The Activist

Issue date: 11/16/09 Section: News

Media Credit: Ashley Brock An RWC student receives an H1N1 nasal vaccine administered on campus in late October.

In the spring of last year, RWC was up for 10-year re-accreditation with the Higher Learning Commission again. To prepare for the accreditation process, RWC initiated two surveys, the Community College Survey of Student Engagement (CCCSE) and the Survey of Entering Student Engagement (SENSE). Both surveys are designed to help RWC understand where it stands as a two-year college compared to similar colleges in other states.

Sandra Parker, RWC Director of Institutional Research, coordinated gathering the survey data on our campus. "We weren't really doing national surveys [before]," she explained, "but [these are] reliable because of the care taken."

The CCCSE was administrated during the Spring Quarter of 2008. According to its website, the CCCSE "provides a much-needed tool for assessing quality in community college education."

Students were asked to complete the survey in class, "because the online response rate was lower," Parker said. Results of the CCCSE indicate that the more a student is involved with the college and community, the better academically the student tends to perform.

Parker admitted that "it's a challenge because we are a two-year school, but we want to engage students not only in the school but in a community as a whole." THE CCCSE will be administered again in the spring of 2010.

The SENSE was administered October 14-30 of this quarter. This survey helps RWC understand the experience of new students in the college. "It gives us a fresh perspective from a brand new student," Parker said, adding that it helps the College understand what is confusing or unhelpful for new students, because students or staff who have been at the college for some time know where everything is and often forget the experience of a new student.

The survey is administered in Math and English classes typically taken by freshman students. Results are sent to the University of Texas at Austin, which developed the survey, to determine and understand the results and what they mean for the College. It takes three to four months for the data to be finished, and results are expected in February.

Parker encourages any student interested in the surveys, results, or what they mean to visit her office in Room 149F.

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