Torchbearer: Spring 1998

Students Are Satisfied Customers

What are students thinking? What do we know about this emerging generation?

One thing for sure about UT students: they're busy. About 63 percent work while they're in school. Most work part-time–less than 35 hours week.

And they like UT. Rating their overall UT experience, more than 88 percent called it good or excellent. Eighty-four percent say they're satisfied or very satisfied with the education they've received. If they had it to do over, most would choose UT: more than 85 percent answered affirmatively when asked, "If you could start college again, would you enroll at UTK?"

The Office of Institutional Research conducted the 1997 Enrolled Student Survey, polling 2,171 undergraduates in both day and evening classes.

Academic Affairs Vice Chancellor John Peters said the students' mostly positive responses reflect approval of the hard work of faculty and staff.

"We work very hard to provide the intellectual environment and student life environment that makes this a great education experience," Peters says.

Students were asked their opinions of programs and services on campus. They were particularly complimentary of the library (83 percent rated it good or excellent) and the campus bookstore (76 percent said good or excellent). Most respondents said there was a strong or very strong emphasis on "being critical, evaluative, and analytical" and on developing "vocational and occupational competence."

Students were asked their opinions about their major programs of study. Some of the findings:

availability of your major advisor:
46% excellent; 33% good; 12% fair; 6% poor
willingness of your major advisor to help:
54% excellent; 26% good; 12% fair; 4% poor
availability of faculty to help students outside class: 40% excellent; 40% good; 15% fair; 3% poor
quality of courses in preparing you for employment: 40% excellent; 42% good; 13% fair; 3% poor
quality of instruction in major:
47% excellent; 42% good; 9% fair; 2% poor

The survey also quizzed students on how UT had affected their personal skills. Some of the skills and how much students said UT had affected them:

ability to learn and grow as a person: 70% very much; 27% somewhat; 3% very little
learning on your own: 70% very much; 26% somewhat; 4% very little
working cooperatively in a group: 61% very much; 33% somewhat; 6% very little
practical skills necessary to obtain employment in your field: 57% very much; 37% somewhat; 6% very little

The university had less impact on developing personal skills in the areas of understanding global environmental concerns, the arts, and different philosophies and cultures and in using mathematics in everyday life.

All is not work. Students were also asked to rate the quality of the social experience at UT. Almost 38 percent said "excellent"; nearly 46 percent answered "good."

When asked about their cultural experience, 17 percent rated it excellent; 50 percent good; 28 percent said fair.

The survey was conducted primarily to fulfill a requirement of the Tennessee Higher Education Commission performance funding formula. As a result of the survey, THEC awarded UTK ten out of ten points, which resulted in $750,000 additional state funds for the university.

Return to Spring 1998 table of contents.





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