LCC PERFORMANCE MEASURES

Research Report on the

99/00 Winter Session

Table of Contents

Abstract……………………………………………………………… iii

Introduction

Background…………..…………………………………………. 1

Purpose and Research Questions……………………………….. 1

Theories/Hypotheses….…….…………………………………… 2

Research Procedures/Methodology

Design…………………………………………………………… 2

Population and Sample Size……………………………………. 3

Data Excluded from the Study………………………..………… 3

Instrument………………………………………………………. 3

Data Collection Methods………………………………..……… 4

Validity/Reliability…..…………………….…………………… 4

Method of Analysis……………………………………………… 5

Raw Data……………………………………………………………. 5

Quantitative Data……………………………………………….. 6

Student Hand-Written Comments………………………………. 12

Findings/Results…………………………………………………….. 21

Statistical Analysis…………………………………………….... 21

Content Analysis, Hand-Written Comments……………………. 28

Appendixes

Student Survey (Questionnaire)………………………………… A1

Data Summary………………………………………………….. B1

Abstract

Leeward Community College (LCC) began offering winter classes in December 1998 and the 99/00 session was only the second time the college offered courses during the winter time period. The winter session is new, and it is also unique in that it is a 3-week semester with accelerated courses. It is because of this uniqueness that LCC wanted to insure the right combination of courses and services were offered to provide a positive learning environment for the students. As a result, a student survey was developed and used to collect data on the students attending LCC’s 99/00 Winter Session. The research attempted to answer the following questions:

1. Were students satisfied with Leeward's winter program?

2. Did students feel that they learned as much in this 3-week accelerated session as they might have learned in a regular 16-week semester?

3. What colleges did students attend during the previous fall semester?

4. From what sources did students obtain information about LCC’s winter program?

5. What recommendations do students have to improve the winter session?

The study design involved primarily the use of statistical analysis of Likert-scale response type questions, and other closed-ended items producing quantitative data. Hand-written student comments were also analyzed for content.

The findings suggest that:

1. Students were satisfied with all aspects of the 99/00 winter session.

2. Overall, students felt they learned more in a 3-week winter session than they would have in a regular 16-week semester.

3. Almost half (48.7%) of the students who attended the winter session were students that attended LCC the previous fall. The next largest group (27%) were students who had attended UH-Manoa the preceding semester.

4. Over 30% of the information obtained by students concerning the winter session came from sources within the LCC campus. In contrast, less than 6% of the information about winter session was obtained by students via television, radio, or commercial newspapers.

5. Students recommended that the college offer more courses and at different times, and that the Library and Computer Labs be opened earlier and remain open longer.

Research Report on the

99/00 Winter Session

Introduction

Background

The Winter Session is an intensive three-week program offered exclusively within the time period between the fall and spring semesters. Students may enroll in one course and earn up to three semester hours of credit. Although condensed over a three-week period, the classes still require the minimum number of contact hours and therefore are accelerated classes that generally meet 3 hours per day, for 16 days. Leeward Community College (LCC) began offering winter classes in December 1998. The 99/00 session is only the second time the college has offered courses during the winter time period.

The following is the winter Headcount Enrollment for the two semesters that the winter session has been in existence.

Winter Session Enrollment

(Source: LCC, Aldrich System)

	98/99	99/00
Headcount	185	184

Purpose and Research Questions

The overall purpose of this research was to gather information about the students attending LCC’s winter program. The college is experimenting with this accelerated model of course offerings and would like to understand more about the students who take these condensed courses so that the program can be modified to make it more appealing. The winter program is a new adventure for the institution and all involved want to insure the right combination of courses and services are offered so as to provide a positive learning experience for the students. The college expects to expand the number of courses in order to meet the anticipated demands of students within the community.

Specifically, there were five questions associated with this research. Those questions were:

1. Were students satisfied with Leeward's winter program?

2. Did students feel that they learned as much in this 3-week accelerated session as they might have learned in a regular 16-week semester?

3. What colleges did students attend during the previous fall semester?

4. From what sources did students obtain information about LCC’s winter session?

5. What recommendations do students have to improve the winter session?

Theories/Hypotheses

The college had several theories about the students who attended the winter program. The first of these assumptions was that the students were satisfied with the various programs and services offered during the winter session. The second premise was that the accelerated 3-week course offerings were as rigorous as the normal 16-week courses and that the students would feel that they had learned at least as much as they might expect to learn in a regular session. The third theory was that most of the students who attended LCC during the winter session were students who attended Leeward Community College during the previous fall term. The fourth belief was that most students found out about the course offerings from sources within the college. These theories were the basis for data collection, and for analyzing the data once it was obtained.

Research Procedures/Methodology

Design

The design for this study involved primarily a quantitative approach, however, some qualitative data was collected. The unit of analysis was the “student” and a student survey was utilized as the instrument for data collection. The survey was administered to all students taking classes during the 99/00 winter session. Questionnaire items were developed based upon the purpose and theories of the study. The survey instrument can be found at Appendix A.

Population and Sample Size

The population included all students enrolled in the 99/00 Winter Session at Leeward Community College. In total, there were 184 students enrolled in eleven classes.

The sample was in fact a census, and included all the students enrolled in the winter session.

Data Excluded from the Study

The only data excluded from the study were associated with students’ multiple responses to survey questions. While there was one question on the survey (question #12) that accommodated multiple responses, the other items did not. Although students were directed to choose only one response for each question, except for question #12, a few students chose to reply to these other questions with more than one answer anyway. The multiple responses on non-multiple response type questions were very few in number and were excluded from the statistical analysis. The design of this study and the particular statistical methods used did not allow for analysis of these type multiple responses.

Instrument

The instrument used was a student survey, which contained 13 questions. The survey was developed by the LCC Institutional Researcher in collaboration with the Assistant Dean of Academic Support.

Nine of the items on the survey used a Likert-type response scale that included various forms of replies that measured different levels of satisfaction. The response scale ranged from Very Satisfied to Very Dissatisfied. Open-ended type questions were used for two items and allowed students to write in any response they wanted in reply to the question. The remaining two items were a combination of closed-ended and open-ended response type questions. (Survey is at Appendix A)

The survey was anonymous and students were instructed not to put their names or social security numbers anywhere on the form. Students were also informed that their participation was voluntary.

Data Collection Methods

The primary source of data collection was through the use of the survey instrument, which was distributed to the instructors teaching the winter session classes. Instructors were asked to administer the survey to their students and return the questionnaire to the Office of the Dean of Instruction. The survey was distributed to instructors about the middle of the winter term and asked to be administered anytime before the session ended.

Once the surveys were returned to the Office of the Dean of Instruction, the LCC Institutional Researcher scanned the data into his desktop computer using specialized scanning equipment and software programs specifically designed for this purpose. The Researcher then analyzed the data using Excel and SPSS (Statistical Package for Social Science) software programs.

Data regarding the headcount enrollment were extracted from the Leeward Community College’s Aldrich central computer system.

Validity/Reliability

The survey instrument was developed by the LCC Institutional Researcher in collaboration with the Assistant Dean of Academic Support but went through iterative reviews by both faculty and administrators. The reviews simplified the language of the survey, corrected grammatical errors and misspellings, and strengthened the connections between the theoretical concepts and specific survey items.

While the survey was administered to a sample size of 184 students, not all students completed the questionnaire. From the sample of 184 students, only 115 surveys were returned. This yielded a response rate of 65%.

The highest Standard Error of the Mean from all the items on the survey was .19, which was based upon a 95% confidence level (two tailed test). This suggests that for that one question, which had an average (mean) of 3.23 that the true mean would fall somewhere between 3.04 and 3.42. The Data Section of this report contains the standard errors along with the mean and standard deviation results.

Method of Analysis

Descriptive statistics were completed on all the data in order to determine frequency counts and percentage of item responses. Additionally, for items with Likert response type scales, the mean, standard deviation, and the standard error of the mean were calculated. Descriptive statistics were also used to help check for errors that might have occurred when inputting data into the statistical software package. When appropriate, graphs and charts were employed in order to help depict or illustrate the data.

Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) was used as the statistical method for comparing the differences in levels of satisfaction between the students who attended Leeward Community College the previous fall, and the students who attended other colleges the preceding semester. Bonferroni and Turkey tests were also used as ANOVA subtests to determine if specific items might differ significantly.

Raw Data

The following data are both the quantitative and qualitative data (student hand-written comments) that were collected through the administration of the student survey. For ease of reading, the numerical data have been separated from the hand-written comments and appear first in this report.

The quantitative data reflect the number (frequency) and percentage of responses to each question. Additionally, the mean, standard deviation, and the standard error of the mean are provided. The mean, standard deviation, and standard error were calculated at a 95% confidence level (two-tailed test) using the Likert type response scales that included various forms of replies that measured different levels of satisfaction. Basically, the Likert scale response values were 5 for Very Satisfied, 4 for Satisfied, 3 for Neither Satisfied nor Dissatisfied, 2 for Dissatisfied, and 1 for Very Dissatisfied.

The hand-written comments appear at the end of the quantitative data. Please note that the hand-written comments are unedited and contain the language, misspellings, and grammatical errors, as written by the students.

Quantitative Data

Student Survey Questions

Question 1: How satisfied were you with the Enrollment and Registration process?

Responses	Frequency	Percent
Very Satisfied	49	42.6	Mean = 4.17
Satisfied	49	42.6
Neither Satisfied nor Dissatisfied	9	7.8	Std dev = .97
Dissatisfied	4	3.5
Very Dissatisfied	4	3.5	Std Error = .09
Total	115	100

Question 2: How satisfied were you with the days and times of class offerings?

Responses	Frequency	Percent
Very Satisfied	36	31.3	Mean = 4.08
Satisfied	59	51.3
Neither Satisfied nor Dissatisfied	14	12.2	Std dev = .83
Dissatisfied	5	4.4
Very Dissatisfied	1	0.9	Std Error = .08
Total	115	100

Question 3: How satisfied were you with the number and variety of course offerings?

Responses	Frequency	Percent
Very Satisfied	13	11.4	Mean = 3.46
Satisfied	51	44.7
Neither Satisfied nor Dissatisfied	29	25.4	Std dev = 1.0
Dissatisfied	17	14.9
Very Dissatisfied	4	3.5	Std Error = .09
Total	114	100

Question 4: What courses would you like us to offer in future Winter Sessions?

The responses to this open-ended question can be found on pages 12-15

Question 5: How satisfied were you with the availability of the Library?

Responses

Frequency

Percent