Students Speak Focus Group Report - Fall 2007

Assessing Campus Climate - Fall 1999

College of San Mateo [CSM] has received support from the California Community College Chancellor's Office "Fund for Student Success," to study its campus climate. Research conducted at CSM has assessed the effectiveness of the delivery of Collegewide services and programs in order to optimize student academic success. In support of these goals, research has gathered data on current, former, and prospective students. A variety of research methodologies were employed, including phone interviews, self-administered survey questionnaire, focus groups interviews, and random intercept interviews. In addition, statistical queries of the CSM student database were performed in order to gather information in support of CSM's "Student Equity Plan."


The data and information presented on this web site is intended to support College-wide planning efforts and foster effective institutional change in order to meet our student's diverse needs. If you have questions about the research presented here or would like additional information, please call John Sewart at 650.574.6196 or email at sewart@smccd.net


    Methodology
  • Written surveys were administered to 1048 students in 56 different classes asking students to rank school services as to their importance to the student and the extent to which the service meets the student's needs.
  • Telephone surveys were used to poll approximately 300 randomly selected former students and non-registrants from among CSM databases. Subjects were asked about their reasons for not returning to CSM or failure to follow-through with registering in classes at CSM after an initial inquiry call to CSM.
  • Random intercept interviews were conducted on campus during Fall 1999. Several different campus locations were chosen for their heavy traffic by students.
  • Focus groups were conducted in 5 classes and with student government members as well. A notetaker tabulated issues mentioned by students during the different focus groups.
  • Colleges were queried about their "best practices" related to campus climate.