OC uses surveys to inform decisions

To help get a more accurate picture of how things are going, Odessa College conducts surveys and focus groups throughout the year.

Associate Vice President for Institutional Effectiveness Brian Jones said they try to make sure they listen to students and let them know their responses to surveys and focus groups matter.

“We often say there are humans behind the numbers and it’s important to hear them, to respect them and to be good stewards of that information. Through our students’ evaluation of instruction, that tells us exactly what’s going on in the course; that happens at the end of the course. We want to always be intentional about what type of data can we capture — if it’s a pulse check throughout the semester, if it’s through focus groups — so that we are making sure that our compass is pointed in the right direction and understanding that they’re real people and they guide every bit of instructional practice and efficacy for Odessa College,” Jones said.

For their graduation survey, the sample size was about 760.

“We conduct the graduation survey to understand what their cumulative experience was like at Odessa College —from student services, to campus engagement, to instruction, to facilities utilization — all of those specific aspects. We capture that and the graduation surveys. But for the student evaluation of instruction, we had about about 4,300 responses, which is significant in that previously we had about 21% response rates; significantly lower. As we look at the student evaluation of instruction, we know that students who have had really great experiences and those who have had not so great experiences are generally the ones who are responding. We wanted to change the culture whereas you’re not just doing a survey for survey sake. We’re not going to over inundate you with surveys, but we want to make sure that we’re intentional about those surveys and letting them know that based on your responses and your feedback, here are the things that we’re doing to support you,” Jones added.

Data from Trellis Company, a student loan guarantor, indicating the financial and housing insecurities of OC students, has guided a lot of what the college does through its food and garden.

“All of the things we do, we have to be hyper-focused on communicating that we’re not just doing it to do it, but that data is informing our practice to help us be the best community college and not just based on success rates, but the holistic experience for our students,” Jones said. “The wraparound support, every aspect of what we do is guided by that data that we collect.”

OC’s recent data shows 45% of students are food insecure; 21% of students showed signs of very low food security in 2018, but in 2020 it went to 29% with a very low food security.

“That’s according to the USDA scale. That’s where they’re skipping meals, eating less, or less nutritious food. Some additional data with the financial insecurity was that 63% of our students worry about having enough money to pay for school. That number is significant. And about 36% (out of the 63 percent) of them ran out of money six or more times in the past year,” Jones said.

He added that many students consider themselves workers attending school, instead of students who work.

“We do have to change that narrative to understand that to communicate that the work that they do is preparing for a living wage and a career. It’s interesting because when we talk about a generalized anxiety, the most significant thing that they are concerned about is money. It’s difficult for them to if we’re adding on the cost of attendance and those other variables that makes it really stressful for our students. The Trellis data I believe said that 39% of our students are experiencing that anxiety,” Jones said.

As to whether students think education benefits their work, Jones said he didn’t think the immediacy was there.

“Many of our parents have to make sure that they’ve got gainful employment, making sure that they have food on the table and that their earning somehow is the priority and that school is secondary. Many of our adult population are parents, or pregnant, and we’re making strides in addressing that on campus as well,” he said.

Jones said they have recently purchased mothering pods to allow mothers throughout campus who are breastfeeding to be able to go into a private space.

He added that about 39% of students identified as parenting, or as parents.

“We have a committee that’s focused on making sure that that isn’t a barrier to attendance,” Jones said.

The committee is having conversations about things related to pregnant students, such as not being able to attend class because of a sick child.

“This committee is tackling a lot of those conversations specific to being flexible. That’s one of our four commitments at Odessa College is being flexible when appropriate, understanding that our students drive every bit of what we do, and the question always becomes what’s best for students, so we are flexible,” Jones said.

“We get to know our students by name and the instructional practices to know your students by name to build that relational capacity with them so that they know that there’s a sense of community here and if they are pregnant or parenting that they have a network that’s going to help them so that there are no barriers.

“We know that community colleges provide an opportunity for our learners to go into the workforce for gainful employment, and for those who are wanting to continue on, this is the gateway for them. So every barrier that could potentially occur, we’re thinking about that and we’re also making sure that we’re flexible, knowing that life happens,” Jones said.

He added that they have programs where if students stop out for a while, OC allows them to have a fresh start, so they can return.

“We’re always thinking about some of the life happens moments so that we can pull them back in so that they can have the opportunity to make a livable, sustainable wage,” Jones said.

He added that the college looks at students who have stopped out see if there were issues with academic suspension or probation and tuition payments.

“They look at ways to incentivize them, to pull them back and they do recruitment campaigns. … They do degree audits. They look at that data to see, Hey, Brian was here 10 years ago and he just needs two more courses. … They really actively pursue those students to let them know that we’re going to help them get to us, to get through our programs, and to gainful employment within our community so that they’re making that livable, sustainable wage,” Jones said.

When students feel financially insecure, a lot of them won’t ask because of the stigma of asking for help.

“We try to make sure that we are intentional about communicating that there are resources available. That’s not only published on our website, we also send messages through our CRM (customer relationship management) to students through text messaging. In the course, through our syllabi, we provide resources to let students know that there’s help available if they are experiencing housing insecurity, financial insecurity. We have many on campus in student services who communicate that we are that resource for them, that we don’t want to be the barrier to them continuing on and completing their program of study here,” Jones said.

Students may also not come forward because they think others need it more than they do.

“We do have dedicated funds to help students who are experiencing difficulty. We are intentional about communicating that through many different channels. But I think it’s okay to ask for help and that is what we’re attempting to communicate to our students. You’ll see posters throughout campus. Our faculty are also the boots on the ground, too. If they notice that the student was struggling, they’ve created a culture where students can ask for help and our faculty are really great at connecting them to the resources.

“Another aspect of the experience here at Odessa College is our college life coaches, they are connected with our students, if they are struggling, they are a resource to help them find whatever supports that they need. If we are unable to provide that support, then they are connecting them with community organizations as well to help them because at the end of the day, we want to ensure that our students are successful and we have given them the tools to be successful,” Jones said.

He added that the culture at OC lets students know they can come to someone and tell them they are struggling.

“If we’re addressing flexibility, they’re at the frontlines of seeing what’s going on with our students and so by building that relational capacity with them, they’re able to understand where the students are and to see how we can meet the student need. I wouldn’t say it’s mind reading, but I think in a culture of inclusivity, where there’s a sense of belonging, I think our students really feel compelled to ask in a way that’s not threatening. I think that’s truly the key to building a culture of caring, a culture of excellence, a of culture of belonging, a culture of inclusivity, where we’re all in this together, because when you do well, we do well,” Jones said.