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Strategic Planning—Noel-Levitz Survey and Employee Accreditation Survey

Noel-Levitz Survey

The College received results from the Noel-Levitz Student Satisfaction Survey last week and they demonstrate the high value that Canada places on its students. Among other items surveyed, Canada students are significantly more likely than students at other community colleges in the United States to: a) agree that college has met their expectations, b) be satisfied with their overall experience, and c) to enroll at Canada all over again. Canada students rated the "student centeredness" of the campus higher than their national peers, particularly the help they receive at registration, the faculty's understanding of students' life circumstances, and a range of support services. The picture that emerges from this survey is of a college that places students first with a supportive faculty and thoughtful services. My congratulations to everyone in our community that makes this happen on a daily basis.

These results will be very helpful to our accreditation review and supplement the conversations with students that are an ongoing part of our strategic planning process. While there is always room for improvement in all that we do, the evidence is that we are doing fundamental work that benefits students and they are very much aware of our efforts. The survey was coordinated by Bart Scott and the sample was representative of all our students, thanks to the assistance of faculty that allowed administration of the survey within their classes. Great work all the way around!

Employee Accreditation Survey

Results from the Employee Accreditation Survey (67k) [ additional comments from Employee Accreditation Survey (49k) ] support the general themes of the Student Satisfaction Survey. Overall, employees believe that Cañada provides a high quality learning experience for students. The work climate at Cañada was rated highly as well; employees believe that Canada is a good place to work and are encouraged by their supervisors to do high quality work with whom they also are comfortable discussing problems. Employees also indicated that they knew where to refer students to support services. These rankings shouldn't be surprising given the overall opinion of students that the College is a supportive environment. Other items that were rated in the range of "agree" and "somewhat agree/disagree" are also noteworthy. Among other issues in this category are that the budgetary process at Cañada needs to be more transparent and should be based on input from all college constituencies. There were also concerns raised about the availability of data and information, distribution of resources from the district, adequacy of facilities and parking. Given their rank in the survey, these concerns don't appear to be "hot buttons" throughout the campus as much as legitimate issues to be addressed by a commitment to transparent institutional planning and communication. One of the results of our work together in the current strategic planning process will be an operational planning process that is open to all members of the College community and that builds on our strengths while addressing areas in need of improvement.

Information from these surveys help us see where we are now and can help us shape our future. We enjoy a solid foundation of caring for students and working with commitment to make Cañada College even stronger. Many thanks to all who provided the college community with these insights.

Respectfully,


Tom Mohr