Notes

Outline

STCC’s Campus Quality Survey Summary and Findings March 22, 2002 Dr. Gail Dantzker, Director Office of Institutional Research and Effectiveness A Division of ITS

About the Campus Quality Survey (CQS) A Noel-Levitz instrument administered through Performance Horizons Based on Baldridge and Presidential Quality Award standards Tests employees’ perceptions of “how things ought to be” and “how things are” at STCC & uses “gap” (calculated by subtracting)  between how things are and how things ought to be as an indicator for employee satisfaction Asks for satisfaction ratings of a number of programs and services at the college Allows for additional locally developed questions

8 CQS Scales Leadership and Support Training and Recognition Empowerment and Teamwork Client Focus Strategic Quality Planning Quality Improvement Quality Assurance Measurement and Analysis + 30 items rating programs, services and activities + 2 items serving as global assessments of employment satisfaction and institutional quality + 9 STCC-developed items + employee classification and fulltime/parttime status self-identification + opportunity to add comments

What did STCC’s employees tell us? The mean value for each of the 8 scales is higher for “Should” in 2001. Expectations are higher ! The mean value for each of the 8 scales is higher for “How Things Are” in 2001. Perceptions of how things are have improved! The Gap between “How Things Are” and “How Things Should Be” is smaller in 2001 than in 2000 for each scale. STCC has moved closer to matching expectations to reality! [331 (34%) of 973 employees responded, representing all employment categories]

Overall Conclusions “Should Be,” “Are” and Gap are all moving in desired directions “How Things Are” closer to “How Things Should Be” at STCC, in the opinion of employees as a group Efforts of leaders to improve employee satisfaction are working!

SPECIFICALLY. . . 74% are Satisfied or Very Satisfied with their employment at STCC in 2001 (up from 68% in 2000) Only 2% report being not at all satisfied (down from 7% in 2000)

74% report Good or Excellent Quality at STCC in 2001 (up from 63% in 2000) 1% report being not at all satisfied with Quality at STCC in 2001 (down from 4% in 2000)

“I am proud to say I work at STCC.” Item with the highest mean rating on “This is how things ARE” for all respondents  all items in 2001!

Items with Highest Mean Ratings for “Should” in 2001. . . “I am proud to say I work at STCC.” “I trust my supervisor to stand up for me when I need their support.”

5 Highest rated Programs, Activities or Services in 2001. . . 1.  Payroll services (1st in 2000) 2.  Media, audiovisual, technology services (10th in 2000) 3.  Affirmative action (6th in 2000) 4.  Relationships with private sector and business community (2nd in 2000) 5.  Maintenance and custodial services (12th in 2000)

Data Reduction Yields “Employment Satisfaction” Scale Specific to STCC 9 Items from the 8 CQS scales form a predictor scale for employment satisfaction at STCC 4 programs, services or activities predict employment satisfaction at STCC

The 9 Items that Form an Employment Satisfaction Scale •  “Administrators set examples of quality service in their day-to-day performances.” •  “Administrators are committed to providing quality service.” “Administrators have confidence and trust in me.” “Employee suggestions are used to improve our institution.” “There are effective lines of communication between departments.” Team efforts are effective in this institution.” “There is a spirit of teamwork and cooperation in this institution.” “The institution analyzes all relevant data before making decisions.” This institution plans carefully.”

The 4 Programs, Services or Activities that Best Predict Employment Satisfaction Communication with other departments Research and planning services Budget planning and coordination Curriculum planning, design and coordination

Overall Conclusions Overall satisfaction with employment seems to be most affected by the degree to which administrators* model valued behaviors of. . . •  Teamwork, confidence & trust •  Communication •  Rational planning & decision making, based on research and assessment data *We suspect that “administrators” may really mean “supervisors” rather than refer to just those employees who are formally classified as administrators by Human Resources.

What do employees tell us about the factors that most affect. . . •  their perceptions of high quality, •  their being highly satisfied, •  their being proud to work at STCC, and •  their intention to continue to work at STCC for a long time?

2 Items best predict high pride, high satisfaction, high perception of quality, and intent to remain at STCC. . . “Everyone here is working toward the same goals.” “Everyone here takes responsibility for doing the best job possible.”

Comments from Respondents Topics of most common comments: Nature or quality of employee benefit package Fairness of treatment among employee groups Fairness of treatment and/or pay and benefits for individuals Overall levels of salary or pay These group into what might be considered a single area of concern to the College: human resources issues.

Over half of all negative comments received addressed this set of salary/benefit/equity issues. The majority of those unhappy with salary, benefits, and/or equitable treatment were nonfaculty employees. . .especially professional/ technical staff.

Overall Conclusions

Discussion Keep up the good work! STCC is higher on both “How things should be” and “How things are” than national averages. High expectations can lead to high performance. Unmet high expectations can lead to high frustration.

Discussion Leaders are expected to serve as mentors and models. Measurement and assessment, analysis, planning and rational decision-making are valued. Intergroup communication is important. Recognition and rewards are important.

Discussion Professional development is important to maintaining excellence of education and operation at STCC. . .but may have short-term disadvantages because it increases employees’ expectations of “how things ought to be.”

For further information: Contact Dr. Gail Dantzker OIRE at 688-2308 Review summary report at OIRE web page at http://www.stcc.cc.tx.us/~research/index.html Review the complete report on room reserve on the STCC campus libraries