Research Report Briefs

In December 2008, 48 percent of all faculty and staff responded to a survey focused on commuting habits and attitudes toward alternative vehicles.

A national instrument, the Noel-Levitz Student Satisfaction Inventory, was used along with a Berea-specific survey to assess a wide array of areas on campus. In 2008, Berea students were more satisfied with almost every area of college life compared to students at other four-year private colleges and with Berea students from 5 and 10 years ago.

Berea College alumni are asked to complete the ACT national comprehensive questionnaire two years after graduation. Included here is a summary of the latest administration. The alumni response rate for this latest administration was 31 percent.

Included here is a summary of the latest administration of the NSSE to Berea College first-year and senior students. Also, you will see comparative graphs illustrating selected 2003 and 2007 survey results.

The 2004 new freshmen at Berea participated in two national surveys. The first is given when students enter in the Fall and a follow-up is given to those same students in the spring of their first year. Both surveys were created by the Higher Education Research Institute (HERI) and are designed to monitor trends in students’ backgrounds, beliefs, experiences and activities related to their social, political and academic lives.

Berea students participated in NSSE along with the other Work Colleges as part of a collaborative study (funded by the Lumina Foundation) aimed at understanding the relationship between work and learning at a Work College. The reports contained here include a short summary of the results (study brief), detailed charts of the study data (item by item) comparing Berea’s results to similar institutional norms, the national report from NSSE, selected PowerPoint presentation slides and a copy of the survey instrument itself.

Included here are the results of a project initiated in 1998 and repeated in 2003 regarding student satisfaction. A national instrument, the Noel-Levitz Student Satisfaction Inventory, was used along with a Berea-specific survey to assess a wide array of areas on campus. Between survey administrations, the Committee on Student Experience (COSE), comprised of faculty, administrators and other staff representing academics, student life and various programmatic areas, was created. Its charge was to review the results and write recommendations for improvement. When the survey was re-administered in 2003, satisfaction had improved in almost all areas.

The African-American student enrollment at Berea College has risen to 17 percent. Graduation rates for African-American students and other domestic students is nearly identical. A special study was conducted in Spring 2003 to address what attracts African-Americans to Berea and helps retain them on a predominantly “white” campus. This site contains a brief summary of the study, the methods and instruments used, and detailed results.