STUDENT SATISFACTION AT AN ALL-TIME HIGH
Photo credit: Scott L. Huck/Cedarville University
by Sharyn Kopf—Cedarville, Ohio
July 25, 2008
Let’s face it: We live in a time of unrest and dissatisfaction. Gas prices are too high, the earth is too warm, and my DVR will only record two shows at a time. There seems to be a lot of grumbling going on these days.
But not at Cedarville University! And no, that’s not just an opinion, it’s cold, hard facts from the 2007-08 Noel – Levitz Student Satisfaction Inventory. Out of 98 individual items, Cedarville outranked average scores for the Council of Christian Colleges and Universities (CCCU) on 97 of them.
Of course, this is no accident, and it was no surprise. According to Dr. Carl Ruby, vice president of student life, one word describes the University’s approach to student satisfaction: intentional.
“We have a culture here that values quality,” he says. “We’ve made a deliberate effort to listen to our students’ input. And it’s reflected in the time Dr. (Bill) Brown spends with them.”
In fact, Dr. Brown’s interactions have allowed him to have a finger on the heartbeat of student life. Needless to say, the approachability of Cedarville’s administration did very well in the survey — receiving its highest rating ever.
Of course, finding out where students are coming from means meeting them where they are. “We want to understand what they are talking about,” Ruby says. “What are their frustrations? Their joys? What makes them glad to be at Cedarville?”
For Hali Buck ’09, communications, it’s all about that personal touch. “The staff and faculty give up their time to help us in our education,” she says. “Cedarville definitely has a family atmosphere.”
Obviously, the best way to know if students are happy is simply to walk right up and ask. Dr. Brown likes to pose the question, “What takes the joy out of being here?” Then he and the rest of Cedarville’s faculty and staff make a point of listening to the answer. This led to achieving the highest satisfaction levels, ever, in nine out of the 10 scales represented in the survey. Even better, Cedarville University outranked the average CCCU scores on all 10 scales.
English major Asheritah Oana ’10 says, “My two years at Cedarville have only confirmed what I felt the first day I walked on campus: When you come here, you’re not merely enrolling in a school, you’re joining a family.”
Students, like Asheritah, know they are appreciated at Cedarville. For instance, their level of enjoyment, sense of belonging, and pride in their school came in remarkably high, each landing well over 6 points on the survey’s scale of 1 to 7. That’s an impressive advantage over other CCCU schools.
Nevertheless, “being intentional about student satisfaction isn’t just about being market-driven,” Ruby says, “and it doesn’t take away from the unique dynamics of the academic enterprise. It’s about modeling a quest for excellence in all we do ... even in the way we provide services like housing, health care or advising.”
Cedarville’s main goal in responding to this survey will be to translate those numbers into an even higher retention rate. Though that rate is already strong at 85 percent, Ruby intends to see it slide over the 90 percent mark. Three things factor into that: financial aid, a clear academic plan and adequate support for struggling students.
In the meantime, the University will continue as it has — meeting students where they are and learning what motivates them, what makes them smile, what they want to change and how we can all work together to make Cedarville the best it can be.
