The Student Expectations and Student Experiences study is conducted every four years and involves surveying individuals after they have been accepted to MCC but before they have started classes about their expectations, then surveying them again a few months into their first semester about their actual experiences. You can view the full results of the 2006 study by visiting <https://www.monroecc.edu/depts/research/StaffOnly/survey1.htm>
Some of the highlights include:
* A total of 181 students completed both the Student Expectations and Student Experiences Surveys.
* Since completing the Expectations Survey, the respondents’ plans to enroll at MCC were very similar to their actual enrollment. The only change was that fewer respondents later said they plan to earn a certificate or degree here. More than half of the respondents still plan to transfer to a four-year college after leaving MCC, as they did before they enrolled at MCC.
* More than half of the respondents’ expectations about the number of hours they would have to study each week given the number of courses they would take had been below what is recommended by the College. Unfortunately, the same held true in regard to their actual experiences.
* In terms of their expectations about the number of hours they planned to work each week given the number of courses they would take, nearly one-quarter of the respondents had been at risk for overload (i.e., having to devote at least 60 hours per week to their job and schoolwork). A similar proportion of respondents were actually overloaded during the fall semester.
* Some of the differences between students’ expectations and experiences were encouraging. For example, as compared to what they expected, fewer respondents later indicated that they:
* will need help with career exploration and planning
* will have to work while attending MCC in order to afford to take classes
* saw incidents of racial prejudice by students
* saw incidents of racial prejudice by MCC faculty/staff
Conversely, as compared to what they expected, more respondents later indicated that
they knew what they need to do here and will be successful without a lot of extra help.
* Many of the statistically significant differences from survey to survey were discouraging.
For example:
* Most of the respondents expected to have a faculty advisor assigned to them and
expected that their instructors would keep them informed of their progress, but later they realized that this wasn’t the case.
* Many respondents expected to receive basic help from MCC staff, for instance, in
filling out their financial aid application, which they did not.
* Many of the respondents had not realized the gravity of placement tests in that, if they did
poorly on the tests, they must take courses without credit to build up their skills.
* The respondents also appeared to have had high expectations about using alternative scheduling
options, participating in extracurricular activities, and making new friends with students from
other backgrounds, which did not occur to the extent they had predicted.
* The issues that were found to be problematic among the general population of respondents
seemed to be repeated when we looked at differences in respondents answers to the Expectations
Survey and Experiences Survey based on their demographics (i.e., age, gender, ethnic group, high
school average, MCC program type). These issues also appeared to have arisen in the past, when
the surveys were administered in 2002 and 1998. Specifically, the issues that warrant attention
involve the level of guidance that students expect to receive (i.e., regarding advising, financial aid
help, and tracking their academic progress) and their misconceptions about placement tests.
Therefore, these issues should be more thoroughly addressed before students begin classes at
MCC. Overall, MCC should communicate or communicate more effectively that it will give students
guidance but that they are the ones responsible for their own academic path.
Mary Ann M. Ward
Research
09/02/2008 |