Student Satisfaction Increases in UL System

Student Satisfaction Increases in UL System – Jul 29, 2003

Reports Available on UL System, Board of Regents Websites

BATON ROUGE, La. – A student opinion survey conducted by the American College Testing Service shows greater student satisfaction at University of Louisiana System institutions over the past year.

According to the survey, student satisfaction in college services, programs and environment improved overall this year, with 58 of 65 (89 percent) areas improving since last year.

“Students are our customers, and we are intently interested in their opinions about campus services and programs. If used constructively, this information can help us improve student services while expecting higher standards from all students,” UL System President Sally Clausen said.

The ACT survey uses a 5-point Likert scale (5= Very Satisfied, 1= Very Dissatisfied) to measure levels of student satisfaction. This is the fourth year of the survey. It comprises responses from 62,256 students nationwide, 12,500 from Louisiana and 8,047 from institutions in the UL System.

The UL System’s average scores of 3.65 for Services and Programs and 3.80 for College Environment “college in general” slightly trail the national rate of 3.69 and 3.87, respectively; however, the System improved at a faster rate than the nation.

According to students, the top three College Services and Programs at UL System schools and their respective scores are:

Library facilities and services 4.09

Recreational/intramural programs and services 4.06

Computer services 3.98

The bottom three College Services and Programs are:

Parking facilities and services 2.05

Residence halls services 2.91

College mass transit services 3.07

The top three College Environment areas include:

Class size relative to the type of course 3.99

Instruction in your major field 3.87

Testing/grading system 3.87

The bottom three College Environment areas include:

Availability of the courses you want at time you want to take them 2.95

Residence hall rules and regulations 2.99

Purposes for which student activity fees are used 3.03

“Our universities have been focusing a great deal on improving instruction and the academic standards at their institutions. It is important for each to take student opinions into account while progressing forward,” UL System Board Chair Gordon Pugh said.

One way in which the Board of Supervisors for the UL System continues to stress the importance of quality at its institutions is through academic and accountability measures.

Over the past three years, the UL System has awarded almost $734,000 in performance funding to its eight universities based on their improvement on specific goals. The last installments in April were based on accreditation, retention and graduation rates, reduction of remedial hours taught, TOPS retention rates, Areas of Excellence and financial audits.

A UL System report including tables, graphs and information about specific institutions is available on the System website at www.ulsystem.net. A statewide report with information about all state institutions is available on the Board of Regents website at www.regents.state.la.us under the “What’s New” section.

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Click here for the UL System Summary Report

For More Information Contact:
Catherine Heitman
225/342-6950