Noel-Levitz Survey

Using information students provided through the Noel-Levitz Student Satisfaction survey, Norwich faculty, staff and members of the administration are currently working to make improvements on campus.

The Noel-Levitz Student Satisfaction survey was administered at Norwich in 2006, 2009 and 2011; and will continue to be administered at Norwich in the spring every other year. The purpose of the Noel-Levitz assessment is to help us identify areas at the university in need of improvement from the student perspective and establish priorities to address them.

The Noel-Levitz survey consists of multiple aspects of the student experience at Norwich. The areas covered in the survey are thorough, ranging from topics such as the content of academic courses and class registration to campus safety and adequate selection of food available in the cafeteria. Students are asked to rate how important they feel the different elements are to their college experience, and also how satisfied they are with Norwich concerning these particular elements. Noel-Levitz uses a formula where the scores for importance minus the scores for satisfaction equals a performance gap. The higher the performance gap the higher the priority should be in addressing the issue.

The Noel-Levitz results at Norwich show that overall there have been improvements in student satisfaction over the six years in almost every category, but that there are also issues in need of improvement.

During the time that Noel-Levitz has been given at Norwich, several areas have been consistently identified as strengths by our students. These areas include: academic advisors who are knowledgeable and accessible; instructors who are knowledgeable in their field and accessible; and strong academic support services. During this same survey time period students identified areas with room for improvement such as the comfort of living conditions in residence halls; maintaining a competent staff in health services; and fairness of student discipline procedures.

On Sept. 28, Julie Bryant, associate vice president of retention solutions at Noel-Levitz, came to campus to give the cabinet and middle managers a briefing on the Noel-Levitz results. Following the meeting working groups were formed to brainstorm ways to build on the strengths identified and also to find solutions to the challenges. I have charged VPSA Mike Kelley to take the lead with this effort.

VPSA Kelley has formed a staff executive steering group which will plan our actions in three phases – immediate actions, actions prior to Semester Break, and actions prior to Spring Break. Assisting the executive steering group is our student affairs senior student leader forum. This group of senior student leaders has already provided input to the Noel-Levitz process and is the student's conduit into the process. If students have concerns or issues pertaining to the Noel-Levitz results that they want addressed then please contact your Residence Life executive staff, your corps of cadets senior leadership, the SGA or other members of the Senior Student Leader team. They work for you to help Norwich address your issues.

The recommendations of the working groups will be presented to the cabinet at a future date. While we may not be able to implement every suggestion, we will strive to address the issues that students have identified as needing improvement.

The Noel-Levitz survey is a wonderful instrument for gauging the needs of our students. I am committed to listening to these needs and acting upon them. I want all of our students to have a positive experience at Norwich. By using a tool such as the Noel-Levitz Student Satisfaction survey on a regular basis and acting upon our findings, we can continue to work on towards this goal.