UNI Summer School Survey
Kristin M. Moser, Senior Research Analyst
Office of Institutional Research
University of Northern Iowa
104 Seerley Hall
Cedar Falls, IA 50614-0005
(319) 273-3050
June 2006
Table of Contents
Page
Section I
Introduction ....................................................................................................................... 1
Method .............................................................................................................................. 1
Results .............................................................................................................................. 3
Summary of Responses
Q1
I prefer summer school courses offered (time of day) ............................................ 5
Q2
I prefer summer school courses offered during (month) ......................................... 6
Q3
My primary reason for enrolling in summer school is.............................................. 7
Q4
My secondary reason for enrolling in summer school is ......................................... 8
Q5
Financial aid is a very important part of my decision to enroll in summer school ... 9
Q6
Local employment is a very important part of my decision to enroll in summer
school ..................................................................................................................... 10
Q7
The courses available in summer school this year meet my needs........................ 11
Q8
The time at which courses are offered this summer meets my needs .................... 12
Q9
Now that a new May summer session is offered, how useful is this session for
you.......................................................................................................................... 13
Q10
I prefer summer school courses offered during (length of session) ........................ 14
Section II
Multiple Year Comparison of Summer School Data: 2002-2006 ....................................... 15
List of Figures and Tables
Figure 1: Distribution of Respondents by College ............................................................. 1
Table 1: Demographic Characteristics by College ............................................................ 2
ii
iii
Section I
Introduction
This report presents a summary of the University of Northern Iowa (UNI) Summer
School Survey given to students participating in advanced registration for summer
school on March 8-10, 2006. The questions on the Summer School Survey were
designed to help gain a better understanding of the patterns of usage of summer school
courses and student’s preferences for scheduling. The survey was completed by 2,234
students. Approximately 450 students answered each question (see Figure 1 for the
distribution of respondents by college).
Figure 1. Distribution of Respondents
by College
1.4
17.4
23.4
Business Administration
Education
Humanities and Fine Arts
11.3
Natural Sciences
Social and Behavioral
Sciences
Missing
17.3
29.2
Method
All students participating in electronic registration for Summer 2006 were presented with
two paired questions randomly selected from a list of ten items prior to advancing to the
registration screen during the summer registration process. Respondents were asked
to answer questions regarding their preferences for summer school sessions at UNI.
They were asked to indicate the extent to which they agreed or disagreed to most of the
survey statements on a Likert scale ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly
agree). Some of the items required the student to indicate a “yes” or “no” response,
while others required a specific date or time selection.
1
Table 1 presents demographic information for student respondents to the UNI Summer
School Survey. For the purposes of this study, demographic information consists of
sex, race, grade classification, residency status, and age. We were unable to obtain
demographic information for some respondents. This missing data is reflected in the
decreased total N for each category. Throughout this report, most percentages were
rounded to the nearest one tenth of a percent. Therefore, due to this rounding, the
values in some of the tables may not equal precisely 100 percent.
Table 1. Demographic Characteristics by College
Humanities
Business
Admin.
N
%
Sex
Male
Female
Total
Age
19 or under
20-23
24-29
30-39
40-55
Over 55
Total
Race
Caucasian
African American
Native American
Asian/ Pac. Island
Hispanic
Non-resident Alien
Total
Classification
Unclassified
Freshman
Sophomore
Junior
Senior
Graduate
Total
Residence Status
Resident
Non-Resident
Total
Education
N
%
and Fine
Arts
N
%
Natural
Sciences
N
%
Social and
Behavioral
Sciences
N
%
Unknown
N
%
Total
N
%
259
244
503
51.5
48.5
100
124
502
626
19.8
80.2
100
105
266
371
28.3
71.7
100
137
106
243
56.4
43.6
100
129
245
374
34.5
65.5
100
5
24
29
17.2
82.8
100
759
1387
2146
35.4
64.6
100
1
319
72
11
9
0
412
0.2
77.4
17.5
2.7
2.2
0
100
2
362
96
50
27
6
543
0.4
66.7
17.7
9.2
5.0
1.1
100
2
220
56
14
6
1
299
0.7
73.6
18.7
4.7
2.0
0.3
100
1
114
52
18
11
1
197
0.5
57.9
26.4
9.1
5.6
0.5
100
1
223
55
23
12
0
314
0.3
71.0
17.5
7.3
3.8
0
100
1
18
1
0
0
0
20
5.0
90.0
5.0
0
0
0
100
8
1256
332
116
65
8
1785
0.4
70.4
18.6
6.5
3.6
0.4
100
459
7
0
2
10
11
489
93.9
1.4
0
0.4
2.0
2.2
100
572
19
2
6
8
5
612
93.5
3.1
0.3
1.0
1.3
0.8
100
322
11
2
7
10
4
356
90.4
3.1
0.6
2.0
2.8
1.1
100
215
8
0
3
2
8
236
91.1
3.4
0
1.3
0.8
3.4
100
327
15
6
6
8
2
364
89.8
4.1
1.6
1.6
2.2
0.5
100
26
1
0
0
0
1
28
92.9
3.6
0
0
0
3.6
100
1921
61
10
24
38
31
2085
92.1
2.9
0.5
1.2
1.8
1.5
100
0
14
72
212
196
9
503
0
2.8
14.3
42.1
39.0
1.8
100
0
15
67
203
193
148
626
0
2.4
10.7
32.4
30.8
23.6
100
0
18
41
131
131
50
371
0
4.9
11.1
35.3
35.3
13.5
100
0
14
50
79
85
15
243
0
5.8
20.6
32.5
35.0
6.2
100
0
9
30
173
140
22
374
0
2.4
8.0
46.3
37.4
5.9
100
1
9
12
6
1
0
29
3.4
31.0
41.4
20.7
3.4
0
100
1
79
272
804
746
244
2146
0
3.7
12.7
37.5
34.8
11.4
100
485
18
503
96.4
3.6
100
603
22
625
96.5
3.5
100
343
28
371
92.5
7.5
100
225
18
243
92.6
7.4
100
361
13
374
96.5
3.5
100
27
2
29
93.1
6.9
100
2044
101
2145
95.3
4.7
100
2
Results
The subsequent summary tables and charts of responses to the survey questions show
the number and the percent responding to each question broken down by college.
College designation for some respondents was unavailable; therefore, some
percentages reflect this missing data. A summary of data from 2002 to 2006 is also
presented. The following list presents some of the key observations of the survey.
Certain patterns of response may indicate a need for future examination of these
relationships in the university environment. Please note that agreement is presented in
terms of individuals who responded either “agree” or “strongly agree” to the survey
items.
•
A large number of students (59.8%) indicated that they prefer summer school
courses to be offered between 9:50 AM and 12:00 PM. The majority of the
respondents (81.2%) indicated that they prefer to attend summer school classes
before noon.
•
Just under three-fourths of all respondents (73.0%) indicated that they prefer to
take summer school courses during the month of May, while 24.8% prefer June,
and only 2.2% prefer to take courses in July.
•
Almost three-fourths of respondents (75.6%) indicated that they prefer to have
summer school courses offered in 4-week sessions.
•
The majority of respondents (76.5%) stated that their primary reason for enrolling
in a summer session course was to stay on schedule.
•
40.2% of respondents indicated that financial aid was an important part of their
decision to enroll in summer school (16.4% agree and 23.8% strongly agree to
this statement).
3
•
Respondents indicated that local employment was somewhat important in their
decision to enroll in summer school (48.1%).
•
41.2% of respondents agreed that the courses available in summer school this
year met their needs, and 36.7% agreed that the time at which summer school
courses are offered this summer met their needs.
•
Now that a May session is offered during the summer, 73.8% of respondents
have found this session useful (51.2% of respondents found this session very
useful and 22.6% of respondents found this session useful).
4
Summary of Responses
Q1. I prefer summer school courses offered (time of day):
Business Administration
%
Education
%
Humanities and Fine Arts
%
Natural Sciences
%
Social & Behavioral Sciences
%
Unknown
%
Total
%
7:30 am to
9:40 am
13
13.4
38
27.3
9
15.8
16
27.1
19
25.0
0
0.0
95
21.9
9:50 am to
12 pm
71
73.2
77
55.4
36
63.2
27
45.8
44
57.9
5
83.3
260
59.9
1:00 pm to
3:20 pm
6
6.2
12
8.6
8
14.0
8
13.6
9
11.8
1
16.7
44
10.1
5:30 pm to
10:00 pm
5
5.2
11
7.9
3
5.3
4
6.8
2
2.6
0
0.0
25
5.8
Weekends
only
2
2.1
1
0.7
1
1.8
4
6.8
2
2.6
0
0.0
10
2.3
Total
97
100.0
139
100.0
57
100.0
59
100.0
76
100.0
6
100.0
434
100.0
80.0%
70.0%
60.0%
50.0%
40.0%
30.0%
20.0%
10.0%
0.0%
Business
Administration
Education
7:30 am to 9:40 am
Humanities and Fine
Arts
9:50 am to 12:00 pm
Natural Sciences
1:00 pm to 3:20 pm
5
Social & Behavioral
Sciences
5:30 pm to 10:00 pm
Weekends only
Total
Q2. I prefer summer school courses offered during (month):
May
Business Administration
%
Education
%
Humanities and Fine Arts
%
Natural Sciences
%
Social & Behavioral Sciences
%
Unknown
%
Total
%
June
76
78.4
102
73.4
40
70.2
43
72.9
54
71.1
2
33.3
317
73.0
18
18.6
35
25.2
16
28.1
15
25.4
20
26.3
3
50.0
107
24.7
July
Total
3
3.1
2
1.4
1
1.8
1
1.7
2
2.6
1
16.7
10
2.3
97
100.0
139
100.0
57
100.0
59
100.0
76
100.0
6
100.0
434
100.0
90.0%
80.0%
70.0%
60.0%
50.0%
40.0%
30.0%
20.0%
10.0%
0.0%
Business
Administration
Education
Humanities and Fine
Arts
May
6
Natural Sciences
June
July
Social & Behavioral
Sciences
Total
Q3. My primary reason for enrolling in summer school is:
Business Administration
%
Education
%
Humanities and Fine Arts
%
Natural Sciences
%
Social & Behavioral Sciences
%
Unknown
%
Total
%
Stay on
schedule
78
75.7
99
80.5
61
77.2
33
84.6
59
68.6
1
50.0
331
76.6
Improve
GPA
5
4.9
4
3.3
3
3.8
1
2.6
6
7.0
1
50.0
20
4.6
Graduate
early
15
14.6
11
8.9
10
12.7
1
2.6
11
12.8
0
0.0
48
11.1
New
interests
2
1.9
1
0.8
4
5.1
2
5.1
4
4.7
0
0.0
13
3.0
2nd major
or minor
3
2.9
8
6.5
1
1.3
2
5.1
6
7.0
0
0.0
20
4.6
Total
103
100.0
123
100.0
79
100.0
39
100.0
86
100.0
2
100.0
432
100.0
90.0%
80.0%
70.0%
60.0%
50.0%
40.0%
30.0%
20.0%
10.0%
0.0%
Business
Administration
Education
Stay on Schedule
Humanities and Fine
Arts
Improve GPA
Natural Sciences
Graduate Early
7
New Interests
Social & Behavioral
Sciences
2nd Major or Minor
Total
Q4. My secondary reason for enrolling in summer school is:
Business Administration
%
Education
%
Humanities and Fine Arts
%
Natural Sciences
%
Social & Behavioral Sciences
%
Unknown
%
Total
%
Stay on
schedule
27
26.2
33
26.8
24
30.4
7
17.9
29
33.7
1
50.0
121
28.0
Improve
GPA
33
32.0
20
16.3
23
29.1
12
30.8
28
32.6
0
0.0
116
26.9
Graduate
early
29
28.2
43
35.0
20
25.3
13
33.3
16
18.6
1
50.0
122
28.2
New
interests
2
1.9
4
3.3
2
2.5
3
7.7
4
4.7
0
0.0
15
3.5
2nd major
or minor
12
11.7
23
18.7
10
12.7
4
10.3
9
10.5
0
0.0
58
13.4
Total
103
100.0
123
100.0
79
100.0
39
100.0
86
100.0
2
100.0
432
100.0
40.0%
30.0%
20.0%
10.0%
0.0%
Business
Administration
Education
Stay on Schedule
Humanities and Fine
Arts
Improve GPA
Natural Sciences
Graduate Early
8
New Interests
Social & Behavioral
Sciences
2nd Major or Minor
Total
Q5. Financial aid is a very important part of my decision to enroll in summer
school.
Business Administration
%
Education
%
Humanities and Fine Arts
%
Natural Sciences
%
Social & Behavioral Sciences
%
Unknown
%
Total
%
Strongly
disagree
16
17.0
30
25.2
21
25.0
12
22.6
19
28.8
3
30.0
101
23.7
Disagree
15
16.0
14
11.8
11
13.1
4
7.5
5
7.6
1
10.0
50
11.7
Neutral
25
26.6
31
26.1
17
20.2
13
24.5
16
24.2
3
30.0
105
24.6
Agree
17
18.1
16
13.4
14
16.7
9
17.0
13
19.7
2
20.0
71
16.7
Strongly
agree
21
22.3
28
23.5
21
25.0
15
28.3
13
19.7
1
10.0
99
23.2
Total
94
100.0
119
100.0
84
100.0
53
100.0
66
100.0
10
100.0
426
100.0
40.0%
30.0%
20.0%
10.0%
0.0%
Business
Administration
Education
Humanities and Fine
Arts
Strongly disagree
Disagree
9
Natural Sciences
Neutral
Agree
Social & Behavioral
Sciences
Strongly agree
Total
Q6. Local employment is a very important part of my decision to enroll in
summer school.
Business Administration
%
Education
%
Humanities and Fine Arts
%
Natural Sciences
%
Social & Behavioral Sciences
%
Unknown
%
Total
%
Strongly
disagree
17
18.1
18
15.1
15
17.9
12
22.6
17
25.8
1
10.0
80
18.8
Disagree
10
10.6
12
10.1
10
11.9
4
7.5
4
6.1
1
10.0
41
9.6
Neutral
20
21.3
26
21.8
17
20.2
14
26.4
19
28.8
4
40.0
100
23.5
Agree
22
23.4
32
26.9
22
26.2
13
24.5
14
21.2
3
30.0
106
24.9
Strongly
agree
25
26.6
31
26.1
20
23.8
10
18.9
12
18.2
1
10.0
99
23.2
Total
94
100.0
119
100.0
84
100.0
53
100.0
66
100.0
10
100.0
426
100.0
40.0%
30.0%
20.0%
10.0%
0.0%
Business
Administration
Education
Humanities and Fine
Arts
Strongly disagree
Disagree
10
Natural Sciences
Neutral
Agree
Social & Behavioral
Sciences
Strongly agree
Total
Q7. The courses available in summer school this year meet my needs.
Strongly
disagree
Business Administration
%
Education
%
Humanities and Fine Arts
%
Natural Sciences
%
Social & Behavioral Sciences
%
Unknown
%
Total
%
9
10.8
20
14.9
10
12.7
5
12.5
5
6.7
1
20.0
50
12.0
Disagree
17
20.5
14
10.4
14
17.7
5
12.5
18
24.0
0
0.0
68
16.3
Neutral
25
30.1
35
26.1
30
38.0
12
30.0
23
30.7
1
20.0
126
30.3
Agree
Strongly
agree
25
30.1
48
35.8
17
21.5
12
30.0
24
32.0
2
40.0
128
30.8
Total
7
8.4
17
12.7
8
10.1
6
15.0
5
6.7
1
20.0
44
10.6
83
100.0
134
100.0
79
100.0
40
100.0
75
100.0
5
100.0
416
100.0
40.0%
30.0%
20.0%
10.0%
0.0%
Business
Administration
Education
Humanities and Fine
Arts
Strongly disagree
Disagree
11
Natural Sciences
Neutral
Agree
Social & Behavioral
Sciences
Strongly agree
Total
Q8. The time at which courses are offered this summer meets my needs.
Strongly
disagree
Business Administration
%
Education
%
Humanities and Fine Arts
%
Natural Sciences
%
Social & Behavioral Sciences
%
Unknown
%
Total
%
5
6.0
15
11.2
9
11.4
3
7.5
5
6.7
0
0.0
37
8.9
Disagree
14
16.9
25
18.7
8
10.1
8
20.0
14
18.7
1
20.0
70
16.8
Neutral
35
42.2
37
27.6
36
45.6
17
42.5
28
37.3
2
40.0
155
37.3
Agree
Strongly
agree
24
28.9
40
29.9
17
21.5
9
22.5
21
28.0
1
20.0
112
26.9
Total
5
6.0
17
12.7
9
11.4
3
7.5
7
9.3
1
20.0
42
10.1
83
100.0
134
100.0
79
100.0
40
100.0
75
100.0
5
100.0
416
100.0
50.0%
40.0%
30.0%
20.0%
10.0%
0.0%
Business
Administration
Education
Humanities and Fine
Arts
Strongly disagree
Disagree
12
Natural Sciences
Neutral
Agree
Social & Behavioral
Sciences
Strongly agree
Total
Q9. Now that a new May summer session is offered, how useful is this session
for you?
Business Administration
%
Education
%
Humanities and Fine Arts
%
Natural Sciences
%
Social & Behavioral Sciences
%
Unknown
%
Total
%
Very useful
74
58.7
58
52.3
35
48.6
22
42.3
29
40.8
3
50.0
221
50.5
Useful
22
17.5
21
18.9
22
30.6
14
26.9
18
25.4
3
50.0
100
22.8
Less
useful
Neutral
25
19.8
22
19.8
11
15.3
11
21.2
17
23.9
0
0.0
86
19.6
0
0.0
2
1.8
3
4.2
0
0.0
3
4.2
0
0.0
8
1.8
Not useful
5
4.0
8
7.2
1
1.4
5
9.6
4
5.6
0
0.0
23
5.3
Total
126
100.0
111
100.0
72
100.0
52
100.0
71
100.0
6
100.0
438
100.0
70.0%
60.0%
50.0%
40.0%
30.0%
20.0%
10.0%
0.0%
Business
Administration
Education
Humanities and Fine
Arts
Very useful
Useful
Neutral
13
Natural Sciences
Less useful
Social & Behavioral
Sciences
Not useful
Total
Q10. I prefer summer school courses offered during (length
of session):
Business Administration
%
Education
%
Humanities and Fine Arts
%
Natural Sciences
%
Social & Behavioral Sciences
%
Unknown
%
Total
%
4 weeks
98
77.8
81
73.0
60
83.3
30
57.7
56
78.9
5
83.3
330
75.3
6 weeks
18
14.3
24
21.6
8
11.1
17
32.7
11
15.5
1
16.7
79
18.0
8 weeks
10
7.9
6
5.4
4
5.6
5
9.6
4
5.6
0
0.0
29
6.6
Total
126
100.0
111
100.0
72
100.0
52
100.0
71
100.0
6
100.0
438
100.0
90.0%
80.0%
70.0%
60.0%
50.0%
40.0%
30.0%
20.0%
10.0%
0.0%
Business
Administration
Education
Humanities and Fine
Arts
4 weeks
Natural Sciences
6 weeks
14
8 weeks
Social & Behavioral
Sciences
Total
Section II
Multiple Year Comparison of Summer School Data: 2002-2006
Q1: I prefer summer school courses offered (time of day):
80
70
60
Percent
50
40
30
20
10
0
7:30 AM to 9:40 AM
9:50 AM to 12:00 PM
1:00 PM to 3:20 PM
5:30 PM to 10:00 PM
Weekends Only
2002
18.7
61.2
10.8
7.9
1.5
2003
19.1
61.3
10.6
7.1
1.9
2004
20.7
63.1
7.7
7.3
1.1
2005
17.7
66.9
9.3
5.1
1
2006
21.4
59.8
10.5
5.6
2.7
2002
2003
15
2004
2005
2006
Q2: I prefer summer school courses offered during (month):
80.0
70.0
60.0
Percent
50.0
40.0
30.0
20.0
10.0
0.0
May
June
July
2002
72.2
24.1
3.6
2003
71.2
25.4
3.3
2004
72.7
24.3
3.0
2005
75.9
22.0
2.1
2006
73.0
24.8
2.2
2002
2003
16
2004
2005
2006
Q3: My primary reason for enrolling in summer school is:
80.0
70.0
60.0
Percent
50.0
40.0
30.0
20.0
10.0
0.0
Stay on Schedule
Improve GPA
Graduate Early
New Interests
2nd Major/Minor
2002
78.0
6.2
9.1
2.6
4.1
2003
72.9
6.1
12.7
3.0
5.3
2004
72.5
6.1
11.7
4.1
5.6
2005
76.3
5.6
10.5
1.9
5.6
2006
76.5
4.7
10.9
3.3
4.7
2002
2003
17
2004
2005
2006
Q4: My secondary reason for enrolling in summer school is:
40.0
Percent
30.0
20.0
10.0
0.0
Stay on Schedule
Improve GPA
Graduate Early
New Interests
2nd Major/Minor
2002
32.1
25.2
25.3
7.3
10.2
2003
38.4
19.6
22.5
6.4
13.2
2004
35.6
23.4
24.7
6.3
10.0
2005
34.0
20.2
23.2
8.6
14.0
2006
28.4
26.8
27.7
3.8
13.3
2002
2003
18
2004
2005
2006
Q5: Financial aid is a very important part of
my decision to enroll in summer school.
40.0
Percent
30.0
20.0
10.0
0.0
Strongly Disagree
Disagree
Neutral
Agree
Strongly Agree
2002
23.6
12.1
27.7
18.8
17.7
2003
25.3
10.7
24.0
15.4
24.6
2004
19.8
10.7
25.2
16.3
28.0
2005
20.0
11.5
23.6
14.3
30.7
2006
23.6
11.2
24.9
16.4
23.8
2002
2003
19
2004
2005
2006
Q6: Local employment is a very important part of
my decision to enroll in summer school.
40.0
Percent
30.0
20.0
10.0
0.0
Strongly Disagree
Disagree
Neutral
Agree
Strongly Agree
2002
20.8
8.9
25.0
23.2
22.1
2003
18.0
11.2
23.2
24.0
23.7
2004
17.2
9.8
21.7
19.8
31.5
2005
15.0
11.9
23.4
21.2
28.5
2006
18.4
9.7
23.8
24.5
23.6
2002
2003
20
2004
2005
2006
Q7: The courses available in summer school this year meet my needs.
40.0
Percent
30.0
20.0
10.0
0.0
Strongly Disagree
Disagree
Neutral
Agree
Strongly Agree
2002
15.1
20.0
24.7
31.2
9.1
2003
12.5
19.1
27.4
29.1
11.9
2004
14.8
19.3
24.9
31.2
9.9
2005
13.3
15.9
25.6
33.3
11.9
2006
11.6
16.4
30.8
30.3
10.9
2002
2003
21
2004
2005
2006
Q8: The time at which courses are offered this summer meets my needs.
40.0
Percent
30.0
20.0
10.0
0.0
Strongly Disagree
Disagree
Neutral
Agree
Strongly Agree
2002
9.7
17.5
32.1
33.9
6.8
2003
10.6
19.7
32.1
30.0
7.5
2004
10.3
16.6
34.6
29.5
9.0
2005
8.6
16.4
34.6
30.9
9.4
2006
9.6
16.9
36.9
26.9
9.8
2002
2003
22
2004
2005
2006
Q9: Now that a new May session is offered, how useful is this session for you?
70.0
60.0
Percent
50.0
40.0
30.0
20.0
10.0
0.0
Not Useful
Less Useful
Neutral
Useful
Very Useful
2002
4.6
0.5
15.8
18.8
60.4
2003
5.1
1.6
19.5
17.2
56.6
2004
5.9
2.2
20.2
16.1
55.6
2005
5.6
0.6
22.4
18.1
53.3
2006
5.1
1.8
19.3
22.6
51.2
2002
2003
23
2004
2005
2006
Q10: I prefer summer school courses offered during (length of session):
90.0
80.0
70.0
Percent
60.0
50.0
40.0
30.0
20.0
10.0
0.0
4 Week Session
6 Week Session
8 Week Session
2002
74.4
19.7
5.9
2003
74.8
20.4
4.8
2004
81.3
15.4
3.3
2005
73.2
23.9
2.9
2006
75.6
18.0
6.4
2002
2003
24
2004
2005
2006