North Central State College
The Assessment Committee and IR Department provide this CCSSE/CLO (Community College Survey of Student
Engagement/Core Learning Outcomes) report. The report reveals what our students have to say about their
experiences at this college relative to their attainment of our Core Learning Outcomes, as interpreted by the
Assessment Committee from the 2008 and 2011 CCSSE data. Results were obtained from respondents deemed
by the Assessment Committee to be near graduation based on the course in which survey was administered.
2008 data includes 56 students from ADN, ECE, HSV and CIS (two sections). 2011 data includes 99 students in
ACC, ADN, BUS, CIS, CRJ, DMT, DRD and ELE.
Report Highlights:

There were significant increases in positive responses in 2011 compared to 2008 for writing, speech,
computation, and critical thinking.

The mix of students was quite different between the two years. However, for both years students
indicated the college had the most or next-to-most impact in developing their critical thinking ability
relative to the other CLOs. Also, in comparison to peers, NC State has ranked significantly higher in the
area of impact on critical thinking.

For both years, students have indicated that the college has had the least impact in their development in
"understanding people of other racial and ethnic backgrounds," developing a personal code of value and
ethics," and "contributing to the welfare of your community." These all relate to the college’s
Intercultural Knowledge & Skills CLO. This an opportunity for improvement.
Q1: How much has your experience at this college contributed to your knowledge, skills and personal
development in writing clearly and effectively? (Communication)
2011
2008
3%
7%
20%
44%
Very Little
29%
27%
24%
Some
Some
Quite a Bit
Very Much
Very Little
46%
Quite a Bit
Very Much
Analysis: The percentage of students responding “Quite a Bit” or “Very Much” increased by 9 percentage points.
Q2: How much has your experience at this college contributed to your knowledge, skills and personal
development in speaking clearly and effectively? (Communication)
2008
2011
3%
7%
Very Little
23%
31%
39%
24%
22%
Some
Quite a Bit
Very Little
Some
Quite a Bit
51%
Very Much
Very Much
Analysis: The percentage of students positively responding has increased from 62% to 75%, including increases
in both the “Quite a Bit” and “Very Much” categories.
Q3: How much has your experience at this college contributed to your knowledge, skills and personal
development in solving numerical problems?
2008
2011
7%
Very Little
16% 21%
30%
23%
Some
36%
27%
Quite a Bit
Very Much
40%
Very little
Some
Quite a bit
Very much
Analysis: The percentage of students positively responding has increased from 52% to 70%, with the greatest
increase in the “Very Much” category.
Q4: How much has your experience at this college contributed to your knowledge, skills and personal
development in using computing and information technology? (Information and Computer Literacy)
2011
2008
7%
14%
34%
5%
Very little
41%
23%
Some
Some
45%
Very little
31%
Quite a bit
Quite a bit
Very much
Very much
Analysis: The “bad” news is there are fewer positive responses when combining “Quite a Bit” and “Very Much”
(79% in 2008 v. 72% in 2011.) However, the percentage in the highest satisfaction category increased from 34%
to 41%.
Q5: How much has your experience at this college contributed to your knowledge, skills and personal
development in thinking critically and analytically? (Critical Thinking)
2008
2011
1% 14%
7%
37%
18%
Very little
Very little
41%
Some
38%
Quite a bit
Very much
Some
44%
Quite a bit
Very much
Analysis: There was improvement in positive responses (from 75% to 85%). Further, the number of students
reporting “Very Little” impact declined from 7% to 1%. Note that in comparison to peers, NC State has
historically had a significantly higher ranking in this category.
Q6: How much has your experience at this college contributed to your knowledge, skills and personal
development in understanding people of other racial and ethnic backgrounds? (Culture and Community)
13%
2011
2008
18%
35%
18%
Very little
34%
Some
30%
24%
Some
28%
Quite a bit
Very little
Quite a bit
Very much
Very much
Analysis: The percentage of students marking positive responses dropped from 49% to 42%. While the
percentage of students in the highest category slightly increased, the percentage of students noting “Very Little”
increased from 18% to 30%.
Q7: How much has your experience at this college contributed to your knowledge, skills and personal
development in developing a personal code of value and ethics? (Culture and Community)
2008
21%
32%
2011
Very little
18%
29%
26%
Some
Quite a bit
Very much
28%
Very little
16%
30%
Some
Quite a bit
Very much
Analysis: The percentage of students positively responding increased from 51% to 54%, including an increase of
five percentage points in the highest category. However, compared to the more classic academic categories
there is a high percentage of students noting little impact in this area of ethics.
Q8: How much has your experience at this college contributed to your knowledge, skills and personal
development in contributing to the welfare of your community? (Culture and Community)
2008
2011
12%
18%
13%
27%
Very little
Some
43%
Quite a bit
Very much
21%
27%
Very little
Some
39%
Quite a bit
Very much
Analysis: There was slight change in students noting positive responses (increased from 30% to 34%).
Conversely, 27% of students responding “Very Little” impact in this area of community involvement. Keep in
mind that in 2011, only one of the eight sections selected represented a public service discipline.