2009 STUDENT SURVEYS: web-exclusive charts
By Macleans.ca | February 4th, 2009 | 9:16 pm
Students tell what they really think about their university, from the size of their classes to the quality of their profs.
The CUSC survey is an annual survey with a focus on student satisfaction. In 2008, the survey canvassed undergraduates for their opinions. Participating universities sent an extensive questionnaire to a random sampling of up to 1,000 undergrads, asking questions about everything from academics to support services. Nearly 12,000 students responded.
[...] also scored very well in satisfaction with quality of teaching, intellectual stimulation and personal treatment by [...]
[...] small classes rule. For more chart-topping results, check out Maclean’s other CUSC results here. This bodes well for my little academic [...]
I want to commend all of the small, community-minded universities who participated in the Macleans surveys. Many of these primarily undergraduate, student-focused schools managed to provide the resources and faculty necessary the high-quality university experience while still facilitating personal interaction. I think of universities like Redeemer and Tyndale who both scored extremely high (number one and two) on the 2009 CUSC survey, under “web-exclusive charts”.
These institutions foster an awareness of deep faith commitments (which make up the underbelly of every institution whether “religious” or not), interpersonal dynamics, a caring atmosphere, and a community-driven culture.
Kudos to these small universities who have largely adopted a holistic focus; centering on the development of the whole person, not simply the mind.
Now that colleges are offering four-year degrees in programs that compare favorably to those of universities, it is time to survey their students alongside university students. There is no difference any more.
You might be surprised at the results.
Best regards,
Jonathan Baylis
I am a professor at the University of Calgary, which ranks lowest in many of these areas. In Calgary, many students (and faculty) commute from the suburbs through a large city with traffic and transit challenges. This affects students’ availability and their desire to meet with teachers and other students on campus outside of class time. Many students want to spend as little time on campus as possible because they are working about 12h/week, spend about 6-10h/week to travel to campus and back home again, and they want to study at home and have a social life. Even though I post my appointment calendar publicly and continually encourage students to book appointments or come during designated office hours, I rarely see students take advantage of them. In order to accommodate student schedules, I even come to class with a sign up sheet for appointments 2x/term for opportunities for consultations that take place DURING one of our class hours, so I know the students are available! Still — only 5-10% of students sign up for any appointments. PS. I do get some reward for my efforts, though: In my course rating results in the past two years I am rated most highly for my availability (an average of 6.6 out of 7).
Tania’s comment is, I think, relevant for at least two good reasons. First, many professors and administrators are frustrated by surveys of this sort which capture factors they can’t possibly control or change. Traffic patterns, for example. That doesn’t mean the surveys are wrong. I come from a commuter campus as well and the problems this causes are both real and significant. If the geographic locale has something to do with that, it’s no less important as a fact. So the frustration is understandable, but it doesn’t undermine the information.
Second, however, statistics and surveys are only that. They are aggregate information. And if I could only get every single student to sit still for twenty seconds that’s the one bit of advice I’d impart. Your experiences, as a student, do not need to be the aggregate of everyone else’s experiences. So if there’s some factor on your campus that’s affecting the quality of students’ experiences, simply identify it and take the time and make the effort to overcome it. In this case, it may indeed be a pain in the ass to come to campus outside class time. But if you make the effort you’ll reap the rewards. And you don’t have to be one of the statistics.
Well, you’re right if you’re saying that if a certain campus is attractive, its unattractive elements can be overcome. But future students have few ideas as to what they want, besides quality, and aggregate statistics are therefore their best bet, most accessible resource when deciding. Their use comes in identifying obstacles beforehand, so they never have a chance to become something to sidestep.