An Evaluation of SLIS Student Satisfaction and its Global Impacts

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An Evaluation of SLIS Student Satisfaction and
its Global Impacts

• Christina Hoffman, MLS
• Dr. Samantha Hastings, Interim Dean
• The University of North Texas
• School of Library and Information Sciences

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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

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Introduction

• During the past 5 years, SLIS conducted an End of
  Program Questionnaire of graduating masters
  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

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Background

• Masters 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

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Background

• SLIS began offering WebCT courses in 2000
• Students can now complete the entire masters
  program online and attend web institutes
• Currently, SLIS reaches students all over Texas
  and beyond, from Boise to Mozambique

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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

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Methodology

• The Study Measures 5 key areas
• Student Background Information
• Goals and Objectives
• Curriculum
• Physical Resources and Facilities
• Faculty and Advising

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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

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Growth in Distance Education
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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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

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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

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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

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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

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Global Implications

• Suggestions and Impacts from Study
• Recruit students from numerous areas to enhance
  global learning through student to student
  interactions
• Identify both theoretical and practical teaching
  applications and methods for specific programs of
  study by examining global library practices and
  information environments
• 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

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Global Implications

1. Create social environments for learning in order
   to build communities and life long
   professional colleagues and professional
   development
2. Increasingly involve students in faculty
   professional development and continuing education
   activities globally, nationally, and locally,
   especially in distance education locations
3. Incorporate bilingual education into LIS programs
4. Develop LIS education exchange programs with
   other countries
5. Incorporate global outreach to help build LIS
   programs where needed

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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

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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

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Questions?