Ensuring Student Satisfaction with the College Education
Lauren A. Payne and Tiyanjane Tsonga, Graduate Interns Office of Student Affairs

Central Connecticut State University believes that students should have a full range of educational opportunities as well as a high quality of life. To ensure that our students are satisfied with their experiences at CCSU and that we know what is important to them, we administer the Noel-Levitz® Student Satisfaction Inventory™ (SSI), a nationally recognized survey. The SSI is a standardized tool that allows students to report their expectations and their level of satisfaction regarding campus-wide issues. Categories include academic advising effectiveness, campus climate, campus life, campus services, instructional effectiveness, recruitment and financial aid, registration effectiveness, safety and security, and student centeredness.

More than 500,000 students from more then 860 institutions took the inventory when our students took it in 2004. In comparison, one of our strengths is students are made to feel welcome on campus. The results of the inventory are reported back to CCSU along with comparative data analyses from other similar 4-year public institutions.

Members of the University also spend the day with a consultant from Noel-Levitz® who gives a detailed explanation of the results to all interested member of the community. The consultant analyzes what our students report as our strengths and the challenges related to quality of life issues. The University also receives recommendations for what the institution should do next to make improvements.

In the 2004 SSI survey, 29% of our students participated, which is 10% higher then the national average. “It is obvious that our students wanted to send a message to the University about what is important to them,” comments Dr. Margaret Toston, Vice President Student Affairs. She also stated the “over the past two years the University community has come together to use the SSI results to improve various aspects of the students’ experiences.” An example of CCSU’s responsiveness to students is that is that we are enhancing the recreational program. Student Affairs has purchased $80,000 in recreational and wellness equipment and resources, and established an operating budget of $144,000 to support the program.

As the survey noted, we work to make our students feel welcome on campus. The CCSU community emphasizes faculty availability outside of class. Student Melissa Fios stated, “I found a lot of people here that I feel are like family. CCSU is where I feel comfortable.” This is how we want all students to feel about their Central experience.

In November, CCSU is once again participating in the Noel-Levitz® Student Satisfaction Inventory™. We will encourage all our students to make a difference by taking the inventory. CCSU administrators, faculty and staff care deeply about our students and want to provide them with the best educational experience.
 

 
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