Tapping Non-Users for 360 Degree Evaluation
Over the last 15 years, Student Affairs has made great strides toward a more robust toolkit of assessment and evaluation. What we may be neglecting are the students that do not use our services--the students we never see. Rather than speculate why, surveying (by phone or electronic survey) can net us very useful information to make changes and improvements. By tapping non-users you not only complete a 360 degree feedback of your department (staff and user input are the other two sources), but by surveying, you also are marketing your department and letting students know that you care about their success.
For example, you might discover that some students have a misperception of their study skills expertise and expectations of academic success coming from high school. That information can be useful in marketing your learning center. Including a testimonial from a student interviewed about the difference between academics in high school and college with a listing of your services is more effective. Adding data that the most successful students are the majority who use the Learning Center services seals the deal! Another example is changing office hours and service delivery because commuters, non-traditional and graduate students indicate that closing your office at 5:00pm excludes them from using your services.
Students today are very vocal about what they want and need and are willing to take the time to fill out those comment boxes in your online surveys. Be sure to advertise that you are using student feedback to make changes to encourage future feedback.
Author - Dr. Jan Hillman, Executive Director, Planning and Advancement for Student Development, University of North Texas
Question: What changes have you implemented because you listened to your students?
No comments:
Post a Comment