1 Student Characteristics And Measurements of Student Satisfaction Prepared for: The Faculty Council Subcommittee on Retention The Office of Institutional Research and Policy Studies November 19, 2003 Kevin B. Murphy, Research Analyst

2 This Presentation Will Report Data Collected From Three Main Sources The National Survey of Student Engagement Administered in Spring 2002 (NSSE 2002) –270 UMB Respondents –Comparison Groups Urban Consortium Aggregate of Other UMass Campuses Other Doctoral Intensive Universities National Retention Study of Fall 2000 First Time Full Time Freshmen (Retention 2001) –209 Respondents Graduating Senior Satisfaction Survey of May 2003 (GSS 2003) –1150 Respondents

3 UMass Boston Students Differed from the NSSE Comparison Groups On a Number of Background Characteristics Age Race/Ethnicity Entrance Status Foreign Citizenship Family Income Hours Worked Off Campus Weekly for Pay Hours Spent Weekly Caring for Dependents Part Time Attendance

4 UMass Boston Students Are More Likely To Have Come Here From Other Colleges Source: NSSE 2002

5 UMass Boston Students Are Also More Likely To Have Come Here from Other Countries Source: NSSE 2002

6 At UMass Boston, There Is Considerable Citizenship and Language Diversity Across All of the Larger Racial/Ethnic Groups Source: GSS 2003 Applicant Data

7 At Least One of the Graduation Applicants in AY Claimed Citizenship in Each of These Entities Source: GSS 2003

8 They Also Reported Speaking These Languages At Home or with Family Source: GSS 2003

9 UMass Boston Students Reported Lower Levels Of Family Income than Did Their Colleagues at Other Urban Institutions Source: NSSE 2002

10 UMass Boston Students Tend To Work More Hours Off Campus Each Week Source: NSSE 2002

11 UMass Boston First Year Students Reported Higher Levels of Spending Time Caring for Dependents Than Did Any Of the Comparison Groups or UMass Boston Seniors Source: NSSE 2002

12 All of these time constraints and outside pressures keep UMB students from engaging with the college experience as much as they otherwise might.

13 UMass Boston Students Are Less Likely to Attend School Full Time Source: NSSE 2002

14 UMass Boston First Year Students and Seniors Spend Much Less Time Working with other Students outside of Class Than Do Their Colleagues at the other Doctoral Intensives Or in any other Comparison Group Source: NSSE 2002

15 UMB Students Reported Spending Fewer Hours Each Week Relaxing and Socializing Source: NSSE 2002

16 UMass Boston First Year Students and Seniors are More Likely To Have Never Worked with Faculty on outside Activities than Are Their Colleagues at the other Doctoral Intensives Source: NSSE 2002

17 UMass Boston First Year Students Were Also Significantly Less Likely to Have Talked with a Faculty Member about Career Plans Source: NSSE 2002

18 Social Life and Recreational Opportunities

19 Social Life, Recreational and Co-Curricular Opportunities, and Campus Events Ranked Very Low in the Recent Graduating Senior Satisfaction Survey, but Recreational etc. and Campus Events Showed Significant Improvement over August Source: GSS 2003

20 UMB NSSE Respondents Reported that UMB Emphasized Providing Support for Them to Succeed Academically Source: NSSE 2002

21 However, Only Half as Many Reported that UMB Emphasized Providing Support for Them to Thrive Socially Source: NSSE 2002

22 UMass Boston Students Did Not Rate Their Relationships with other Students as Highly as Did Some of Their Comparison Groups Source: NSSE 2002

23 In the Retention Study, Most Groups Gave Mean Ratings Below 8 to Their Relationships with other Students Source: Retention 2001

24 This Was About the Same as Their Ratings of Faculty Source: Retention 2001

25 Fall 2000 Freshmen Were Also Asked to Respond To Questions About Faculty and Course Quality In the Retention 2001 Study About Two Thirds Had Contact with Faculty Outside of Class Sometimes or Often Over 77% Reported that They Had Enough Contact with Faculty Over 77% Reported Specific Meeting with Teachers Over Half Rated Course Quality Very Good or Excellent –Excellent 10% –Very Good42% –Good37% –Fair 10% –Poor 1% Source: Retention 2001

26 Various Administrative Departments Also Tended To Have Mean Ratings Below 8 Scale: 0 = Worst Possible to 10 = Best Possible Department% of Students w/ContactMean Rating Bursar77%7.2 Admissions52%7.4 Registrar76%7.4 Financial Aid55%6.9 Staff from Student Advising65%7.6 Staff from Student Life17%7.5 Source: Retention 2001

27 UMB NSSE Respondents Were Much Less Likely to Report That the University Emphasized Attending Campus Events and Activities Source: NSSE 2002

28 Graduating Seniors Ranked Communication Regarding Campus Events And Activities Next to Last in the Communications Area, but the Mean Was Significantly Improved Over August 2002 (Internships etc. also Improved) Source: GSS 2003

29 UMB NSSE Respondents Were the Least Likely To Participate In Co-curricular Activities Source: NSSE 2002

30 Conclusions UMass Boston Students Are Particularly Stressed for Time and Subject to Outside Pressures First Year Students Seem to Be Even More Stressed than Seniors UMass Boston Students are also Especially Diverse –Even Within Racial/Ethnic Groups, there is Considerable Cultural Diversity Students Invest Time in the Business of UMB –They study and are prepared for class They Don’t Spend Time in the “Frills” of Attending College –They don’t attend events –They don’t participate in co-curricular or recreational opportunities –They don’t spend much time developing relationships with other students Part of this may be that they don’t believe that UMB emphasizes this type of behavior.