City College students are younger than they’ve been in past years and more satisfied with the variety of courses offered on campus.

Those are just two of the findings from the Student Satisfaction Survey administered in spring 2008 and released in October.

The survey asks questions regarding whether students feel safe on campus, and
whether they feel their classes are scheduled at convenient times for them.

“The district uses it for their own strategic planning purposes,” Keys said. “[We] use the results to craft the goals, and strategic plan for the district at the time.”

According to Keys, the survey focuses on what is important to the students and what they feel needs improvement. Keys said that the survey has been administered since 1998, typically being given every three years.

Cathryn McCombs, majoring in Occupational Therapy, was surprised that there was a “student satisfaction survey”, and expressed dissatisfaction when asked how she felt about her classes.

“There are professors here who aren’t doing their job,” McCombs said. “Yes we
have resources, but it comes down to the actual education. I really think the professors should be evaluated more.”

The Noel-Levitz Student Satisfaction Survey was created by the District Office of
Institutional Research along with the College Research Office. At City College, the
survey was administered with the help of students under the supervision of professor of psychology Dr. Allan Keys.

At City College close to 400 students participated in the survey in the spring semester. When asked if the survey was given to enough students, student Teddy Moy responded.

“I think they should give it to more students,” Moy said. “That’s like asking one out of five students at this school. They should give the survey at the end of the year.”

More female students participated in the survey than male students. The age group was 19 to 24 years old. 70 percent of the students that attend City College work off-campus. It compares facts between 2004 and 2008. For example, 17 percent of students said they own their home; in 2004, that number was 25 percent.

In 2008, the percentage of students wanting to transfer is higher at 59 percent than 2004 when it was 52 percent.

Another significant change in the results comparing the student demography for 2004 to 2008 is that the students who responded in 2008 are younger.

“The most important point to make about the student satisfaction survey is that we really use the results to help improve our processes and services,” said Susie Williams, Los Rios spokesperson. “It is very rewarding to see that student satisfaction has increased since we last administered the survey in 2004 and to see the positive effect we have made on student satisfaction by remodeling and building new facilities on all of our campuses.”