|
“A
job well done, Tufts!”
**Dowling satisfaction surveys provide evidence of a
successful year**
The Dowling Hall student services
center marks its first birthday June 5. There may be
balloons on the bridge, but celebrating Dowling staff
know that the year has been full of hard work. The
sentiment in this article’s title originates with an
enthusiastic student who, along with a total of 755
students, replied to a satisfaction survey sent to
parents and students in winter 2001. Satisfaction is
remarkably high after just one year of operation and,
while it is clear that Dowling’s work to strike a
balance between efficiency and personal attention is not
finished, it is gratifying to see how pleased students
are with the changes made to date. A second survey
directed at parents shows similar positive feelings and,
almost as important a finding: parents are very glad to
be asked their opinion and 787 of them responded.
The students’ survey
More than 80% of students said they
knew about Dowling Hall services before arriving on
campus in September 2000. This reflects well on the
Dowling communications effort, including summer class
team letters and a postcard announcing Dowling’s
opening, sent to students in July. Currently, the most
heavily used services are registration functions,
followed by bursar, deans’ offices, and financial aid.
For the key questions asked, here
are the results:
|
Questions were asked
about service and responsiveness, in person, by
phone and over the web |
% responding
“Strongly Agree/Agree” |
% responding
“Strongly Disagree/Disagree” |
|
I favor the new
Student Services set-up over the old decentralized
set-up |
95% |
5% |
|
The staff members I
encountered were courteous |
96% |
4% |
|
The staff members I
encountered were responsive |
96% |
4% |
|
The staff members I
encountered were knowledgeable |
90% |
10% |
|
My phone call was
directed to the appropriate person/office |
87% |
14% |
|
The information I
obtained off of the web site was helpful
|
94% |
6% |
|
Email was a useful
alternative in communicating with the Student
Services Center |
86% |
14% |
In addition, ninety percent or more
of students said Dowling staff are courteous and
responsive; the physical layout is accessible; the
convenience of most services in one place is much
appreciated; and that they had good experiences during
their visits to Dowling.
Among those who use the phone to
obtain help, 90% reported that the staff answering the
phone were knowledgeable and that their experience via
phone was, overall, good. On the other hand, about 25%
reported that the wait on the phone was longer than they
would have liked. There was much to be learned from
written comments.
Representative of favorable
comments were these:
“As a senior I was sooooooo glad when
I went there for the first time and was able to do
everything I needed to in one trip instead of being sent
to multiple places all over campus. The new center is
not only nice, but convenient and helpful.
“You might want to put in a treadmill.
Now that everything is located so close together, I
won’t get the exercise I normally did when I walked from
one office to another.”
Of the less favorable comments,
these were most indicative:
“In the beginning of the
semester try to have more people available to help so
that the line isn’t too long.”
“Train the
staff to be knowledgeable. It is not enough to unify
student services – you have to offer a good service with
people who know the rules and policies of this school.”
The parents’ survey
Parents mainly learned about
Dowling through personal contact (about 18%) or through
mailings and the experience of their students (almost
half of parents).
Of the key questions asked, here
are the results:
|
Questions were asked
about service and responsiveness, in person, by
phone and over the web |
% responding
“Strongly Agree/Agree” |
% responding
“Strongly Disagree/Disagree” |
|
The staff was
responsive to my questions/problems |
93% |
7% |
|
The staff was
courteous |
97% |
3% |
|
The staff was
knowledgeable |
88% |
12% |
|
My phone calls were
returned in a prompt manner |
79% |
21% |
|
I was quickly
directed to the appropriate office |
89% |
11% |
|
The quality of
services from the SSC is better this year |
75% |
26% |
|
I find it easier to
deal with student services issues through the SSC |
77% |
24% |
More than 90% of parents reported
that staff were responsive and courteous; 88% found
staff to be knowledgeable. Nearly 90% reported they
were quickly directed to the appropriate office. Yet,
the results showed that further improvement is needed in
returning parents’ phone calls in a timely manner.
Representative of favorable
parents’ comments were these:
“I have always been
satisified with the responsiveness of Tufts’ Student
Services and I continue to be.”
“Mara says it is wonderful to have so
many services consolidated in one location – says her
friends are also delighted. They can now take care of
several errands with one trip.”
Indicative of the less favorable
comments were these:
“I
preferred the Financial
Aid office
as a separate entity rather than going through other
offices to reach a final goal.”
“The idea of a
clearinghouse is a good one. You call and get a point
person who is supposed to follow-up with the appropriate
office. However, in practice, it does not work. I
called Dowling Hall 4-5 times with the same billing
error on tuition/fees.”
Where we go from here
The
action plan within student services will focus this year
on additional training for the front desk staff to
increase their knowledge of all student services
operations and further develop their positive customer
service approach. There will be a focus on reducing
lines at the service desk, bringing additional services
into the center, and examining ways to ensure students
and parents hear promptly from the person they need to
help them.
“We
are encouraged by our progress to date,” comments
Kristine Dillon, Dean of Undergraduate Education and Student
Affairs. “ The student services program at Dowling is
now cited as a national model but this doesn’t mean it
is without its challenges. We need feedback from our
constituencies; we especially value student and parent
feedback. We are committed to continuous improvement
and the results of this survey give us some direction
about areas to work on. I am proud of what has been
accomplished in one year, and especially of the staff
who worked hard to establish one organization under
Dowling’s new roof! We’re making great progress to
ensure Tufts is a superior place to get a broadly
integrated educational experience with excellent access
to services!” |
