Continuing Education Provincial Survey Winter 2012 Connie Phelps Manager, Institutional Research & Planning

Agenda Survey background Results - Conestoga CE students: –Who are they? –Why are they here? –What do they think of Conestoga’s courses?

Background Provincial survey – done every 3 years since 2000 Traditional courses –In-class paper and pencil survey 3,113 registrations with 2,266 returned surveys (72%) –Confidence interval: +/-1.1% Provincial response rate of 64% Distance courses (New) –Online survey 782 invitations with 343 responses (44%) –Confidence interval: +/-4.0% Provincial response rate of 35%

Proportions of In-class and Online Surveys

Conestoga CE Students…… Who are they?

Q24 – My age is: The age of in-class and online students is very similar; although slightly more in- class students are aged and slightly more online students are aged In-Class Since 2005, proportion of CE students aged years has declined, proportion of students aged trending higher

Q25 – I am: In-class CE students are more likely to be female –The gender ratio among in-class learners shows no significant changes since 2005 Among online CE learners, an even higher proportion are female –May be due to response bias of online survey (females are always more likely to participate in online surveys)

Q31 – What is the highest level of education you have completed? In-class CE students tend to have lower levels of education than do the online CE students The proportion of CE students with a university degree has risen since 2005

Q33 – Are you a recent immigrant to Canada (within the last 10 years)? Q36 – What is your first language? Fewer recent immigrants sign up for our online courses Compared to provincial averages, Conestoga CE students are: –Less likely to be recent immigrants –More likely to be native English speakers

Q35 – Is your previous post-secondary education or training in a field related to your current course of study? Recent immigrants are much more likely to take CE courses that are related to their previous post-secondary education Recent immigrants are much more likely have a university degree

Summary - Who are they? 33% are aged years; 45% are aged years –Proportion aged years is trending higher in recent years Six in ten are female In-class CE students tend to have lower levels of education than do online CE students –35% of in-class compared to 19% of online have high school or less –The proportion of in-class CE students with a university degree has risen since 2005

Summary - Who are they? About 12% of our in-class students and 7% of online students are recent immigrants –Half the provincial average Recent immigrants are: –More likely to have a university degree (63% vs. 28%) –Much more likely to be taking CE courses related to the previous post-secondary education (43% vs. 14%)

Conestoga CE Students…… Why are they here?

Q2 - What was your most important reason for choosing to register at Conestoga? In-class selection based mostly on location Online selection based mostly on previous positive experience No significant in- class changes since 2008 or 2005

Q5-What is the main reason you are taking this Continuing Education course? 73% in-class and 83% online are using CE to support career development Results are similar to previous years 2012

Q6 - What are you working toward? 74% in-class and 75% online are using CE to achieve a long term certification goal Since 2005: –Trend towards more credentials and fewer single courses Compared to 2012 provincial results: –More Conestoga CE students are working towards a certificate and fewer towards a diploma 2012

Q29 – Prior to this course, how many CE (online) courses at Conestoga have you taken? Q30 - How many CE (online) courses are you taking in this semester at Conestoga? 27% of in-class and 41% of online students are in their first CE course Most students are taking one course this semester

Q8 – How did you register for your present course? The website is the preferred method for CE registrations - students taking online courses are even more likely to register through the website 2012 Use of website to register for CE courses continues to increase

Q11 – How would you rate Conestoga’s CE website? One-third of in-class students are very satisfied with quality of content, ease of use and usefulness of Conestoga’s CE website 2012 Students in online courses are more likely to be very satisfied with the website

Q20 – If you had to choose just one method, which method would you choose to take a course of this type in the future? In-class students clearly prefer to take courses in the traditional classroom format Not even half of students currently taking an online course prefers this method of delivery 2012

Summary - Why are they here? Only about 4 in 10 students are in their first CE course at Conestoga –Most students are taking one course per semester CE is being used to support career development –73% in-class and 83% online Increasingly, CE is being used to support a long-term certification goal (certificate, diploma, professional designation, graduate certificate, or degree) –74% in-class and 75% online

Conestoga CE Students…… What do they think of Conestoga’s courses?

Q13 – How would you rate this course? Highest satisfaction with: –Instructor subject knowledge –Helpfulness –Opportunity for participation 2012 In-Class Conestoga vs. Province Conestoga is above provincial results for % very satisfied: –Instructor subject knowledge –Helpfulness of instructor –Opportunity for participation –Fairness of evaluation –Overall, the instructor

Q13 – How would you rate this course? Overall, ratings are very high Compared to students taking traditional class- based courses, the proportion of online students who are “very” satisfied is lower Most notable differences include: –Opportunity for participation (30%) –Helpfulness of instructor (24%) –Overall, the instructor (23%) –Instructor subject knowledge (21%) –Instructor’s presentation of materials (21%) 2012 Conestoga In-class vs. Online

Q14 – How useful were the following in learning the course materials? Assignments and learning materials are seen to be more useful than text-books and web-based learning tools Compared to provincial results, Conestoga CE students feel the textbooks and the web- based learning tools (if applicable) were slightly less useful 2012 Conestoga vs. Province 2012 Conestoga In-Class vs. Province

Q14 – How useful were the following in learning the course materials? Textbooks play a much larger role in the learning of online students 2012 Conestoga vs. Province 2012 Conestoga In-class vs. Online

Q15 – How would you rate the following? Results are highest (& above provincial average) for: –Instructor shows courtesy and respect for all students –Instructor starts and finishes classes on time Results are lower (but similar to provincial average) for: –Instructor uses a variety of teaching methods & materials 2012 Conestoga vs. Province

Q15 – How would you rate the following? Online students feel instructors respond within 2 business days: –Always (56%) –Most of the time (31%) Results for clarity of communication and the display of courtesy and respect appear marginally lower among online students 2012 Conestoga vs. Province 2012 Conestoga In-class vs. Online

Factors influencing Q13h: Overall quality of this course (In-class) Regression analysis All teaching and learning items (Q12, Q14, & Q15) –Most influential (in order): Course content Instructor’s presentation of course material Helpfulness of instructor Instructor’s subject knowledge Usefulness of learning materials Instructor uses a variety of teaching methods & materials

Factors influencing Q13i: Overall the instructor (In-class) Regression analysis All teaching and learning items (Q12, Q14, & Q15) –Most influential (in order): Helpfulness of instructor Instructor’s presentation of course material Instructor’s subject knowledge Fairness of evaluation Feedback from instructor about progress Instructor delivers material at a comfortable speed Opportunity for participation

Q19 – Based on your experience in this course, would you recommend this course to a friend with the same interests? In-class students are more likely to recommend the course the others Why is it important for students to be “very” satisfied? Almost a 30 %-point difference in the likelihood to recommend the course if students are “satisfied” versus “very satisfied”

Summary – What do think of us? Around 70% of students are “very” satisfied (figure approaches 95% when combine very satisfied and satisfied): –Instructor’s subject knowledge –Helpfulness of instructor –Opportunity for participation Students taking online courses are less satisfied these than those taking traditional courses

Summary – What do think of us? Assignments and learning materials are seen to be more useful than text-books and web-based learning tools –However, textbooks play a much larger role in the learning of online students Students are highly satisfied (and above the provincial average) with the courtesy and respect shown by Conestoga instructors (78% very satisfied) Less satisfied with the variety of teaching methods & materials used by instructors (33% very satisfied)

Summary – Did you know…? Most important drivers of student’s satisfaction with (in- class) instructors and courses: –Helpfulness of instructor –Instructor’s presentation of course material –Instructor’s subject knowledge –Opportunity for participation Moving students from satisfied to “very” satisfied with regards to these items will improve the likelihood to recommend a particular course by 30 percentage-points