Vol.5, No. 7     Published by Assessment Resource Office, ENMU     Date: 4-23-97

In the fall of 1994, the Student Concerns Committee of the Student Senate discussed surveying the campus on student satisfaction. The Assessment Resource Office provided to the Student Concerns Committee examples of several commercially available instruments and also made available to them the option of a locally developed survey. Upon review of the College Student Survey, College Student Experience Questionnaire, and the Student Satisfaction Inventory, the Student Concerns Committee chose the latter.

Working with the Assessment Resource Office, the survey was administered through classes in February of 1995. Those results were used to improve programs and services in a number of areas. It was decided that the SSI should be re-administered two years later to better define areas of concern and to measure improvements. The results of the 1995 SSI have been reported in past issues of the DATAWave.

As in the past, the Student Satisfaction Inventory was administered to courses. Care was taken to administer the SSI to the same courses as the first administration. Where those courses were not available, or the instructor not willing to participate, similar courses were chosen.

Demographics
In 1995, 1095 students took the SSI compared to 861 students in 1997. The cohort in 1995 was 60% women, whereas it was 57% in 1997. The ethnic minority proportion of students in both cases was similar (28% in 1995 compared to 29% in 1997). In both cases, the proportion of students who were traditional aged (18-24) was 70%, and the majority of students in both cases (95%) were day time students. In 1995, 95% of the students identified themselves as full time students as compared to 1997 when 92% identified themselves as full time students.

The proportion of students by student level was:

The SSI is composed of 116 questions yielding 11 scale scores. It takes approximately 30 minutes to administer, and students are asked to report the importance and satisfaction on a number of items on a 7 point Likert type scale. In addition to mean scores for importance and satisfaction, the SSI yields a performance gap score--the measure of importance less the level of satisfaction. The scale definitions have been published in the past (DATAWave Vol. 1, No. 14) and are available at this link or from the Assessment Resource Office. They are not included here because of space constraints.

The results of each of the scales are represented in the following series of twelve bar graphs. The results are available from the Assessment Resource Office.

Summary
In all cases, measures of student satisfaction increased. For each of the scales, the performance gap improved; that is, the overall measure of student satisfaction was closer to the students' overall measure of importance. For all measures of satisfaction, the ENMU results are statistically significantly above the national mean. In all instances for all scales, the performance gaps for ENNU are smaller than the national average.

Observation
These results might be due in part to improved student services in the office of Financial Aid, as well as improved services in registration. These and other improvements to the campus have perhaps led to a synergistic effect--an overall decline in student negativity.

The fact that Eastern New Mexico University is a small, friendly campus contributes to the overall results, and this may be what the SSI best measures about Eastern. Also, the original SSI administration in 1995 raised campus attention to overall student satisfaction.

Recommendation
Advising scores increased less than other areas, and this suggests that there is an opportunity for proactive improvement. Also, it is recommended that members of the Eastern community continue to ensure that student satisfaction remain a priority, and that the results from the SSI should be folded in strategic planning efforts.

Conclusion
The results from the 1997 administration of the Student Satisfaction Inventory is good news and speaks well of the strengths of the University. Overall, students at Eastern New Mexico University are much more satisfied than the national averages; however, we should be cautioned that simply exceeding the national averages is not enough, rather we should move toward specific targets in a strategic planning process.

Eastern New Mexico University is an affirmative action and equal opportunity employer. The University does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, or handicap in its programs, activities, or employment. Persons seeking additional information about the University's nondiscrimination policy should contact the Executive Director for Planning & Analysis, ENMU Station #2, Portales, NM 88130.

ARO Home	ENMU Home	Mail