What are the most important issues for students and parents when it comes to satisfaction with Higher Eduction (HE)? This infographic (based on US data) highlights important factors, as well as providing some guidelines for improving the overall college experience. I was particularly impressed that parents…an often neglected or unheard voice in education…are included – and there are 5 suggestions (scroll down to the end of the infographic) about how colleges can work with parents. This is perhaps something less relevant where mature students are concerned, but it is likely to be a benefit for those students moving into HE directly from High School.
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I am a director and consultant at Ethos Consultancy NZ (http://www.ethosconsultancynz.com/). I have a keen interest in all aspects of ICT Enhanced Learning and Teaching (ICTELT) where the focus lies on ways of scaffolding and empowering learners. In particular, I am interested in the way that creative, blended approached to Academic Professional Development can create trust, rapport and encourage reflective practice. As such, ICTELT is approached from facilitation, design, evaluation and assessment as opposed to the tools and what they can offer.
I am a strong advocate of the potential of Web 2.0 to empower learners from all walks of life and cultures, especially after my experiences working for 6 years in the Middle East. In particular, I am interested how ePortfolios can be used in the VET sector (especially where Literacy and Language challenges are faced), in Recognition of Prior Learning, and in authentic, applied assessment.
I have been involved with designing and developing ICTELT approaches and programmes for ten years. Following research informed approaches and design, I apply a qualitative, iterative process to evaluate the effectiveness of interventions, programmes and tools, encouraging learners' voices and input from all stakeholders.
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I guess community college students fair better because most of them have to pay for their own education. Also, interesting that parents who likely bank roll their kids through HE are more satisfied with the choice of the institution than the students.
Good point about the community college students…there could definitely be more of a sense of ‘you value more what you have to pay for’ 🙂
Wonder if part of the the gap in satisfaction between parents and students is because of the different motivations and goals that each have around attending college.
Putting my 2 oldest through 2 very expensive schools, I have to agree. In actuality, it’s the parents who usually co-sign the loans, which makes them more involved in University selection.