Student Climate Survey reveals satisfaction; opportunities for improvement

“The purpose of the 2011 Climate Study was to enhance the understanding of the College of Engineering’s undergraduate and graduate students—their characteristics, experiences, and perceptions,” explained Charles Tucker, associate dean for undergraduate programs in the College of Engineering. “The good news is that students are feeling a little better about the general satisfaction and departmental climate."

The multi-item scales assessed student perceptions for General Satisfaction, Departmental Climate, Academic Advising, Frequency of Insensitive Comments by Faculty, Teaching Assistants and Students, Change in Self-confidence Abilities (undergraduates only) and Research (graduate students only).

"Overall, undergraduate student ratings of General Satisfaction, Departmental Climate, and Academic Advising were significantly higher in 2011 than 2009," Tucker said. "In both years, Insensitive Comments by Faculty and Teaching Assistants were very rare, but in 2011 there were significantly more Insensitive Comments by Students. Scores on the Self-Confidence in Abilities scale were not significantly different in the two survey administration years."

Graduate students also had significantly higher General Satisfaction and Departmental Climate ratings in 2011 than 2009. Graduate student Insensitive Comments scores did not differ significantly from scores obtained in 2009.

“These surveys provide solid data to guide departments and the College in making improvements," he added. "Areas that show low scores are equally important to us. The College does care about students’ educational experience--we ask, we listen, and then we work to make improvements."

Tucker noted some recent changes that were driven (at least in part) by the 2009 survey findings: improving ENG 100 course content and expansion of IEFX to all first-year students; all undergraduate curricula now require 128 hours for completion; expanding the list of courses for liberal education electives; and initiating more than $1 million in recruiting scholarships. 

The 2011 survey included many of the same questions as the 2009 edition, allowing for comparison of the data. The most recent survey, conducted in spring 2011, included 146 questions for undergraduates and 130 in the graduate student survey. These were slightly revised versions of the 2009 surveys, including both quantitative and qualitative items.

In 2011, significant undergraduate gender differences were found on two scales:

1. Women had more favorable ratings of Academic Advising—69.5% of men but 73.6% of women were Somewhat or Very Satisfied; 4.0% of men and 3.6% of women were Somewhat or Very Dissatisfied.
    
2. Women perceived less of a Change in (their) Self-Confidence in Abilities—50.4% of men but only 42.2% of women felt that their self-confidence had either moderately or greatly increased.

Nearly three-quarters of both the undergraduate and graduate students replied overwhelmingly cited the University’s academic reputation as the primary reason for coming to Illinois. If students were to leave their current major, the reasons most commonly given by undergraduates were lack of interest, excessive workload, and bad grades, whereas the reasons most commonly given by graduate students were lack of interest and financial concerns.

Although only 20.2% of male undergraduates and 27.2% of female undergraduates have been involved in undergraduate research, 45.0% of men and 50.5% of women reported being strongly interested in being involved. A majority of graduate students would like more resources to help with research. Roughly 55% of male graduate students and 65% of female graduate students believe more resources are needed with respect to writing research and presenting research. Somewhat larger percentages of graduate students (61.8% of men and 71.3% of women) believe more resources are needed with respect to grant writing.

Both undergraduate and graduate students called for better academic advising, higher quality instruction, more initial orientation, more College-wide activities, such as Engineering Open House, more connections to the workforce, and more resources for international students. Undergraduate students would like to see more research opportunities, reduced course workload, better relationships with faculty, and additional professional development opportunities.

“Although some students noted the challenges of the coursework, there was also considerable agreement that work for demanding tech courses was interesting,” Tucker said.

The 2011 survey revealed that many graduate students feel “cut off,” suggesting that more interdepartmental communication and social interaction would be helpful. Graduate respondents would also favor more funding and the ability to choose advisors after getting to know them. 

Tucker explained that each department received data about its own students, so each department knows where it stands statistically in relation to the college. To view the Executive Summary of the 2011 Climate Study .pdf.
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Contact: Charles L. Tucker III, associate dean, Office of Undergraduate Programs, 217/333-2280.

Victoria L. Coverstone, associate dean, Office of Graduate and Professional Programs, engr-gpo@illinois.edu.

Writer: Rick Kubetz, Office of Engineering Communications, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 217/244-7716.