The Results Might Surprise You

Online Student Survey Data

Barry DahlLake Superior College

Option 1 - PSOL

Why PSOL?

4

PSOL BasicsThere are 72 questions that comprise the PSOL. Average completion time is 15 minutes.

NOTE: questions are answered on a 7-point Likert scale, where 7 is high.

26 Priorities statements (can add 10)

7 Information sources about school/program

11 Factors to enroll in the program

3 Overall satisfaction questions

14 Demographics questions (can add 1)

The Importance of Importance

Examples of Useful Reports

• Student satisfaction breakdown by online program area

• Primarily online vs. Primarily on-campus• Previous online enrollment• Age breakdown: 24 & under vs. 25 & up• Comparison to MnOnline consortium• Comparison to Peer Group of Schools

Data Comparisons - 1

7

Data Comparisons - 2

8

9

A.A. Students are Very Satisfied

Reputation Offerings Library Quality4.6

4.8

5.0

5.2

5.4

5.6

5.8

6.0

6.2

LSC National A.A. Business Other

2006 Data

10

Primarily Online - LSC Students

Tuition Responds Technical Fin. Aid4.8

5.0

5.2

5.4

5.6

5.8

6.0

LSC National Online On-Campus

2006 Data

5-year Trend Data

11

4-year Trend Data

12

Strengths/Challenges

• Noel-Levitz identifies strengths and challenges based on your data.

• I call these “Internal” strengths and challenges. They might not be a strength or a challenge when compared to others.

14

Matrix for Prioritizing Action

Very Important

Very Unimportant

Very

DissatisfiedVery

Satisfied

1811 32

??

?

15

Noel-Levitz Prioritization Matrix

FY06 Noel-Levitz PSOL - LSC Primarily Online Students

1.00

4.00

7.00

1.00 4.00 7.00

Satisfaction

Imp

ort

an

ce

16

FY06 Noel-Levitz PSOL - LSC Primarily Online Students

5.00

6.00

7.00

5.00 6.00 7.00

Satisfaction

Imp

ort

an

ce

LSC Prioritization Matrix

17

Matrix for Prioritizing Action #2

Very Important

Somewhat Important

Somewhat

SatisfiedVery

Satisfied

1811 32

308

29

20 6

12

25

410

1

18NOTE: SSI is the Noel-Levitz Survey for on-ground learners, PSOL is the Noel-Levitz survey for online learners.

19NOTE: SSI is the Noel-Levitz Survey for on-ground learners, PSOL is the Noel-Levitz survey for online learners.

Peer Group Comparison

• Better than National data• Better than consortium data• We picked 10-13 schools with similar

missions and circumstances• Noel-Levitz ran a special report for us• 2006 (13 schools) and 2008 (10 schools)

21

Largest Differences - Peer Group

4.00

4.50

5.00

5.50

6.00

6.50

7.00

14. Info aboutfinancial aid

24. Tutoringavailable

18. Convenientregistration

20. Quality ofinstruction

13. Facultyinteractions

FY06 Primarily Online Students - PSOL

LSC Peer Group

Added Questions

• 10 spots for additional statements• MnSCU uses 5 spots for MnOnline

questions, including reliability of D2L• LSC uses 5 spots to ask about things of

importance. This year we hit a sweet spot with student importance.

D2L Student Ratings

2006 2007 2008 2009 4.00

4.50

5.00

5.50

6.00

6.50

7.00

MN Online - Student Ratings for D2L - Reliability

Importance Satisfaction

5 Added Items for LSC in 2009

FY09 Noel-Levitz PSOL (Priorities Survey for Online Learners) LSC Students Item - Importance high to low Import. Satisf. Gap

32. Layout of courses, as designed by instructors, is easy to navigate and understand. 6.60 5.83 0.77 33. Instructions to students on how to meet the course learning objectives are adequate and clearly written. 6.58 5.90 0.68 20. The quality of online instruction is excellent. 6.56 5.68 0.88 28. The online course delivery platform (Desire2Learn or D2L) is reliable. 6.56 6.04 0.52 34. Grading policies are easy to locate and understand in courses. 6.56 6.09 0.47

06. Tuition paid is a worthwhile investment. 6.55 5.77 0.78

18. Registration for online courses is convenient. 6.55 6.36 0.19 36. Clear standards are set in courses for instructor availability and response time. 6.55 5.99 0.56 31. Taking an online course allowed me to stay on track with my educational goals. 6.54 6.18 0.36 35. Instructional materials have sufficient depth in content to learn the subject. 6.54 5.91 0.63

What’s Missing?

• Student uses of technology• Computer skills assessment• Student success rates• Comparison between online and

on-ground students (using same survey)

Student Technology Survey

High-speed Access Growth

Student Uses of e-Services

0.56%

5.70%

2.80%

25.70%

33.70%

25.30%

0.00% 10.00% 20.00% 30.00% 40.00%

6

5

4

3

2

1 Never used it; didn't know about it.

Never used it; but was aware of it.

Have used it a little; will use again.

Have used it a lot; planning to continue the same.

Have used it a little; won’t use it again.

Have used it a lot; planning to reduce usage.

Online Library Services

Student Uses of e-Services

0.30%

1.90%

1.60%

7.30%

32.30%

49.40%

0.00% 10.00% 20.00% 30.00% 40.00% 50.00%

6

5

4

3

2

1 Never used it; didn't know about it.

Never used it; but was aware of it.

Have used it a lot; planning to continue the same.

Have used it a little; won’t use it again.

Have used it a lot; planning to reduce usage.

Online Career Services

Have used it a little; will use it again.

Students & Technology - 2

Student Uses of Technology

12.6%

0.2%

0.3%

0.1%

1.0%

82.8%

0.0% 20.0% 40.0% 60.0% 80.0% 100.0%

6

5

4

3

2

1 Do not use

Very frequently use

Frequently use

N/A

Second Life

Occasionally use

Rarely use

Student Uses of Technology

12.0%

0.9%

0.4%

2.3%

4.8%

79.6%

0.0% 20.0% 40.0% 60.0% 80.0%

6

5

4

3

2

1 Do not use

Very frequently use

Frequently use

N/A

Flickr

Occasionally use

Rarely use

Student Demographics

Innovations in e-Education Survey Creation

Create a Student Technology Survey that:• measures importance of, satisfaction with, and

usage of online college services.• is applicable to both on-campus and online

students.• measures uses of technology and computer

literacy.• compares survey results with student success

factors.

http://barrydahl.com

b.dahl@lsc.edu