By Aaron Mahoney (@Mahones93 on Twitter)

Lethbridge College students satisfaction well above the national average

Sep 24, 2017 | 8:50 AM

LETHBRIDGE – With the 2017-18 academic year underway, Lethbridge College is taking away plenty of positives from a Ruffalo Noel Levitz Student Satisfaction Inventory conducted earlier this year.

According to the survey, nearly 80 per cent of students are satisfied with their experience at Lethbridge College.

78 per cent of students indicated they are satisfied or very satisfied with their experience at Lethbridge College, which is up one per cent over 2016.

Further, 75 per cent of respondents said if they had to do it over, they would enroll in the college again and both of those numbers are well above the average Canadian benchmarks.

The response rate from students was 23 per cent, which is a representative sample well above the national average, resulting in more than 1,000 replies to the survey.

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Director of Student Services Shelley Carter-Rose says this is the second year that they’ve conducted the Student Satisfaction Inventory, and for both years they’ve had very positive satisfaction results. “Our response rate was 23 per cent, which is close to about 1,100 students which is very positive,” Carter-Rose continued. “The inventory is an international bench marking survey, and Lethbridge College has exceeded the national averages in all 12 categories.”

The highest satisfaction came in the Academic Services area, where 85 per cent of students were satisfied with educational resources such as the Learning Café, Buchanan Library, study areas, IT and Accessibility Services.

That’s nine per cent higher than the national average.

Carter-Rose says getting these scores from their students is the result of a full team effort from all employees at the college, in and out of the classroom.

“While we scored very well in all categories, the college is committed to continuous improvement and will focus our efforts on four areas that students have identified as high importance,” Carter-Rose said.

The survey results come as Lethbridge College announces that its total student enrolment for the fall 2017 semester is 5,416 students.

The total college post-secondary level enrolment, which includes students taking diploma, degree and certificate programs, is 4,340 students, which is up from 4,288 last fall, an increase of just over one per cent.

Lethbridge College President and CEO Dr. Paula Burns stated a consistent student population is a good sign they’re offering programs that meet the needs of their students, city, region and province.

“We’re constantly talking with our students and industry partners to ensure that our programs and curriculum are filling industry needs and that we are providing our students with pathways to successful careers once they complete their college programs,” Burns finished.

Among the individual programs experiencing increases this semester are the recently-introduced Ecosystem Management – Bachelor of Applied Science Degree, which has increased enrolment from 11 students to 26, Justice Studies – Applied Degree which saw a 28 per cent increase, Interior Design Technology saw a 40 per cent increase, Computer Information Technology had a 26 per cent increase, and Digital Communications and Media which experienced a 23 per cent increase.