USM Honor s Program. Course Assessment Survey: Honors Class Scheduling. Fall 2015 Students

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1 USM Honor s Program Course Assessment Survey: Honors Class Scheduling Fall 2015 Students Prepared by: Office of Academic Assessment University of Southern Maine Spring 2016

2 Honors Program: Course Assessment Survey Executive Summary The purpose of this survey was to obtain some specific information from students who enrolled in an Honors course during the fall 2015 semester. That is, we asked these students for their input (via an online survey) regarding the course scheduling of HON courses, if they plan to take additional HON courses, and if they had a positive experience in their HON course. There were 104 students who were ed the survey in January 2016, and 41 responded (response rate = 39%). Overall, the findings showed that the fall 2015 students who answered the survey were mostly traditionalage (90%), female (80%), at the freshmen-level (68%), and working part-time (61%). In addition, 80% of the students said this was their first year ( ) taking a HON course, and 46% reported that they plan to take additional HON courses to be eligible to graduate as a Honors student. A large percentage of the survey respondents reported that they did not have a problem fitting a HON course into their schedule, most preferred face-to-face courses and courses scheduled for late morning or the middle of the day. Overall, many students said that they had a very positive or mostly positive experience. The demographic information of the respondents and the survey results are shown on the following tables. The aggregated results were given to the Honors Program in order to assist them in reviewing any course scheduling issues and to enhance program improvements. Demographics of Fall 15 Respondents Students Gender: Male 6 15% Female 33 80% Prefer not to respond 2 5% Age: Traditional student (under 25 years) 37 90% Non-traditional student (25 years or older) 4 10%

3 Resident Status: Live on campus 20 49% Commuter student 21 51% Hours Worked: Full-time hours 3 7% Part-time hours 25 61% Not working at this time 13 32% Class Level: Freshmen 28 68% Sophomore 4 10% Junior 5 12% Senior 4 10% Survey Results: Course Enrollment HON course(s) that students were enrolled during the fall 2015 semester: I was not enrolled in an HON course last semester 1 2% HON % HON % HON % HON % HON % HON % HON % HON % HON HON

4 F15 HON students who are currently enrolled in a Honors course this spring 2016 semester: I am not enrolled in an HON course this semester 20 49% HON % HON HON % HON % HON % HON % HON % HON HON % HON HON Is this your first year ( ) taking HON course(s)? Yes 33 80% No 8 20% Are you planning to enroll in additional HON courses at USM in the near future Yes, I plan to take the required HON courses to be eligible as an HONORS student 19 46% I have already taken enough HON courses to be eligible as a HONORS student 5 12% Undecided, I may or may not enroll in another HON course 10 24% No, I am not planning to take additional HON courses 7 17%

5 Survey Results: Course Scheduling Preferences Were there any issues regarding fitting your HON course into your course schedule (previously or in this semester). Yes 4 10% No 36 90% Days of the week that are most convenient to enroll in HON courses. Anytime during the week (Mon thru Fri) 12 30% On Mondays and Wednesdays (Mon-Wed) 18 45% On Tuesdays and Thursdays (Tues-Thurs) 16 40% On Fridays (Fri) 2 5% Weekend courses (Saturday or Sunday) 2 5% Schedule varies during the week and weekends 8 20% Hours preferred for taking HON courses In the morning (8-10 a.m.) 12 30% Late-morning (10 a.m.-12 p.m.) 29 73% Middle of the day (12-2 p.m.) 26 65% Late afternoon (2-4 p.m.) 20 50% Early evening (4-5:30 p.m.) 5 13% Evening (5:30 7 p.m.) 3 8% Night hours (7-9 p.m.) My schedule varies-prefer online 5 13% Types of courses preferred for taking HON courses Prefer face-to-face courses 31 78% Prefer blended course (live and online combined) 12 30% Prefer online (web-based) course 3 8% No preference, any of the above 5 13% *Percentages were based upon the number of students who responded to each survey item.

6 Survey Results: Experiences in HON Course Did you have or are you having a positive experience in your HON course. Yes, very positive 18 44% Mostly positive 17 42% Mostly negative 3 7% No, very negative 3 7% Survey Results: Additional Comments All individual responses are listed verbatim from the students who took a class in the HONORS program in the fall 2015 semester. I really didn t care for how the happiness class was set up, which was mostly due to the teacher and her teaching style. Have loved the honors courses and the community so far. Honors 101 was a fantastic experience and I really enjoyed the content in the class. I really would like to see more diverse faculty and course offerings. Beyond getting the honors credits, the class seemed pretty much pointless and a waste of my time. I had an unpleasant experience with my honors course. Honors students generally work harder than an average student in USM, I will continue to be an honors student. I took an Honors EYE and prefer the seminar style, I really would like to take more. The professor I had was extremely biased in debates that tended to turn out political and would not be open to varying opinions. Classes were fun and interesting. I would enjoy if Honors classes overlapped with major courses as well. I would like to see more Honors courses offered on the Gorham campus. I think that my negative experience in the HON course wasn t so much the course as it was the professor. Independent studies are awesome! *If you have questions about this assessment report, please contact the Office of Academic Assessment.