1
June 2002
Results from the Spring 2002 Curriculum Student Survey
CentralPiedmontCommunity 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 CityViewCenter. 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 362completed 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 RespondentsCPCC Spring 2002
GenderMale556 (47.7%)6,624 (43.6%)
Female610 (52.3%) 8,573 (56.4%)
Missing 21
AgeSurvey RespondentsCPCC Spring 2002
20392(33.4%)2,921 (19.2%)
21-25291(24.5%)4,374 (28.8%)
26-30157(13.4%)2,178 (14.3%)
31-40177(15.1%)3,022 (19.9%)
41-50110( 9.4%)1,785 (11.7%)
51+ 48( 4.1%) 917 ( 6.0%)
Missing12
EthnicitySurvey RespondentsCPCC Spring 2002
White762(65.0%)9,357 (61.6%)
Black276(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 HomeEnglish1,049 (89.7%)
Spanish 32 ( 2.7%)
Other 88 7.5%)
A typical student respondent was female, white, under 30and 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 LevelNumber (Percent)
Less than 12 years 47 (4.0%)
High school diploma/GED599(50.7%)
Some college372(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 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 guardianMother/female guardian
Less than 12 years150 (12.9%)121(10.5%)
High school grad/GED314(27.0%)334(28.9%)
Some college246(21.1%)286(24.8%)
College graduate234(20.1%)275(23.8%)
Graduate school/degree163(14.0%)102( 8.8%)
Don’t' know 58( 5.0%) 36( 3.1%)
Missing 2233
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%)
Part-time (21-39 hrs. per week)343(29.1%)
Part-time (less than 20 hrs. per week)177(15.0%)
Unemployed254(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 MecklenburgCounty.
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 LevelNumber (Percent)
Less than $ 10,000389(35.0%)
$10 - 19,999215(19.4%)
$20 - 29,999196(17.7%)
$30 - 39,999 128(11.5%)
$40 - 49,999 79( 7.1%)
More than $50,000 103 ( 9.3%)
Missing77
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 StatementNumber (Percent)
Obtain 2 yr. degree and enter the workforce385 (32.4%)
Obtain 2 yr. degree and transfer to a 4 yr. school333 (28.1%)
Take courses and transfer to a 4 yr. college295 (24.9%)
Obtain a diploma or certificate193 (16.3%)
Prepare for a different job151 (12.7%)
Personal interest/enrichment147 (12.4%)
Update skills for current job119 (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 CityViewCenter. 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:
% 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:
% SatisfiedItem
(Somewhat to Very)Mean
Quality of instruction93.5%3.94
Classroom facilities93.6% 3.91
Times classes are offered89.7%3.82
Campus/site where classes were offered87.2%3.81
Availability of instructors91.3% 3.74
Quality of faculty advisor 88.0%3.68
Availability of classes88.3%3.67
Library resources88.1% 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
SatisfactionImportantor Very% SatisfiedMean
with ServicesImportant(Somewhat to Very)Satisfaction
Computer Labs77.3%93.2%4.06
College Webpage70.9%92.6%3.99
Registration Services84.9%92.2%3.98
Security79.5%91.2%3.96
Welcome/Information Center68.9%93.5% 3.95
Records/Transcripts78.5%92.1%3.90
Testing/Assessment Center82.3%91.1%3.86
Instructional Labs73.2%90.5%3.85
Student Career Services78.6%90.9%3.81
Library77.6%79.6%3.79
Parking91.7%83.3%3.76
Importance of and% scoring Factor as
SatisfactionImportantor Very% SatisfiedMean
with ServicesImportant(Somewhat to Very)Satisfaction
Student Life Activities53.3%86.9%3.70
Academic Learning/Tutoring59.6%89.5%3.69
Telephone Information68.0%88.2% 3.67
Counseling69.9%85.2%3.61
Financial Aid64.4%80.6%3.59
Food Service/Vending58.7%85.3%3.57
Academic Advisement69.8%84.2%3.56
Bookstore 76.6%76.5%3.41
Fitness/Weight Room48.3%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
AreaImportant or Very Satisfaction
ImportantScore
Registration services74.4% 4.12
Parking74.1% 3.90
Bookstore68.7% 3.59
Security60.9% 4.16
Computer Labs59.1% 4.28
Records/Transcripts58.7% 4.08
College Webpage58.6%4.27
Academic Advising 54.6%3.76
Library54.4% 4.00
Testing/Assessment Centers49.8% 4.14
Instructional Labs48.2% 4.11
Welcome/Information Center46.9% 4.23
Counseling45.1%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
Fitness/Weight Room17.6%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 Classes922 (79.1%)
College Catalog912 (77.7%)
Internet CPCC Webpage760 (65.1%)
Articles in the Newspaper338 (29.8%)
High School Counselor331 (28.7%)
Circulars Mailed to You445 (28.3%)
High School Teacher300 (26.0%)
Newspaper Ads298 (25.6%)
Television Ads268 (23.1%)
Radio Ads253 (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 SouthNorth SouthwestWest
Students:n=456 n=342n=190 n=230n=176
Gender:Male 38.8% 51.9%49.2% 63.3%46.8%
Female61.2% 48.1%50.8% 36.7%53.2%
Age: 2129.2% 49.7%46.9% 19.0%33.1%
21-3042.0% 28.3%35.3% 42.4%35.5%
31-4016.9% 10.6% 5.8% 22.6%18.0%
41-50 9.1% 7.9% 7.9% 13.3% 8.7%
>502.7% 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 AreaCentral SouthNorth SouthwestWest
Availability of Classes3.61 3.693.72 3.483.86
Availability of Instructors3.71 3.783.70 3.583.86
Campus/site Where
Classes are Offered3.77 3.993.70 3.543.80
Classroom Facilities3.76 4.063.75 3.924.10
Library Resources3.81 3.623.45 3.543.67
Quality of Faculty
Advisors3.62 3.703.49 3.643.91
Quality of Instruction3.94 3.953.91 3.894.01
Times Classes are Offered3.82 3.883.75 3.644.03
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 AreaCentral SouthNorth SouthwestWest
Academic Advising3.50 3.673.173.533.85
Learning/Tutoring3.78 3.733.38 3.593.98
Bookstore3.55 3.813.19 3.123.03
Computer Labs4.03 4.203.82 3.924.27
CPCC Webpage4.04 4.043.81 3.934.11
Counseling3.63 3.723.14 3.653.82
Financial Aid3.68 3.583.25 3.733.62
Fitness/Weight Room3.53 3.103.343.353.59
Food Services/Vending3.59 3.653.43 3.473.78
Instructional Labs3.86 3.853.53 3.844.10
Parking3.28 3.963.69 3.874.05
Library3.96 3.813.40 3.823.78
Records/Transcripts3.92 4.033.61 3.773.96
Registration Services3.93 4.133.82 3.924.02
Student Life/Activities3.61 3.843.33 3.653.95
Security3.88 4.003.68 3.984.29
Student Career Services3.88 3.853.53 3.723.90
Telephone Information3.72 3.653.38 3.633.90
Testing Center3.93 3.783.66 3.854.00
WelcomeCenter3.99 4.023.67 3.904.09
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
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 Workshops54.2%
Leadership Development53.5%
Multi-cultural Programs45.0%
Program Area% Indicating Important to Very Important
Community Services44.4%
Recreational Activities42.3%
Student Clubs and Organizations40.6%
Live Music and Entertainment37.0%
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 Mornings214 (18.0%)
Weekday Lunchtime278 (23.4%)
Weekday Afternoons229 (19.3%)
Weekday Evenings296 (24.9%)
Weekend Days313 (26.4%)
Weekend Evenings167 (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.
Communication Method% Indicating Important to Very Important
Campus Signs54.5%
Classroom Announcements53.7%
Word of Mouth53.7%
Fliers or Bulletin Boards50.3%
The SPARK (student newspaper)29.3%
CPCC – TV28.2%
Distance Education: Student/College Services, Instructional Elements and Student Satisfaction
Due to the nature of distance education students, a separateonline 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 students and their satisfaction with those services. Demographic characteristics of student respondents are compared to those of all CWW students as follows:
CWWSpring 2002
RespondentsCWW Students
Gender:Male 77 (22.3%) 800 (33%)
Female269 (77.7%)1,627 (67%)
Race:White256 (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%)
CWWSpring 2002
RespondentsCWW Students
Age:< 21 50 (17.0%) 331 (13.6%)
21-30 60 (20.4%)1,073 (44.3%)
31-40106 (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/GED121 (33.7%)
Some College148 (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. school143 (39.7%)
Obtain 2 yr. degree and enter the workforce130 (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.
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):
LocationNumber (percent) indicating primary use
Home334 (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:
TypeNumber (percent) indicating use
Dial-up Modem181 (50.8%)
DSL/Cable/Roadrunner162 (45.5%)
Don’t know 13 (3.7%)
Email Use
Daily268 (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
Yes181 (51.1%)
No173 (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 StatusNumber (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 ClassesNumber (percent)
Daytime160 (45.5%)
Evening171 (48.6%)
Weekend 21 ( 6.0%)
Preference for Receiving ServicesNumber (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%)
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