Assessing Student Retention and Satisfaction: Pittsburgh Campus

In 1997, the Enrollment ManagementCommittee commissioned researchers atthe University Center for Social and UrbanResearch (UCSUR) to conduct a longitudinalstudy of the determinants of student satisfactionand retention on the Pittsburgh campus.This initial study followed three first-time,full-time freshman cohorts through their junioryear and drew on administrative records forstudent characteristics (e.g., SAT score, GPA,race, gender, residency) and enrollment status,student responses to the CIRP survey of incomingfreshmen for other baseline information,and information from student responses tothe UCSUR Student Satisfaction Survey andLeaver Survey to develop a fuller sense of thefactors contributing to student success measuredby retention and satisfaction. (A copy ofUCSUR’s Longitudinal Study of UndergraduateStudent Satisfaction and Retention at theUniversity of Pittsburgh November 15, 2001, isavailable in the document room.)

This comprehensive study identified severalstrong predictors of satisfaction and withdrawaland resulted in an initial set of findings andrecommendations to improve satisfaction andretention. Key findings of the study were thatstudent retention and satisfaction were stronglycorrelated with social satisfaction and integration,satisfaction with academic experience, andsatisfaction with the campus environment. Inaddition to these overall satisfaction measures,among the strongest individual predictors ofretention were first term GPA, living in oncampushousing, and finances. Based on theseand other findings in the report, the followingrecommendations were made:

• Efforts to integrate and involve studentsin the social life of the campus should beenhanced, particularly during the freshmanyear.

• The University should continue toemphasize excellence in teaching, committedfaculty, and more individualized orsmaller group instruction and continue tostrengthen academic support services.

• Particular attention should be paid todeveloping strategies to enhance the AfricanAmerican student experience.

• All students should be strongly encouragedto live on campus, and special attentionshould be paid to developing socialstudents.

• The University should adopt strategies forworking with the broader Oakland communityto make the neighborhood moreattractive to students.

• The University should make every effort toprovide adequate financial support for thosestudents who need it.

Over the ensuing decade, dozens of programswere developed in response to these findings.The working group report provides detaileddocumentation of these assessment activities,some of which are listed in Figures 14 and 15.The Enrollment Management Committeemonitored progress through annual reviewsof retention, graduation, and student satisfactiondata from the ongoing UCSUR StudentSatisfaction Survey, through assessment reportson individual programs, and through follow-upstudies by UCSUR in 2004 and 2010.

The 2004 UCSUR study concluded that(1) the overall level of satisfaction and the twoimportant components of it (social integration/satisfaction and academic satisfaction) rose;(2) satisfaction with Oakland as a place to goto school showed some improvement; and (3)satisfaction with racial climate improved for allgroups, including students from underrepresentedgroups. The biggest gains were seen insatisfaction with academic programs (percent“very satisfied” increased 12 percentage points),recreational facilities (+26 percentage points),and residence halls (+7 percentage points). Therealso were modest improvements in satisfactionwith the social aspects of life on the Universitycampus, food services, and the registrationprocess. In response, the University reviewedprograms, ending those that were not successful;modifying others; and introducing new ones,particularly in those areas where less progresshad been made.

The 2010 UCSUR study used all availabledata (1997–2010) to examine trends over timeon key outcomes (e.g., overall satisfaction, academicindicators, social integration, withdrawal)along with predictors of these outcomes overtime. The 2010 study’s findings regarding thesix recommendations made in the 2001 study, asstated above, are described in detail below.

• Efforts to integrate and involve studentsin the social life of the campus shouldbe enhanced, particularly during thefreshman year.Social satisfaction and social integrationshowed dramatic improvement over timeacross all subgroups of students, particularlyfreshmen and juniors, and especially since2006. To highlight the importance of thisrecommendation, “feeling comfortable andhaving a sense of belonging” was not onlythe best predictor of overall satisfaction withPitt, but its importance is actually increasingover time.

• The University should continue toemphasize excellence in teaching, committedfaculty, and more individualized orsmaller group instruction and continue tostrengthen academic support services.Satisfaction with overall education, includingboth quality of instruction and theopportunities for interaction with facultyoutside the classroom, has increased significantly.There also have been significantthat their own academic experience has beenintellectually stimulating and challenging,that the atmosphere at Pitt emphasizes academicachievement, and that Pitt providesthe support needed to meet their academicgoals. While great progress has been madein the academic area, the University needsand intends to continue to focus on thisobjective.

• Particular attention should be paid to developingstrategies to enhance the AfricanAmerican student experience.African American student satisfaction hasincreased for most of the individual social,academic, and University facilities andservices indicators, and gaps in satisfactionbetween African American and non-AfricanAmerican students have narrowed over time.While the University has made real progressin this regard—through such programs asthe RISE program—strategies to enhancethe African American student experiencewill continue to be a focus until the gapsare resolved.

• All students should be strongly encouragedto live on campus, and special attentionshould be paid to developing social integrationprograms for commuting students. The proportion of freshmen residing inon-campus housing has increased from90 percent in 2001 to 97 percent in 2011.On-campus students continue to reporthigher satisfaction with Pitt overall, withthe education they are receiving, and withthe social environment. Satisfaction withresidence halls, recreation facilities, and foodservices also has improved.

• The University should adopt strategies forworking with the broader Oakland communityto make the neighborhood moreattractive to students.The study showed large increases in satisfactionwith the Oakland neighborhood as aplace to go to school across all subgroupsof students, and this increase in satisfactionwith Oakland contributed a significantamount to increased overall satisfactionwith Pitt.

• The University should make every effort toprovide adequate financial support for thosestudents who need it.While the University has made strenuousefforts to provide adequate financial supportto its students while retaining the qualityof education, the survey data indicate thatstudents are reporting more difficulty payingtuition over time and that this is havingsome negative impact on changes in overallsatisfaction over time. In this context, theUniversity remains totally committed todoing all that it possibly can to providefinancial support to students who need it.

The Pittsburgh campus continues to considerits programs and options in light of thesefindings. The campus also continues to administerthe Student Satisfaction Survey and LeaverSurvey as useful tools in its assessment of thestudent experience and plans to conduct anothercomprehensive analysis in 2015.Using Assessment Results to GuideProgrammatic Investments on the RegionalCampusesEach of the regional campuses has usedthe results from assessments of student satisfactionboth to initiate programs and to changepractices to improve student satisfaction. AtPitt–Johnstown, the data from NSSE and Noel-Levitz contributed significantly to the campus’strategic plan, A New Dimension of Excellence,2008–2013, and were part of the impetus behindthe RealWorld Action Program. Results fromassessing satisfaction have led to changes in newstudent orientation (Johnstown and Titusville);the organization of student affairs (Titusville);the design of academic villages (Greensburg) andfacilities plans (Johnstown); and the improvementof transportation services (Bradfordand Titusville), food services (Titusville),laundry services (Greensburg), Internet services(Bradford and Greensburg), security (Bradfordand Titusville), alcohol awareness programs(Greensburg), intramural programs (Bradford),and academic offerings (Bradford).