1. How satisfied are students with their course and should we care?

2. Stress and models of stress
Stress can be the result of ‘too much or too little arousal resulting in harm to mind and body’ (Schafer 1992, p. 14).
Response model of Stress (Cannon, 1932, Seyle, 1974)
Stimulus model (e.g. Holmes and Rahe, 1967)
Dr C Gibbons

3. The Transactional model of stress (Lazarus and Folkman, 1984)
Demands
Secondary
appraisal
Adaptive coping
Maladaptive
coping
Affective
outcomes:
Distress
Eustress
Outcomes:
satisfaction
Perform.
Health
Primary
Appraisal
Benign, threat or challenge?
Dr C Gibbons

4. Primary appraisal/Sources of stress in students
Student/Course specific sources of stress
Personal sources of stress
Teaching experience
Financial concerns
Assessment and feedback
Work-home interface
Fear of failure
Issues around managing ‘apparent’ free time
Adjusting to HE
‘future’ concerns
Organisation and management
Social opportunities
Workload
Dr C Gibbons

5. Outcomes/Effects of stress
Individual effects
Course specific effects
Psychological health
Course satisfaction
Physical health
Feeling part of a learning community
happiness
Intellectual motivation
Dr C Gibbons

6. The Transactional model of stress (Lazarus and Folkman, 1984)
Demands
Secondary
appraisal
Adaptive coping
Maladaptive
coping
Affective
outcomes:
Distress
Eustress
Outcomes:
satisfaction
Perform.
Health
Primary
Appraisal
Benign, threat or challenge?
Dr C Gibbons

7. Yerkes-Dodson curve (1908)
Dr C Gibbons

8. Most measures of stress measure it in terms of degrees of distress.
This ignores the possibility that such sources of stress might also act as potential for good stress/eustress as well as distress.
Rating stressors as hassles and uplifts enables one to do this.
Earlier research suggests measuring both is informative e.g. perceived stressors between those ‘at risk’ v ‘not at risk’ of developing a stress-related illness (Gibbons, 2009)
Dr C Gibbons

9. Method Questionnaire measuring sources of stress
(items from NSS), key predictors (Secondary appraisal), and outcome measures (intellectual motivation and course satisfaction)
Dr C Gibbons

10. Assessment and feedback Academic support Organisation and management
Primary appraisal:
Sources of stress
Teaching
Assessment and feedback
Academic support
Organisation and management
Learning resources
Personal development
Careers advice
Course content and structure
Social opportunities
Course delivery
Workload
University support
Work-home interface
Secondary appraisal:
Coping
Context/situation related coping:
University and peer support as an uplift
Context control
Coping – approach coping, avoidance, seeking support
Dispositional influences on coping:
Self-efficacy
Personality [OCEAN]
Demographics
Outcome measures
Feeling part of a learning community
Intellectual motivation
Course satisfaction
Psychological well-being (GHQ)
Dr C Gibbons

11. Dr C Gibbons

12. Discussion – intellectual motivation
The more the work-home interface was rated as uplifting the higher were scores on intellectual motivation…
The more social opportunities provided with the university were rated as a hassle the higher were scores on intellectual motivation…
As ‘openness’ increased intellectual motivation declined…
The more learning resources were rated as uplifting the lower were scores in intellectual motivation…
Dr C Gibbons

13. Dr C Gibbons

14. Discussion – course satisfaction
The more teaching was rated as uplifting the higher were scores on course satisfaction.
When course content and structure were rated as uplifting, satisfaction increased and declined when rated as a hassle.
The more social opportunities were rated as a hassle the lower were scores on course satisfaction
Dr C Gibbons

15. Intellectual motivation and course satisfaction negatively correlated (rho = -.634)…
The usual limitations associated with a survey approach have to be noted…
Dr C Gibbons

16. Recommendations
Reviewing a course and/or rating a university through course satisfaction ratings provides an incomplete picture. Multiple measures need to be adopted.
The prevalence of hassle ratings over uplifting ones and the absence of personality, self-efficacy and coping as strong predictors suggests the demands of the first year are perceived as disproportionately high.
Therefore build on existing strategies to support students
Dr C Gibbons