2008 Woodie Awards
Results from PSUC opinion survey show higher student satisfaction
Plattsburgh students generally satisfied with experiences
Megan Munroe
Issue date: 10/5/07 Section: News
Originally published: 10/4/07 at 5:02 PM EST
Last update: 10/4/07 at 10:45 PM EST
- Page 1 of 2 next >
The results of student surveys conducted in spring 2006, presented to faculty in May of this year by Robert Davis, indicate that while there are a few areas that need improvement, Plattsburgh State students and alumni are generally satisfied with their experiences on campus, both in and out of the classroom.
Student opinion surveys are administered SUNY-wide every three years and are used as a way of measuring how well colleges across the state are doing in educating their students on a variety of levels.
For students who were here during the spring semester and are wondering why they don't remember being surveyed, the reason is this - because there are more students in some majors than there are in others, deans and faculty gave surveys to some classes and not to others in order to achieve a relatively equal representation among all majors and years. If it were not done this way, a department that was doing better or worse than the others and had more students enrolled in it than others could tilt the overall rating of the entire college in the positive or negative direction.
"It wasn't achieved 100 percent, but we did get fairly even representation by class level which was an important outcome," said Davis, a professor in the auditory research lab.
Davis said that of 1,175 students selected to be surveyed, 539 students responded. Thus the response rate was about 65 percent, he said - the norm for SUNY comprehensive colleges.
Though it was not included in his presentation earlier this year, Davis said one of the most notable trends in the results is the high rate of self-proclaimed success among PSUC students, "significantly higher" than the SUNY average, in six areas - writing and speaking clearly and effectively; understanding, communicating and working with others; acquiring knowledge and skills needed to maximize health and physical well-being; understanding and appreciating ethnic and cultural diversity; using computer technology; and understanding the rights, responsibilities and privileges of a citizen.
Student opinion surveys are administered SUNY-wide every three years and are used as a way of measuring how well colleges across the state are doing in educating their students on a variety of levels.
For students who were here during the spring semester and are wondering why they don't remember being surveyed, the reason is this - because there are more students in some majors than there are in others, deans and faculty gave surveys to some classes and not to others in order to achieve a relatively equal representation among all majors and years. If it were not done this way, a department that was doing better or worse than the others and had more students enrolled in it than others could tilt the overall rating of the entire college in the positive or negative direction.
"It wasn't achieved 100 percent, but we did get fairly even representation by class level which was an important outcome," said Davis, a professor in the auditory research lab.
Davis said that of 1,175 students selected to be surveyed, 539 students responded. Thus the response rate was about 65 percent, he said - the norm for SUNY comprehensive colleges.
Though it was not included in his presentation earlier this year, Davis said one of the most notable trends in the results is the high rate of self-proclaimed success among PSUC students, "significantly higher" than the SUNY average, in six areas - writing and speaking clearly and effectively; understanding, communicating and working with others; acquiring knowledge and skills needed to maximize health and physical well-being; understanding and appreciating ethnic and cultural diversity; using computer technology; and understanding the rights, responsibilities and privileges of a citizen.
Be the first to comment on this story