satisfied to least satisfied as follows:

 Satisfaction with Student Services: % Satisfied Item Used Service (somewhat to very) Mean Face to Face Registration Services 94.3% 4.32 20 ( 5.7%) Security/Privacy Issues 95.1% 4.32 12 ( 3.5%) Records/Transcripts 95.7% 4.20 34 ( 9.8%) CPCC.EDU 93.2% 4.16 2 ( .6%) On-line Library 97.4% 4.09 11 ( 3.1%) Computer Labs 97.2% 4.07 24 ( 6.8%) Instructional Labs 96.8% 3.92 23 ( 6.6%) Student Career Services 96.0% 3.81 24 ( 6.9%) Telephone Information 91.7% 3.86 11 ( 3.1%) Testing/Assessment Center 90.5% 3.84 24 ( 6.9%) Bookstore 88.1% 3.66 75 (21.2%) Academic Advising 78.8% 3.54 51 (14.4%) 14

Financial Aid 92.8% 3.38 26 ( 7.5%) Counseling 91.7% 3.29 59 (17.0%)

 Potential New Services Available On-line:

Students were also asked if the following services were available online, would you use them. The following number and percent indicated “yes”:

Tutoring Services 213 (60.7%) Student Life/Activities 161 (46.5%) Welcome/Information Center 242 (69.5%) Other Services 42 (20.8%)

Suggestions for other services to be made available online were: chat rooms with the instructor, chat rooms with the deans to help improve programs, advisors for online students only, a place to submit questions about college related services (financial aid, advising, records, etc.) and receive prompt answers, bookstore and testing online. Overall, College Without Walls students were satisfied with student/college services and they rated student/college services slightly higher than traditional classroom students. Results Overall, students were satisfied with instructional elements of the College and with student/college services. Since the last curriculum student survey done in spring 2000, several changes in student characteristics have been observed. Some of the major observations made in this study were:

 Approximately 10% of curriculum students use a language other than English in their homes

 46.3% of CPCC curriculum students are first-generation college students

 22% of students attend classes at more than one campus

 The majority of curriculum students are attending to earn a credential (associate degree, certificate or diploma)

 For the most part, students at the South and West Campuses were more satisfied with elements of instruction and student/college services than students at other campuses.

 Curriculum students are getting younger o 58.2% were under 25 in 2002 compared to 45.2% in 2000

 Curriculum students are less employed o unemployment increased over the past two years from 16.5% 2000 to 21.5% in 2002 o the percentage of students working full-time decreased from 47.8% in 2000 to 34.4% in 2002

 Curriculum students earn less money o The percentage of CPCC students earning less than $20,000 per year increased from 42% in spring 2000 to 54.4% in 2002 15

 When compared to traditional students, a greater percentage of College Without Walls students are employed fulltime, have college degrees and are interested in degree programs

The Current Continuing Education Student Survey will be available in July or August 2002.

A complete copy of the survey results may be obtained from the Planning and Research Web site: Http://inside.cpcc.edu/planning