Noel Levitz Student Satisfaction Inventory Results

Introduction

Under the auspices of the Committee on Student Life, Rhode Island College administered the Noel-Levitz, Inc., Student Satisfaction Inventory in the spring of 2004. The Student Satisfaction Inventory is a survey designed to determine the areas of greatest importance to our students, the areas of greatest and least satisfaction, and the greatest performance gaps between levels of importance and levels of satisfaction. By revealing which aspects of the College our students consider most and least important, along with how satisfied they are, this inventory provides a vehicle for the College to set priorities that are closely aligned with those of its students. In addition, Noel-Levitz publishes national norms for the survey, providing a context for the interpretation of results.

The Findings

Demographic Summary

A profile of the Students who participated in this study

• Information
  The two-page Demographic Summary reveals your students' responses to 13 standard demographic items and to two optional items your institution may have defined. Frequency and percentage scores are reported for each item. To learn how the optional items were defined, please consult your institution's inventory administrator.
• Spring 2004 Data
• Fall 1999 Data

Scale Summary

A quick overview of the findings clustered by 12 major scales

• Information
  There are twelve identical composite scales that are derived from the survey to facilitate comparisons. For the 4-year college and university version of the inventory, 73 items of expectation and 6 items that assess the institution's commitment to specific student populations are analyzed statistically and conceptually to provide the following 12 composite scales (some items on the inventory contribute to more than one scale):
• Academic Advising - Effectiveness assesses the comprehensiveness of the academic advising program. Academic advisors are evaluated on the basis of their knowledge, competence and personal concern for student success, as well as on their approachability.
• Campus Climate - assesses the extent to which the institution provides experiences which promote a sense of campus pride and feelings of belonging. This scale also assesses the effectiveness of an institution's channels of communication for students.
• Campus Life - assesses the effectiveness of student life programs offered by the institution, covering issues ranging from athletics to residence life. This scale also assesses campus policies and procedures to determine students' perceptions of their rights and responsibilities.
• Campus Support Services - assesses the quality of support programs and services which students utilize in order to make their educational experiences more meaningful and productive. This scale covers areas such as tutoring, the adequacy of the library and computer labs, and the availability of academic and career services.
• Concern for the Individual - assesses an institution's commitment to treating each student as an individual. Those groups who frequently deal with students on a personal level (e.g., faculty, advisors, counselors, residence hall staff) are included in this assessment.
• Instructional Effectiveness - assesses students' academic experience, the curriculum, and a college's overriding commitment to academic excellence. This comprehensive scale covers areas such as the variety of courses offered, the effectiveness of faculty in and out of the classroom, and the effectiveness of adjunct faculty and graduate teaching assistants.
• Recruitment and Financial Aid Effectiveness - assesses the institution's ability to enroll students in an effective manner. This scale covers issues such as competence and knowledge of admissions counselors, as well as the effectiveness and availability of financial aid programs.
• Registration Effectiveness - assesses issues associated with registration and billing. This scale also measures an institution's commitment to making this process as smooth and effective as possible.
• Responsiveness to Diverse Populations - assesses an institution's commitment to specific groups of students enrolled at the institution, e.g., under-represented populations, students with disabilities, commuters, part-time students, and older, returning learners. (*Please note that importance data are not collected for the six items in this category.
• Safety and Security - assesses a college's responsiveness to students' personal safety and security on campus. This scale measures the effectiveness of both security personnel and campus facilities.
• Service Excellence - assesses the perceived attitude of staff toward students, especially front- line staff. This scale pinpoints the areas of your campus where quality service and personal concern for students are rated most and least favorably.
• Student Centeredness - assesses a campus's efforts to convey to students that they are important to the institution. This scale measures the extent to which students feel welcome and valued.
• Spring 2004 Data
• Fall 1999 Data

Institutional Summary

• Information
  This section of the report presents all inventory data in a traditional chart format. The three areas of measurement for each scale and item - importance, satisfaction and performance gap - for Rhode Island College's data are presented alongside those of the national comparison group. In addition, standard deviations (variability of responses) are presented for the satisfaction means for both Rhode Island College and the national group.
• The last column shows the difference between Rhode Island College's satisfaction means and the national group satisfaction means. If the mean difference in these scores is a positive number, then your students are more satisfied than the students in the national comparison group. If the mean difference is a negative number, your students are less satisfied than the students in the national comparison group.
• The statistical significance in the difference of these means has also been calculated. The key for the levels of significance appears at the bottom of each page. The greater the number of asterisks, the greater the confidence in the significance of this difference, and the greater the likelihood that this did not occur by chance. For example, statistical significance at the .05 level indicates that there are five chances in 100 that the difference between Rhode Island College's satisfaction score and the national comparison group satisfaction score would occur due to chance alone. The .01 level indicates a one in 100 chance and the .001 level indicates a one in 1000 chance.
• Means for importance and satisfaction are calculated by summing respondents' ratings and dividing by the number of respondents. The performance gap means are calculated by taking the difference between the importance rating and the satisfaction rating.
• Four charts are included in this section:
• Chart 1 - scales in order of importance - shows the scales in order of importance, beginning with the scale your personnel deemed most important.
• Chart 2 - items in order of importance - shows the items in order of importance, beginning with the item your personnel deemed most important, including your campus-defined items, if utilized by your institution.
• Chart 3 - scales in alphabetical order - shows the scales in alphabetical order, accompanied by a list of the items included in each scale (link through from Chart 1, and link on each scale).
• Chart 4 - items in sequential order - shows all of the inventory items in sequence, including your campus-defined items, if utilized by your institution.
• Please note:
  Importance data are not collected for the 6 Responsiveness to Diverse Population items. Satisfaction data are not collected for the 9 pre-enrollment items. National comparison data are not available for campus-defined items.
• Spring 2004 Data
• Fall 1999 Data

Summary Items

• Information
  This brief section measures overall student satisfaction with your campus by revealing the extent to which students perceive their expectations have been met, their overall level of satisfaction, and the likelihood that they would enroll again at your institution if they had it to do all over again. The means and standard deviations for both your campus and the national group are reported along with the differences between the two means.
• Spring 2004 Data
• Fall 1999 Data