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Center for the Study of Higher Education conducts survey World Campus students report satisfaction with course experiences by Ellen P. James
	Eighty-four percent of World Campus students responding to a survey said they were “satisfied” or “very satisfied” with their overall course experience, and 77 percent indicated that had it not been for the Internet access, they could not have otherwise taken the course. The Center for the Study of Higher Education at Penn State conducted an external evaluation of 164 students who took distance education courses from the World Campus during spring 1999. The survey focused on key variables, such as creating access, student performance and satisfaction, faculty satisfaction and learning effectiveness. The center also surveyed faculty members who teach World Campus courses. “These data are not only important for Penn State,” Dr. Gary Miller, executive director of the World Campus and associate vice president for distance education, said. “They provide a benchmark for all institutional distance education leaders who are delivering education via the Internet. It is critical for us to carefully examine and assess student and faculty feedback as we continue to shape this new educational platform.” Dr. Melody Thompson, associate director of the World Campus, added, “These surveys were useful, because they identify what we’re doing well and areas where we need to improve. Overall, we’re extremely pleased with the reactions of students and faculty.” Among the survey results: 87 percent of the students said they “absolutely” or “probably” would take another World Campus course, based on their spring semester experience. 82 percent said they were “satisfied” or “very satisfied” with the level of communication they had with faculty and other students. 70 percent said they were “satisfied” or “very satisfied” with the overall use of technology in the course. “When it comes to technology, students don’t differentiate between a problem on Penn State’s end and a problem with their own Internet Service Provider or their own hardware,” Thompson explained. “So some of the variables are not under our control.” Nonetheless, Penn State helps students find workable solutions to technical problems. Thompson reports that more than 50 percent of all technical problems were solved within a half-hour. “Our technical support people are really good at coming up with solutions, whether it’s something that needs to be done on our end or at the student’s end.” Another group of 87 students who took World Campus courses during summer 1999 responded to an administrative survey measuring what course elements were important to them and how satisfied they were with those elements. Course content, as expected, was “important” or “very important” to nearly 98 percent of the students, and more than 95 percent were “satisfied” or “very satisfied” with the content. Course flexibility, defined as the ability for students to take courses wherever they want to and whenever they want to, was important to 95 percent of the respondents. Ninety-four percent were “satisfied” with the World Campus’ course flexibility. According to Dr. M. Lee Upcraft, World Campus evaluation project director, the real success of the World Campus is reflected in student learning outcomes. Eighty-two percent were “satisfied” or “very satisfied” with knowledge gained, 91 percent were “satisfied” or “very satisfied” with skill gains, and 100 percent were “satisfied” or “very satisfied” with problem-solving skills gained. Additionally, faculty members report that World Campus students are goal-oriented and highly motivated and that they achieve as well as or better than their resident instruction students. Just over half of the students considered interaction with other students to be an important element of their course, and 83 percent were pleased with their level of interaction with students. As part of the evaluation survey, the Center for the Study of Higher Education interviewed six of the seven faculty members who developed and taught World Campus courses during spring 1999. The faculty members responding to the survey all reported high levels of satisfaction with the experience. In addition, they said that World Campus students were highly motivated and satisfying to teach. They also said they believe the World Campus is providing access to previously underserved students. The faculty members emphasized the benefits and responsibilities of using multiple channels of communication to teach effectively in the distance learning environment. Most reported significant carryover from their World Campus teaching to their on-campus teaching. The faculty members also cited the greater time requirements for developing and teaching courses on-line and said the time commitments needed to be either reduced or rewarded.