1

Overview

Houston Community College recently commissioned yaffe|DEUTSER to conduct a student satisfaction survey as part of an overall strategic initiative. Data was collected through an online survey implemented by yaffe|DEUTSER. The following summary was compiled from the research report to provide an overview of the research process and findings. These findings will impact HCC’s operations, communications, and strategic planning.

Research Methodology

The Student Satisfaction survey was conducted by yaffe|DEUTSER. The goal of the survey is to measure overall student satisfaction levels to determine any areas of concern. The Net Promoter Score was also calculated as an additional satisfaction measure. In addition, a Communication Audit was conducted to analyze the effectiveness of HCC’s communication with students.

yaffe|DEUTSER conducted an online survey of Houston-area residents from April 9 to May 2, 2013. The survey was emailed to all students, the link was put on the website in several places, and campus public relations directors assisted in promoting the surveys at their campuses.

The survey consisted of closed-ended questions, took approximately ten minutes to complete, and included questions relating to: overall satisfaction, satisfaction with facilities and services, communication, awareness of specific programs, demographics, and descriptive information. A total of 4275 surveys were conducted. All data was compared by campus based on where students reported taking the majority of their courses. The response rates were high enough for each campus to have a statistically valid sample.

Online Survey of Houston-area residents

HCC Student Survey Summary

Campus

Central College

Coleman College for Health Sciences

Northeast College

Northwest College

Southeast College

Southwest College

Online

TOTAL*

Number of Surveys

772

188

408

950

548

1100

309

4275

2

1. To measure overall student satisfaction including satisfaction levels regarding services and facilities. 2. To calculate HCC’s Net Promoter Score as an indicator of overall student satisfaction levels. 3. To measure communication between HCC and students. 4. To measure the awareness of specific programs (Coleman and Online courses).

Overall Findings:Student Satisfaction

• Students were satisfied with the variables having to do with their courses: appropriate class size (4.18), challenging courses (4.02), convenient classes (4.02), and variety of courses (3.94). Of the variables related to courses, the lowest score was for availability of courses (3.73).

• Campus cleanliness (4.14) and maintenance of facilities (4.11) were also highly rated.• The lowest score for satisfaction was for food options (3.08).• Extracurricular activities a lso received a low score (3.27).• Registration and admissions received lower scores, particularly with regards to staff assistance during registration (3.51) and staff assistance during admissions (3.54).

• Another area of concern was the convenience of office hours for administrative and student services (3.70).

• HCC’s Net Promoter Score (NPS) for students was 30% (on a scale of + or – 100%). This puts HCC in between average and above average with regards to its NPS score. NPS is used as an additional measurement of satisfaction and shows that overall, students are satisfied with their experience at HCC and are more likely to recommend HCC than they are to speak negatively of the school.

Communication Audit• 83% feel the information they do receive is of acceptable to high quality.• One quarter (26%) of students do not feel they receive enough information overall from HCC. Sixty-eight percent (68%) feel they receive the right amount of information.

• Students receive the most and best information via email. They also prefer to receive information this way.

• They receive the least amount of information from HCC’s Facebook page.

Awareness of Coleman College for Health Sciences• Eighty-six percent (86%) of students were aware that HCC offers programs in Health Sciences on an aided basis.

• Sixty-one percent (61%) of students said they were aware that HCC has a campus in the medical center on an aided basis.

• Thirty-five percent (35%) of respondents correctly named Coleman as the campus in the medical center.

Online Education • Ninety-three percent (93%) of all respondents were aware that HCC offers online courses on an aided basis.

Research Objectives

3

• Forty-six percent (46%) of respondents have taken an online course at HCC.• Overall satisfaction for online courses was moderate with a score of 3.84 (out of 5.0).• Responses were fairly neutral with regards to preference for online courses and the amount of time spent on online courses.

• Students agree that they take online courses when traditional formats are not available.

Decision to Attend HCC• Low cost, flexibility of course times, convenient locations, and availability of courses were all rated as extremely important in deciding to attend HCC.

• Referrals from others were the least important factors when choosing to attend HCC.• However, when referring to the last time that they registered, students were more likely to list friends or family members as the primary reason they registered for courses at HCC.

College Segmentations• Appropriate class size and campus cleanliness consistently rated high for all campuses with Southeast (4.26), Northeast (4.25), and Northwest (4.25) having the highest scores for appropriate class size. Northeast (4.24) and Coleman (4.23) had the highest scores for campus cleanliness.

• Staff assistance during registration was consistently low for all campuses with Southwest College having the lowest score (3.43) and Northeast and Southeast having the highest scores (3.63).

• Northeast College had the highest Net Promoter Score (40%), while Central had the lowest (25%).

• Coleman had the highest percentage of students that had taken online classes (64%).• The highest overall satisfaction scores for online courses were for Southeast College (3.87), Northeast (3.86), and Coleman (3.85).