Table of Contents

Executive Summary iii

I. Objective 1

II. Overview of Methodology 1

III. Demographics of Survey Respondents 2

Gender and Age

Racial-Ethic Groups

IV. Enrollment Information 3

Class Load

Curricula Selected

New or Previously Enrolled at Oakton

Choice of Classes

V. Educational Patterns and Planning 5

Goals and Intentions at Oakton

Prior Education and Prior Bachelor’s Degrees

Likely Majors of Transfer Students

VI. General Education and the Importance of Mathematics 8

VII. Computer Science and Use of Computers at Oakton 11

Importance of Computer Programming Skills

Information Technology of Oakton

VIII. Core Values 13

IX. Involvement in Student Activities at Oakton 14

X. How Students Spend Their Time 16

XI. Conclusion 17

Appendices

1. Research Methodology 19

2. Comparison of Enrolled Population, Sample Surveyed, and Respondents 21

3. Report of Survey Responses 22

                Special Acknowledgement

The Office of Research is grateful to the many faculty members who cooperate with us by distributing the Current Student Survey in their classes and giving students time to complete it. This cooperation is the primary reason we have a high rate of response and can accept survey findings as representative of the students enrolled at Oakton this past fall.

Please telephone, e-mail, or write any of us at the Office of Research with comments or questions about this report or suggestions for next year’s survey of current students.

Jim Kostecki, Trudy Bers

Oakton Community College

Current Student Survey, Fall 2002 Executive Summary

The Current Student Survey (CSS) for 2002 obtained evidence about students’ academic goals at Oakton, their prior education, and likely major program of study after transfer (if applicable). This year’s survey included questions about mathematics and computer programming, use of computers for Oakton courses, reasons affecting the choice of classes, participation in student activities, feelings of connection to the College, allocation of time, and Oakton’s core values.

The survey was given during the third and fourth weeks of the fall semester to a sample of classes that included nearly one-fifth (17%) of currently enrolled students. Of that sample, more than three-fourths (76%) responded. Survey responses were statistically weighted in order to obtain results that are representative of the student population at Oakton.

Enrollment Information of Survey Respondents

• On average, students carried 2.4 courses and 7.6 credit hours. Nearly half (47%) of the younger students (under age 25) were full-time. Two-thirds of the older students (25 and older) took fewer than 6 credits.
• The majority (57%) of the younger students enroll in transfer curricula. The majority (65%) of older students enrolled in the career curricula.
• In order of importance, the factors affecting the students’ choice of classes were job-related reasons, course transferability, counselor’s advice, campus, heard about the instructor, interest in subject manner, and time of day class meets.

Educational Patterns and Planning of Survey Respondents

• Nearly one half (44%) of all students and most (67%) of younger students, planned to transfer to 4-year institutions.

• Eight percent were exploring courses to decide on careers, 16 percent were seeking to improve present job skills, 20 percent were preparing for new or different careers, and 10 percent were taking courses for personal interest or self-development.

• Nearly one quarter (23%) of these current students held bachelor’s or more advanced degrees.
• Fields of study most often listed as the likely major after transfer were business-related (25%), health-related (15%), education-related (12%), and computer-related (11%). Interestingly, in the Fall 2000 and 2001 Current Student Surveys, 16 percent said they planned to major in a computer-related field after transfer.

General Education and the Importance of Mathematics

• Survey respondents were given a list of mathematic skills and asked to rate on a 5-point scale how important each was to their general education. Results suggest that just over half of Oakton’s students perceive mathematical skills to be very important.
• Students enrolled in transfer programs rated mathematical skills as more important than students in career programs.
  

Computer Science and Use of Computers at Oakton

• Survey respondents were given a list of skills they may have learned in computer programming courses at Oakton and asked to rate how important each was to them. While the discipline of interest was Computer Science (courses with the prefix CSC), students were not provided with a list of Computer Science (CSC) courses and their answers may have been based on other computer courses. Seventeen percent of the respondents (weighted sample) said they took Oakton courses in computer programming at Oakton. The most important programming skill perceived by respondents was to understand the programming skills necessary for solving a particular computational problem.
• A substantial percentage of respondents (45%) were unaware that they had an Oakton computer account, including e-mail, file storage and web publishing space. Of those who were aware of this, 71 percent knew they could access their Oakton e-mail account and files from home. Ninety five percent of respondents have access to a computer at home or work; it is likely that many are linked to the Internet, indicating that many if not most Oakton students could be using College-provided computer benefits.
• Computer use in classes varies. Thirty percent of respondents used computers in ¾ or more of their classes, 26 percent used them in about half their classes, 24 percent used them in ¼ or fewer classes, and only 20 percent had not used computers in any of their classes. We did not ask for a definition of "computer use."
• Students were, overall, quite satisfied with information technology (IT) at Oakton. On a 5-point scale, with 5 = very satisfied, respondents gave a mean score of 4.1 to overall satisfaction with information technology at Oakton.

Core Values

• From 84 to 92 percent of continuing students (those who had attended Oakton before the fall semester) responded that Oakton faculty and staff do live up to the College’s five core values: integrity, responsibility, fairness, tolerance, and compassion.

Involvement and Feelings of Connection

• Rates of participation for students who said they were aware of a variety of student activities and organizations ranged from 3 percent for student government to 16 percent for "fun events." A much higher percentage of students said they would participate, ranging from 14 percent for student government to 40 percent for fun events.
• Sixty-four percent of students reported they made new friends at Oakton, 48 percent said they socialized on-campus with other Oakton students, and 36 percent said they socialized off-campus with other Oakton students.
• Forty-two percent of respondents indicated they have viewed works of art on display; though the question itself said "created by Oakton art students," it is likely that respondents did not differentiate between work done by Oakton art students and the many other pieces of art and sculpture that enhance both campuses.
• Nearly half the respondents (46%) said they had gotten academic advising or counseling, and 40 percent said they had talked outside of class with a faculty or staff members.
• Nearly one quarter of Oakton students (24%) have used tutoring or other services from the Learning Center (known at the time of the survey as Instructional Support Services, or ISS).
• On a 7-point scale measuring the extent to which students felt connected with other students in their Oakton courses, with 1 = very disconnected and 7 = very connected, 11 percent of respondents felt connected (responses of 6 or 7) and 22 percent did not feel connected (responses of 1 or 2). The mean score was 3.8, about halfway between the extremes.

How Students Spend Their Time

• Nearly three-quarters of students are employed; the median number of working hours per week is 35.
• The median number of hours per week students spend in class is 7.0; they spend another 5.0 hours studying outside of class time.
• Students spend 10.0 hours per week socializing with friends and family.
• Forty-one percent of students spend time caring for dependents (e.g., children, parents or others); they spend 10.0 hours per week on this activity.
• Forty-one percent of students attend religious worship services, spending 2.0 hours per week.
• Only 13 percent of respondents volunteer; those who do spend 3.0 hours per week on volunteer activities.

Oakton Community College

Current Student Survey, Fall 2002

Report

Objective

Each fall, Oakton conducts a Current Student Survey (CSS) using a sample of currently enrolled students. The purposes for the CSS are to:

• develop profiles of current credit students in both the career and transfer programs,

• gain insights into the past experience that these students bring to their Oakton work,

• identify students’ perceptions, present expectations, and satisfactions with Oakton.

In addition, each year the CSS includes questions related to particular topics of interest for the year and questions relevant to programs and departments conducting program reviews. This year’s survey included questions about mathematics and computer programming, use of computers for Oakton courses, reasons affecting the choice of classes, participation in student activities, feelings of connection to the College, allocation of time, and Oakton’s core values.

Overview of Methodology

For the annual CSS, a random sample was drawn of credit classes taught in the fall semester, including classroom sections as well as those taught using College media services. From this list, a random sample of classes was selected. This sample included 17 percent of the enrolled students. Most Oakton faculty members were cooperative, willing to devote a half period of class time to this project, knowing that it is an omnibus survey and that they will not be asked to do others in this same class. Responses were received from 76 percent of the students enrolled in the classes included in the sample.

Since the sample was randomly drawn from a list of classes and not students, the responses are statistically weighted in order to obtain a sample that is representative of the student population at Oakton. In this procedure, weighted survey responses compensate for the greater probability that students enrolled in a number of courses would be included in the sample. Further details of the procedures used are discussed in Appendix 1. Appendix 2 provides data for the Fall 2002 student population, sample and weighted sample.

Unless noted otherwise, all results are presented for the weighted sample, the one most representative of the entire Oakton student population in Fall 2002.

Students were not required to provide their student ID numbers, and could take the survey with complete anonymity. Seven of the questions in the survey asked for demographic variables that also are available from the College’s student database. For students who provided their ID number but left one of those demographic variables blank, missing survey data were augmented with corresponding data from the college database. This year, 61 percent of the respondents provided their student ID number, a percentage substantially higher than last year’s 53 percent.

Demographics of Survey Respondents

Important demographic variables describing currently enrolled students include age, gender, and racial-ethnic identity. Appendix 2 provides comparative demographic data for the entire student body, the sample, and the survey respondents.

Gender and Age

Students responding to the survey can be broken down by gender and by age group, 24 and younger, 25 or older. As seen in Table 1 below, 55% of the (weighted) respondents are female. Note that a larger proportion of older students are female compared to younger students.

Table 1 Survey Respondents by Gender and Age Group

(Weighted Respondents)

Enrollment Information

Like most community colleges, Oakton serves a student population that is highly diverse not only in its demographic characteristics, but also in choices for academic curricula and course load. Appendix 2 provides comparative data for the entire student body, the sample, and the survey respondents on enrollment status (full-time, part-time), curricular program, and tenure (whether new or continuing at Oakton). As appropriate, missing survey data has been augmented with corresponding data from the student database, if a student provided an ID number.

Class Load

Most Oakton students enroll part-time. However, twenty-eight percent of the weighted respondents indicated they were enrolled for 12 or more credit hours, the minimum for full time status. Nearly a third (32 %) were taking 6 to 11 credits, and 40 percent were enrolled for less than half time—fewer than six credits.

As expected, significantly more younger students are full time (47%) than are older students (6%), and significantly more older students are less than half time (65%) than are younger students (18%). (See Table 2 below.)

Table 2 Survey Respondents by Class Load and Age Group

(Weighted Respondents)

Curricula Selected

Most years CSS data and student body data based on the student database differ somewhat with respect to students’ choices between baccalaureate/transfer curricula and career/vocational curricula. A central factor in this is that the two sources of data describe students at different points in time. The population database is taken from applications for admission whereas the survey reflects students’ views at the time the survey was completed. In some cases, this may be several years since the time of admission.

The population data reported in Appendix 2 show 58 percent of Oakton students choosing transfer programs, 33 percent selecting career curricula, and the remaining 9 percent being undecided. In the survey, 43 percent of respondents choose transfer curricula, 45 percent selected career programs, and the remaining 13% were undecided.

A significantly higher proportion (65%) of older students choose career programs than younger students (27%) while a greater proportion of younger students (57%) choose transfer programs than do older students (26%). Younger students are more likely to be undecided than older students. (See Table 3 below.)

Table 3 Survey Respondents by Curriculum and Age Group

(Weighted Respondents)

A significantly larger proportion (41%) of students enrolled in transfer programs are full-time compared to those in career programs (16%). A larger proportion (51%) of students enrolled in career programs are less than half time than those enrolled in transfer programs (24%). (See Table 4 below.)

Table 4 Survey Respondents by Class Load and Curriculum

(Weighted Respondents)

New or Previously Enrolled at Oakton

New and previously enrolled students may bring different perspectives to CSS questions. New students know what brought them to the College, but with only three or four weeks in attendance prior to the survey, they would have so far had a less extensive experience of the college than would students continuing at the College after previous enrollment.

To distinguish new and returning students, the survey asked if the current term (Fall 2002) was their first semester at Oakton. Since this information is on the College database (and by definition new students first attended in Fall 2002), every respondent could be classified as new or returning. In the population as a whole, 29 percent of the students enrolled in Fall 2002 were new; among survey respondents, 34 percent were new to Oakton.

Among younger students (age 24 or younger), 37 percent were new to Oakton and 63 percent were returning. Among older students (age 25 and older), 31 percent were new and 69 percent returning. (See Table 5 below.)

Table 5

New and Returning Students by Age Group

(Weighted Respondents)

Choice of Classes

We know a variety of factors affect students’ selection of classes. Respondents were given a list of eight factors (one being "other") and asked to rank them in order of importance using 1 for the most important and 8 for the least important.

The most important factors affecting the students’ choice of classes were the need for their job and that the course will transfer. The second most import factors affecting this choice were a counselor’s advice and campus on which class meets. The other factors in order of importance were heard about the instructor, interest in subject manner, and time of day class meets (least important).

Educational Patterns and Planning

Students come to Oakton with a variety of educational backgrounds and diverse goals and intentions. Those who plan to transfer to bachelor’s degree programs at four-year colleges and universities have a great variety of majors in mind. The CSS gathered data helpful in detecting patterns in the preferences and decisions of Oakton students.

Goals and Intentions at Oakton

Students’ goals can be grouped in four clusters: related mainly to transfer, to careers for which two years of college is adequate background, to remediation of basic academic deficiencies, or to personal interest or self-development.

As seen in the Table 6 (below), two-thirds of Oakton’s younger students are enrolled to prepare for transfer to four-year colleges or universities, about a fourth (27 %) have career goals, and the remaining seven percent are enrolled to remedy skills deficiencies or for personal interest or self-development.

The objectives of older students are significantly different than those of younger students. Nearly two-thirds of older students (64%) were pursuing career objectives, approximately a fifth (19 %) were preparing for transfer, and the remaining (17%) of the older students responded that they are enrolled for personal interest or self-development.

Table 6 Main Objective by Age Group

(Weighted Respondents)

As seen in the Table 7, degrees or certificates are more important to students with career goals than to those planning to transfer. Personal interest or self-development and remediation attract relatively few students as compared to career and transfer goals.

Table 7 Main Objective by Plan

(Weighted Respondents)

Prior Education and Prior Bachelor’s Degrees

What preparation do Oakton students have? Not surprisingly, older students bring considerably more advanced education to their Oakton work than do younger students.

Table 8 Education Level by Age Group

(Weighted Respondents)

The table above shows that 23 percent of Fall 2002 Oakton students held bachelor’s degrees or more advanced graduate or professional degrees. Note that among students 25 years of age or older, the number who already hold bachelor’s degrees or higher is significantly higher (43%) than among younger students (7%).

Likely Majors of Transfer Students

For those students that plan to transfer to a four-year college or university, a fourth (25%) plan to transfer to a business-related field, just under a sixth (15%) plan to transfer to a health-related field, and approximately one-tenth plan to transfer to education (12%), computer-related fields (11%), or social and behavioral sciences (9%).

It is interesting to note that, with the exception of a drop in the percentage of students planning to major in computer-related areas, intended majors remain fairly consistent over the past three year period. Table 9 presents intended majors for respondents who plan to transfer from the Current Student Surveys of 2000, 2001 and 2002.

  Table 9 Planned Majors by Year of Current Student Survey

(Weighted Respondents)

General Education and the Importance of Mathematics

One of the major topics explored in the Fall 2002 CSS was students’ perceptions of the importance of mathematics. Mathematics is one of Oakton’s five general education areas, and all students who earn an associate degree in a transfer curriculum must complete at least one mathematics course from a list of courses approved by the Illinois Articulation Initiative (IAI). All approved IAI courses are above the level of Intermediate Algebra (Oakton’s MAT 120).

Survey respondents were given a list of mathematic skills and asked to rate how important each was to their general education. The rating was on a 5-point scale, with 1 = not important and 5 = very important. Table 10 provides the percentage of respondents (from the weighted sample) who rated each objective with a 4 or 5, along with the mean value for each objective.

  Table 10 Perceived Importance of Mathematics Skills

(Weighted Respondents)

Results suggest that just over half of Oakton’s students perceive these mathematical skills to be very important. Because nationally there is such concern about the lack of competency in mathematics, we decided to explore whether there were differences in the perceived importance of these objectives by student major at Oakton (career or transfer) or age (under 25 or 25 and above).

Statistically significant differences were detected in the perceived importance of these objectives by both major at Oakton and age (see Tables 11 and 12). Students enrolled in transfer programs reported a significantly higher level of importance on most of these mathematical skills than did those enrolled in career programs. On average, students enrolled in transfer programs rated all but two of these mathematical skills 0.2 to 0.4 points higher than did those enrolled in career programs. No statistically significant differences were detected in the importance of interpreting graphs or becoming skilled in the use of technology.

Table 11 Perceived Importance of Mathematics Skills Average Ratings by Curriculum

Younger students reported a significantly higher level of importance to becoming skilled in the used of technology and learning how to apply math to solve real-life problems. On average, younger students rated the importance of these skills 0.3 points higher than did older students. No statistically significant differences were detected in the any of the other skills listed in Table 12.

Table 12 Perceived Importance of Mathematics Skills Average Ratings by Age

Computer Science and Use of Computers at Oakton

Another major area of inquiry on the Fall 2002 Current Student Survey was students’ perceptions of the importance of computer programming skills and their familiarity with and evaluation of computer services provided at Oakton.

Importance of Computer Programming Skills

Like with skills in mathematics, survey respondents were given a list of skills they may have learned in computer programming courses at Oakton and asked to rate how important each was to them. The rating was on a 5-point scale, with 1 = not important and 5 = very important. Table 13 provides the percentage of respondents (from the weighted sample) who rated each objective with a 4 or 5, along with the mean value for each objective.

It is very important to note here that the discipline of interest was Computer Science (courses with the prefix CSC). However, students were not provided with a list of Computer Science (CSC) courses and their answers may have been based on other computer courses, such as those in Computer Information Systems (CIS), Local Area Networking (LAN), Computer Office Technology (COT), Computer Application Software (CAS), or others. Moreover, only 17 percent of the respondents (weighted sample) said they took Oakton courses in computer programming at Oakton, so results are based on a relatively small number of students.

Table 13 Perceived Importance of Computer Programming Skills

(Weighted Respondents)

Responses to this set of questions in the CSS may be of particular importance to Computer Science faculty and, perhaps to a lesser extent, other faculty who teach computer courses.

Information Technology of Oakton

Of broader interest to Oakton faculty, administrators and staff are CSS items related to overall student knowledge about and use of computers at Oakton. A substantial percentage of respondents (45%) were unaware that they had an Oakton computer account, including e-mail, file storage and web publishing space. Of those who were aware of this, 71 percent knew they could access their Oakton e-mail account and files from home. This suggests that while the College has made a significant investment in providing broad computer access and capabilities to students, just over half of the students recognize these benefits. This finding is made more important by the fact that 95 percent of respondents have access to a computer at home or work. Though we did not ask whether the computers were linked to the Internet, it is likely that many are, meaning that many if not most Oakton students could be using College-provided computer benefits.

To learn about the extent to which Oakton students use computers for their Oakton classes, we asked them to indicate in what proportion of their classes they have used a computer for assignments or research. Thirty percent used computers in ¾ or more of their classes, 26 percent used them in about half their classes, 24 percent used them in ¼ or fewer classes, and only 20 percent had not used computers in any of their classes. Note that no definition of "computer use" was provided, so students may have responded yes if they used computers in an intensive computer lab situation, to browse the Internet looking for references for a research topic, for word processing, or for other uses.

Students were, overall, quite satisfied with information technology (IT) at Oakton. Respondents indicated their level of satisfaction with six aspects of information technology, using a 5-point scale where 1 = very dissatisfied and 5 = very satisfied. Table 14 provides the percentage of respondents who gave a 4 or 5 as well as the mean score. Responses that indicated the IT aspect was not applicable were excluded from the analysis.

Table 14 Satisfaction with Oakton Information Technology

(Weighted Respondents)

Core Values

Several years ago, the College moved toward accepting some responsibility toward helping students to develop and grow in basic values appropriate not only in college communities, but in the larger world as well. Five core values were selected: compassion, fairness, integrity, responsibility, and tolerance.

How well do currently enrolled students think College personnel (faculty, administrators, and other staff members) live up to the five core values the College has adopted? This question was asked in Current Student Surveys in 1999, 2000, 2001, and 2002. In these surveys, students were asked to respond using a four-point scale that ranged from "Very poorly" to "Very well."

In all years, the CSS was given in the third and fourth weeks of the fall semester, and in all years, about a third of the responses represented students who were new to Oakton that fall. Since returning or continuing students would have had a broader experience of the College than would new students, just the responses of the continuing students were used for the comparison shown in Figure 1. This graph shows that a high percentage of returning students selected one of the two positive response options for each of the values.

Involvement in Student Activities at Oakton

Another major area of inquiry in the Fall 2002 Current Student Survey was involvement in student activities and organizations. Not surprisingly for a commuter institution with large numbers of older and part-time students, relatively few respondents indicated they had participated in Oakton student clubs and organizations, fun events for students, family activities, community service projects hosted by Oakton, the student newspaper, academic honor society or student government. Rates of participation for students who said they were aware of these offerings ranged from 3 percent for student government to 16 percent for fun events. A much higher percentage of students said they would participate, ranging from 14 percent for student government to 40 percent for fun events.

Respondents were also given a list of extra-curricular, co-curricular and social events and activities. They were asked whether, since they first came to Oakton, they participated in each of them. Figure 2 provides results. Two-thirds of students reported they made new friends at Oakton, 48 percent said they socialized on-campus with other Oakton students, and 36 percent said they socialized off-campus with other Oakton students. A different item on the CSS, a single question asking students the extent to which they feel connected with other students in their courses, suggests that students are not strongly connected with their peers. On a 7-point scale, with 1 = very disconnected and 7 = very connected, only 11 percent of respondents gave responses of 6 or 7, and 22 percent gave responses of 1 or 2. The mean score was 3.8, nearly halfway between the extremes. It is difficult to determine whether these percentages are typical of community college students or are at a level the College would consider "admirable" or "acceptable."

Forty-two percent of respondents indicated they have viewed works of art on display; though the question itself said "created by Oakton art students," it is likely that respondents did not differentiate between work done by Oakton art students and the many other pieces of art and sculpture that enhance both campuses. This suggests that a fair number of students are aware of Oakton’s art.

Two items in particular relate to activities often associated with student persistence: academic advising and connections with faculty. Nearly half the respondents (46%) said they had gotten academic advising or counseling. A study of student retention at Oakton, also conducted in Fall 2002, indicated that students who received advising were significantly more likely to continue to the Spring 2003 semester than students who did not receive such assistance. The fact that fewer than half of Oakton students obtain academic advising or counseling suggests the College may wish to revisit its current processes and expectations with respect to student academic advisement. Forty percent of students said they had talked outside of class with a faculty or staff members. For many years researchers have found evidence that when students form connections with faculty and staff, sometimes broadly labeled academic integration, levels of persistence rise.

Participation in other activities is lower, though it is noteworthy that nearly one quarter of Oakton students (24%) have used tutoring or other services from The Learning Center (formally known as Instructional Support Services).

Figure 2

Participation in Extra-curricular, Co-curricular and Social Activities

(Weighted Respondents)

How Students Spend Their Time

To understand how Oakton students spend their time, respondents were asked to estimate, in the four weeks prior to their taking the CSS, how many hours per week they typically spent doing a variety of activities. Table 13 provides overall results as well as results differentiated by students’ status (full, half-time or less than half-time) and age (24 or below, and 25 or above). The median number of hours reflects the hours such that half the respondents spend more than this amount of time on the activity and half spend less than this amount of time on the activity. The median is calculated for respondents who indicated they spend at least one hour per week on the activity. Statistical outliers were excluded from the analyses.

Table 13 Median Hours Per Week Spent on Selected Activities

(Weighted Respondents)

Conclusion

The annual Current Student Survey provides Oakton with information about its students that is valuable for planning new initiatives and improving existing programs. Much of this information can be obtained from no other source. Some of the information gathered serves also to validate the survey by comparing characteristics of survey respondents with independently known characteristics of the entire student body. By creating an omnibus survey, the research needs of many constituencies can be met with a single survey. This is important to prevent an over-surveying of students that might otherwise result.

Suggestions for next year’s CSS are welcome and may be submitted to the Office of Research. Copies of this report are available at the College Office of Research and on the Oakton web site at www.oakton.edu/resource/oir/.

              List of Appendices

• Appendix 1. Research Methodology

• Appendix 2. Comparison of Enrolled Population, Sample Surveyed, and Respondents

• Appendix 3. Report of Survey Responses

APPENDIX 1

Research Methodology

With the generous cooperation of faculty members, the Current Student Survey (CSS) was conducted in a random sample of classes in the fall semester of 2002. To ensure that the sample would reflect opening fall enrollment, before many students would have withdrawn from their courses, the survey was scheduled in the third and fourth weeks of the term.

The sample included students from randomly drawn active sections of classes. Tandem and honors sections and media-based and cross-listed courses were identified, and only the first listing of a course or section number was used in drawing the sample. The 2002 sample consisted of students enrolled in 97 different classes, including 95 classroom sections and 2 media-based courses.

As soon as the sample was drawn, instructors of the classroom sections were notified of their inclusion in the sample and given more information about the process. In the case of the media-based courses, the instructors were notified for information only that the College would be contacting enrolled students by mail. So that they would have current information, the division deans were provided with copies of materials going to the faculty. Mailings were prepared for the students enrolled in the media-based courses. These included directions, the survey, and a postage-paid return envelope.

The survey was presented as eight pages of questions with a back page of code numbers from which students were asked to indicate their primary area of study. The survey text is embedded in the Report of Survey Responses in Appendix 3.

The College is fortunate in that most members of the faculty teaching the classroom sections in the sample were willing to administer the survey during class time, even though they are not required to participate. Collection boxes were conveniently located at both the Des Plaines and Ray Hartstein campuses for students who did not complete the survey in class, whether because of class absence or because an instructor distributed the surveys, but did not have them completed during class. The full cooperation of most of the faculty enabled a much higher rate of response than would be possible otherwise.

Obtained from extract files in the College’s Research database, class data were taken as of the tenth day of classes from operations transactions. The enrollment data used to describe the population to be surveyed were downloaded as of the tenth day, the end of the second week of the term.

The sampled sections included 1,693 different students, 17 percent of the 9,736 students enrolled for the fall semester.

Fall 2002 surveys were completed by 1,288 students, 76 percent of the 1,693 different students enrolled in the sections surveyed. Directions asked students to complete the survey only once even if they were enrolled in more than one of the classes included in the sample.

Although the survey is conducted in randomly selected classes, a correction is needed to take account of the fact that students enrolled in more classes have a greater probably of being included in the sample than do those enrolled for fewer. To compensate for these unequal probabilities, responses to each item in the survey are weighted by an inverse function of the number of courses individual respondents are taking. Throughout this report, the percentages are given of the weighted sum of the observations, are given as a measure of the response to each specific question.

One survey item asked respondents for their student identification number. This enabled us to download items of demographic or academic data and to use it to augment data obtained in the survey should such items have been left blank. This year, 61 percent of the respondents provided this number. (In Fall 2002 the student ID was typically the student’s social security number. In Spring 2003 the College began using a different student ID; Oakton student databases carry both the social security number and the College-assigned ID).

How can we be confident that the weighted responses from respondents in the randomly selected class sections are truly representative of the student body as a whole? Appendix 2 shows demographic data for the entire student body, for the respondents without weighting, and for the respondents weighted as explained above. Comparisons of the data in these three columns show that the weighted data for the respondents better approximate those of the entire population of enrolled students than do the non-weighted data. Unless otherwise indicated, results reported in this CSS are based upon observations that have been weighted in this way.

APPENDIX 2

Comparison of Students’ Demographic Characteristics