2012-2013 SHC Student Experiences Survey

April 9, 2013Prepared by

Jamie Franco-Zamudioand

Nate Tenhundfeld, Lab Manager

Project funded by SHC Summer Research Grant, Faculty Development1

2013 SHC Student Experiences Survey

• Goal: To increase retention by examining the factors that affect Spring Hill College students’ satisfaction and commitment.

• Method: Franco-Zamudio solicited questions from faculty and staff at SHC in 2011 and 2012.

• Once the online survey was revised to include new questions, the link was emailed to all SHC students enrolled in fall of 2012.

• Survey questions addressed – student expectations, – satisfaction with academics and social activities, – technological needs, – alcohol and drug use, – perceptions of campus safety, and – confidence in academic abilities. 2

2013 SHC Student Experiences SurveyQuestionnaire Development Team

• Questionnaire development: Father Richard Salmi, President; Joe Deighton, Dean of Students, Student Affairs; Margarita Perez, Associate Dean of Students, Student Affairs; George Sims, Provost, Academic Affairs; Lynda Olen, Counselor, Wellness Center; Julie LaSalle, Director of Student Involvement, Student Affairs; Lisa Hager, Chair of Social Sciences; Jim Hall, Athletic Director; Kyle Trusgnich, Associate Director Italy Center; Tracey Childs, Director of CAE; Josetta Mulloy, Student Affairs; Daniel Jesus Iglesias, Psychology, Student Researcher; and the Student Affairs Department.

• Research Assistants: Harrison McNab, Edwin Burgess, Patrick Culotta, and Andres Garcia. 3

Method• Method: In February of 2013, Franco-Zamudio

and Tenhundfeld trained research assistants to code the open-ended questions for common responses. Tenhundfeld approved the coding schemes.

• In March, Franco-Zamudio, Tenhundfeld, and McNabb analyzed the data; the frequencies and descriptive statistics are outlined in this report.

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Participant Demographics

• Two hundred seventy-two SHC students completed one or more sections of the survey between September and December of 2012.

• The demographic representation is in line with the SHC Common Data Set (2012-2013).

• The average age of the participants was 21.47 years (range 18-61).

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Number Percentage SHC%

Gender Men 48 23% 39% Women 161 77% 61%Race/Ethnicity White/European-American 139 67% 65% Black/African-American 35 17% 17% Hispanic/Latino 11 5% 8% Asian-American 1 1% 1% Other 10 5% 7% Mixed 11 5% 2%Additional Information

Commuters 38 18% 20% Transfer Students 19 9% Students in Learning Communities 73 34%Year First-Year Student 91 34%

Second-Year Student 69 26%Third-Year Student 56 20%Fourth-Year Student 54 20%

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Results: Academic Confidence • Students completed the 17-item Academic

Self-Efficacy Scale (Chemers, Hu, & Garcia, 2001; M=4.20, SD= .49). – Students indicated their level of agreement (1=

Strongly disagree to 5= Strongly agree) with statements such as, • I know how to schedule my time to accomplish my

schoolwork. • I can understand a vast amount of academic information. • I have the ability to get good grades at SHC.

– There were no statistically significant differences in responses for gender or race/ethnicity.

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8

Men Women White/European-American Black/African-American Latino Other0

1

2

3

4

5

4.22 4.17 4.22 4.16 4.09 4.05

Academic Self-Efficacy

Mea

n

9

68.60%

27.80%

3.70%

Do you find Spring Hill academically challenging?

YesSomewhatNo

Results: Student satisfaction • Students completed the 18-item Noel Levitz

Student Satisfaction Survey ( M=3.88, SD= .54). • Students indicated their level of agreement (1= Strongly

disagree to 5= Strongly agree) with statements such as, • “It is an enjoyable experience to be a student at SHC;” • “SHC staff and faculty show concern for students as

individuals;” • “Admission counselors accurately portray the campus in

their recruiting practices;” • “Living conditions in residence halls are comfortable;” and • “This campus is safe and secure for all students.”

• There were no statistically significant differences in responses for gender or race/ethnicity. 10

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Men Women White/European-American Black/African-American Latino Other0

1

2

3

4

5

3.85 3.88 3.94

3.7

3.953.76

NLSS Satisfaction

Mea

n

12

52.80%47.20%

Was Spring Hill your first choice?

NoYes

Student Satisfaction • Students also responded to a one-item question: “How satisfied

are you with your social life on campus?” Students indicated satisfaction on a 1 to 100-point feeling thermometer.

1 100

• There were no significant differences for gender or race/ethnicity.

13

14

Men Women White/European-American Black/African-American Latino Other0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

69.3567.18

70.05

57.43

69.4565.55

How satisfied are you with your social life?

Mea

n

What is the number one thing that students spend their time doing?*

• Homework (n=120)• Socializing (n=54)• Procrastinating (n=37)• Involvement in clubs or organizations (n=27)• Athletics Team (n=27)• Service (n=24)• Fraternity/Sorority activities (n=19)• Exercising (n=17)

*Students were instructed to rank order the choices listed above, however, several students indicated more than one option was their number one activity. . 15

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Gaming C

onsole

Laptop

Desktop

Calculat

or

Cell Phone

Smart

PhoneRad

io

Movie Pro

jectors

iPad/Ta

blet

Telev

ision

E-Rea

der

iPod/MP3 Play

er

Stereo

Printer

Scanner

Router

Exter

nal Hard

Drive

0

50

100

150

200

250

51

200

111

173

196

177

96

37

52

172

34

151

65

182

93

61 64

What technology do you use on campus?

Freq

uenc

y

Favorite Social Activities

• Students’ favorite social activities were generally “hanging out” with friends (n=84), watching or playing sports (n=52), Movie/TV and Board/Videogame nights (n=42)

“I does not matter what the activity is as long as it is one that brings the student body together… like a sporting event.”- First-year, White woman, Communications major

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What would you like to see on campus?

• Football• More fitness activities• Concerts• Guest speakers• Paintball/paint parties• Poetry nights• Instrumental band program• Ice-breakers for Freshmen• Swimming• School spirit activities

• Skeet/trap shooting• Horror movie nights• School sponsored parties• Religious activities• More Free Art Fridays• Dances• Foam parties• Pep rallies• Speed dating

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How frequently do you attend church services on campus or

elsewhere?

Response Frequency Valid Percent

Never 38 17.1

Not frequently 41 18.5

Sometimes 47 21.2

Frequently 44 19.8

Very frequently 52 23.4

Total 222 100.0

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How frequently do you pray (either alone or with others)

Response Frequency Valid Percent

Valid Never 23 10.4

Not frequently 30 13.6

Sometimes 42 19.0

Frequently 73 33.0

Very

frequently

53 24.0

Total 221 100.0

Above variables by grade level (1-5:Never – Very

frequently)

Level Church Pray

Fresh Mean 3.1974 3.4000

N 76 75

Std. Deviation 1.33686 1.24119

Soph Mean 3.1930 3.4211

N 57 57

Std. Deviation 1.54039 1.34891

Junior Mean 2.8261 3.3913

N 46 46

Std. Deviation 1.41899 1.27329

Senior Mean 3.3333 3.7143

N 42 42

Std. Deviation 1.35551 1.27424

Total Mean 3.1448 3.4636

N 221 220

Std. Deviation 1.41320 1.27982

Above variables by gender (1-5:Never – Very frequently)

Gender Church Pray

Female Mean 3.2688 3.6250

N 160 160

Std. Deviation 1.36774 1.18029

Male Mean 2.8125 3.0426

N 48 47

Std. Deviation 1.49689 1.45897

Total Mean 3.1635 3.4928

N 208 207

Std. Deviation 1.40812 1.26901

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How important to you is service work?

Frequency Valid Percent

Valid N/A 21 9.5

Not at all 4 1.8

Not very 11 5.0

Neither 23 10.5

Somewhat 86 39.1

Very 75 34.1

Total 220 100.0

How important to you was your immersion trip, if you

took one?

Frequency Valid Percent

Valid N/A 175 81.8

Not at all 1 .5

Not very 1 .5

Neither 11 5.1

Somewhat 5 2.3

Very 21 9.8

Total 214 100.0

How important to you are the sports you participate in?

Frequency Valid Percent

Valid N/A 132 60.8

Not at all 1 .5

Not very 4 1.8

Neither 13 6.0

Somewhat 28 12.9

Very 39 18.0

Total 217 100.0

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Student Center McKinney's Java City Library Dorm room Classroom/Lab Other I study off campus0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

15

1

9

86

117

14

23

35

Where do you study most frequently?

Freq

uenc

y

22

Learn

ing Community

Academ

ic Club

Varsity

/Club Sp

orts

Intramural

s

Soro

rity

Frater

nity

Interest

Club

School O

rganiza

tion (CPB, S

GA)

Religio

us Orga

nizaito

n

Servi

ce Orga

nization

Honor Socie

ty

Residen

ce Lif

e

Donnelly S

cholar

sW

orkOther

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

4

53

48

4

31

9

33

21

42

9

14

4 3

11

38

What are you involved in on campus?

Freq

uenc

y

Do you feel safe on campus? Why or why not?

Yes

• Public Safety– Availability

• No reason not to be• Campus being closed• Safe practices• Tight knit community• Campus is well lit• I know how to be safe

– Life experiences, training

No

• Recent events• Public safety doesn’t have

full police powers• Dorms are too easily

accessible• Not everywhere is well lit• Strangers frequently on

campus• Personally experienced a

crime

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To what extent do you feel distracted from your personal and academic goals by alcohol misuse and/or

illegal drug use on Spring Hill’s Campus• The average ranged from “extremely distracted” to “not at all

distracted” (M=4.12, SD=1.03).

24To

o much

noise

Sexu

al hara

ssmen

t

Feeli

ng unsaf

e

Increase

d socia

l life

Fallin

g beh

ind in sc

hool

Vandali

sm/th

eft

Peer p

ressu

re

Too fr

equen

t

Babysi

tting0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

18

If applicable, please describe the way(s) that alcohol misues or illegal drug use at SHC have affected you.

Freq

uenc

y

25

Class Size Location Scholarships Campus Academics Community/Atmosphere

Jesuit Athletics History of College

Liberal Arts Education

Family/Friends

Other0

20

40

60

80

100

120

109 109

101

74

94

78

60

38

8 6

32

41

What made you choose Spring Hill?

Freq

uenc

y

26

Academ

ics

Community

People/

Frien

ds

Atmosp

here

Involve

ment

Campus (

location/fa

cilities)

Opportunities/

Exp.

Jesuit T

radition

No explan

ation

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

160

144

25

51

1410 11

24

2

76

Have we met your expectations? (Yes reasons)

Freq

uenc

y

27

Involve

ment

Campus li

fe/pro

gramming

Academ

ics

Campus s

ize

People/

Frien

ds

Finan

ces

Alcohol a

buse

Facili

ties

Mainten

ance

Sports

Safet

y Concer

nsOther

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

5

3

29

6

9 9

67

4 4

2

10

Have we met your expectations? (No reasons)

Freq

uenc

y

28

Dining Living Arrangements Activities Cost Facilities Class offerings Safety Landscaping Certain Professors0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

10095

36

2927 26

2219 19

17

What are you least satistifed with at SHC?

Freq

uenc

y

29

Academics Faculty/Staff Other Community Campus Social Activities Experiences Facilities0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

116113

63

56

49

40

2520

What are you most satisfied with at SHC?

Freq

uenc

y

RetentionSHC Student Experiences Survey Goal: To increase retention by examining the factors that affect Spring Hill College students’ satisfaction and commitment.

There were several reasons why students reported that they never considered leaving SHC

• A good fit• Academics• Relationships

91.4% (n=193) surveyed agreed or strongly agreed with the statement “It is an enjoyable experience to be a student at SHC.” (only 1.4% disagree!) 30

RetentionWhile some students reported that the thought crossed their mind due to

– Cost – Social problems– Homesickness

These same students reported that they would not leave because of the

– Relationships they’ve developed– The scholarships/loans they’ve received – Educational experience and necessity

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Thank you

• 2012-2013– Fr. Salmi– Joe Deighton– Margarita Perez– George Sims– Lynda Olen– Julie LaSalle– Lisa Hager– Jim Hall

– Kyle Trusgnich– Tracey Childs– Josetta Mulloy– Daniel Jesus Iglesias

• 2011-2012 – Theresa McGonagle-

Crider– Ramona Hill– Dan Sepion– Brian Studebaker

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Invitation

• We will be revising the survey to pare down to 4 pages (from 9)

• If anyone is interested in being a member of the 2013-2014 Student Experiences Study Committee, please email jfrancozamudio@shc.edu

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