An Evaluation of SLIS Student Satisfaction and its Global Impacts

Christina Hoffman, MLSDr. Samantha Hastings, Interim Dean

The University of North Texas School of Library and Information Sciences

Purpose

• Determine student satisfaction of program

• Stay abreast of the technological changes and global aspects of information environments

• Compare findings with issues in the global LIS environment

• Provide evidence for possible improvements among a variety of LIS programs and educators

Introduction

• During the past 5 years, SLIS conducted an End of Program Questionnaire of graduating master’s students

• Results from student comments and answers reflect high satisfaction with the program

• Important results and aspects of the program are compared to issues identified in the global environment

Background

• Master’s students are required to:– Complete 36 hours of coursework– Complete and Pass the Capstone Experience

• Part of the Capstone Experience includes the End of Program Questionnaire

• The results of the questionnaires are analyzed and used for research purposes in this study

Background

• SLIS began offering WebCT courses in 2000

• Students can now complete the entire master’s program online and attend web institutes

• Currently, SLIS reaches students all over Texas and beyond, from Boise to Mozambique

Methodology

• The results from the End of Program Questionnaire were analyzed with application of Windows SPSS 12.0

• Begins with Fall 2000 semester, ends with Summer 2004 semester

• Each year yielded a relative increase in the number of respondents

Methodology

The Study Measures 5 key areas:

1. Student Background Information

2. Goals and Objectives

3. Curriculum

4. Physical Resources and Facilities

5. Faculty and Advising

Results and AnalysisStudent Background Information

• Dramatic increase in the number Distance Learners– Increased number of students from different

geographic locations

• Increase in diversity of backgrounds and experiences of student body– Geographical Locations– Work Experience

Growth in Distance Education

Results and AnalysisGoals and Objectives

• Overall, students expressed high satisfactions regarding how well SLIS accomplishes the objectives of the masters program

• Analysis of students’ comments from the three most recent semesters indicate an important trend developing in the objectives emphasizing technology and professional development

Results and AnalysisGoals and Objectives

• Technology:– Comments indicate differing opinions about how much

SLIS should emphasize technology, or what technology and applications should be studied

– Discrepancy about how much technology expertise students gained from program

Results and AnalysisGoals and Objectives

• Professional Development:– Indication that not all students are realizing the

importance of professional organizations and development

– Raises questions about why and what teaching methods might be more effective in teaching students the importance of professional development

Results and AnalysisCurriculum

• Vast majority of students agreed that SLIS emphasizes and covers the core curriculum very well

• Majority of students agreed that the program allowed them to interact with students outside of their curriculum foci

• Most strongly agree that the SLIS curriculum experience significantly prepared them for a library and information science career

Results and AnalysisPhysical Resources and Facilities

• SLIS Announce-L and the SLIS Village: What are they?

• Students highly favor using SLIS Announce-L and the Village to communicate with students, faculty, and others on a daily basis

• Percentages from survey show that more students will most likely voluntarily join the Village as more students feel comfortable with distance learning

• Village provides many aspects of learning that neither traditional nor virtual classrooms can offer

Percent Growth in the Value of SLIS Village and Announce-L

Results and AnalysisFaculty and Advising

• Overall satisfaction about faculty and advising is high

• Results show that distance learners still want more face to face advising when possible

• Even with growth in distance education, email and face to face communication consistently remained chief method (not telephone or WebCT)

Results and AnalysisFaculty and Advising

• Interestingly, each semester a high percentage of students indicate “no opinion” about whether faculty encouraged and actively participated in professional activities

• Could indicate that students are not necessarily aware of faculty involvement in professional organizations, which could limit their ability to perceive professional involvement as important

Results and AnalysisOverall Evaluation

• Students encouraged continual utilization and improvement of the SLIS Village because of the value they received using this type of communication forum

• Suggestions for breaking the barriers of distance education communication

• Indication that students want LIS educators to consider their suggestions to tailor programs and communication methods to their needs

Global Implications

• We compared the SLIS program and survey results with the results of the KALIPER Study

• Realized several implications for the future of LIS education about how LIS educators should tailor programs to meet demands in the global environment

Global Implications

Suggestions and Impacts from Study

1. Recruit students from numerous areas to enhance global learning through student to student interactions

2. Identify both theoretical and practical teaching applications and methods for specific programs of study by examining global library practices and information environments

3. Continue to identify the technological changes among all types of LIS environments, across education specializations, and through interaction among students from different programs of study

Global Implications

4. Create social environments for learning in order to build communities and life long professional colleagues and professional development

5. Increasingly involve students in faculty professional development and continuing education activities globally, nationally, and locally, especially in distance education locations

6. Incorporate bilingual education into LIS programs

7. Develop LIS education exchange programs with other countries

8. Incorporate global outreach to help build LIS programs where needed

Conclusion

• The implications for improving LIS education and our profession now includes the global environment, which again requires LIS educators to reevaluate practices and methods of teaching and meeting student needs

• The SLIS study and evaluation of student satisfactions successfully identified new objectives for LIS educators to meet the changes occurring in the global information environment

Further Study

• The study provides opportunities for further research on a wider variety of global impacts

• More comparisons of important objectives among LIS programs with distance education and traditional face to face teaching methods

Questions?