The National Survey of Student Engagement is administered nationally each spring and in alternating years at Carroll College to a random sample of first-year students and senior-year students. The survey results provides Carroll College with national benchmark data to compare the student learning experiences of Carroll students to the student learning experiences of students at similar institutions.
Attended Campus Events and Activities
| Carroll First-Year Students | National First-Year Students | Carroll Senior-Year Students | National Senior-Year Students | |
| Very Little | 4% | 4% | 6% | 5% |
| Some | 15% | 17% | 20% | 21% |
| Quite a Bit | 49% | 40% | 45% | 41% |
| Very Much | 33% | 38% | 29% | 32% |
Carroll College students reported more experiences attending campus events and activitites than the national benchmark for similar institutions. First-year Carroll students reporting "quite a bit" or "very much" was 82% compared to 78% for similar institutions and senior-year Carroll students reported 74% compared to 73% for the same experiences.
Weekly Hours Participating in Co-Curricular Activities
| Carroll First-Year Students | National First-Year Students | Carroll Senior-Year Students | National Senior-Year Students | |
| 0 hrs/wk | 32% | 40% | 25% | 48% |
| 1-5 hrs/wk | 37% | 29% | 41% | 26% |
| 6-10 hrs/wk | 12% | 13% | 13% | 11% |
| 11-15 hrs/wk | 8% | 8% | 10% | 6% |
| 16-20 hrs/wk | 4% | 5% | 3% | 4% |
| 21-25 hrs/wk | 4% | 2% | 2% | 2% |
| 26-30 hrs/wk | 1% | 1% | 2% | 1% |
| 30 hrs/wk | 2% | 2% | 3% | 2% |
Carroll College students reported a lower percentage of non-participants in the number of hours of participating in cocurricular activities than the national benchmark for similar institutions. First-year Carroll students reporting "0 hrs/week" was 32% compared to 40% for similar institutions and senior-year Carroll students reported 25% compared to 48% for the same experiences.
The Student Satisfaction Inventory measures student importance and student satisfaction with items about the operations, services and attention students receive at the college. Students indicate on a scale of 1 to 7 (with 7 being the highest rating) their assessment of the item. Student importance and student satisfaction data are reported with benchmark data for national four-year private colleges.
| Item | Carroll College Student Importance | Carroll College Student Satisfaction | Gap | National Four-Year Privates Student Importance | National Four-Year Privates Student Satisfaction | Gap |
| There are a sufficient number of weekend activities for students. | 5.70 | 4.82 | 0.88 | 5.35 | 4.43 | 0.92 |
| I can easily get involved in campus organizations. | 5.86 | 5.55 | 0.31 | 5.77 | 5.20 | 0.57 |
| A variety of intramural activities are offered. | 5.02 | 5.22 | -0.20 | 4.95 | 4.76 | 0.19 |
Carroll College students report that having a sufficient number of weekend activities for students is important to them but they are less satisfied. Being able to easily get involved in campus organization is important to them with a slightly less satisfaction level. A variety of intramural activites is less important to Carroll students but with a higher satisfaction level. As far as benchmark data, Carroll students scored importance levels and satisfaction levels on weekend activities, involvement with campus organizations and the variety of intramual activities higher than students at national four-year private colleges.
| Item | Carroll College Student Importance | Carroll College Student Satisfaction | Gap | National Four-Year Privates Student Importance | National Four-Year Privates Student Satisfaction | Gap |
| The student center is a comfortable place for students to spend their leisure time. | 5.66 | 5.30 | 0.36 | 5.85 | 4.95 | 0.90 |
| Student activity fees are put to good use. | 6.11 | 4.62 | 1.49 | 6.05 | 4.62 | 1.43 |
| New student orientation services help students adjust to college. | 5.79 | 5.45 | 0.34 | 5.95 | 5.14 | 0.81 |
Carroll College students report that a comfortable student center is somewhat important with satisfaction slightly less. Carroll students also report that putting student activity fees to good use is very important to students with a strong gap in satisfaction. Carroll students also found that having new student orientation help students adjust to college was somewhat important with slightly less satisfaction. As far as benchmark data, Carroll students scored lower importance level and a higher satisfaction level with a comfortable campus center than students at national four-year private colleges. Carroll students report comparable importance levels and comparable gaps in satisfaction levels to students at national four-year private colleges. Carroll students report less importance and greater satisfaction with new student orientation services helping students adjust to college than students at national four-year private colleges.
The Student Life Annual Survey is administered each spring as an on-line survey. This year we had 384 students of the 1400 students enrolled for Spring 2011 submit responses.
1. Availability of Student Activities at Carroll:
| Excellent | Very Good | Good | Fair | Poor | |
| Coffeehouse Performers | 17.0% | 31.9% | 36.9% | 9.7% | 4.5% |
| Comedians | 11.5% | 29.3% | 34.8% | 17.2% | 7.2% |
| Concerts | 13.1% | 26.0% | 35.7% | 15.1% | 8.1% |
| Dances | 13.8% | 28.7% | 33.7% | 17.6% | 6.1% |
| Intramurals | 23.9% | 35.0% | 28.9% | 9.8% | 2.5% |
| Lectures | 24.3% | 36.7% | 32.0% | 5.7% | 1.4% |
| Outdoor Activities | 26.5% | 36.7% | 28.6% | 6.3% | 1.8% |
| Student Clubs | 25.6% | 34.4% | 30.8% | 7.5% | 1.8% |
| Student Leadership | 22.4% | 28.7% | 34.6% | 10.4% | 3.8% |
| Volunteer Opportunities | 34.9% | 31.7% | 25.6% | 6.3% | 1.4% |
2. How often do you connect learning in and out of the classroom?
| Very Often | Often | Sometimes | Rarely | Never | |
| How often do you connect your learning in the classroom to your learning outside of the classroom? | 31.4% | 46.9% | 17.2% | 4.2% | 0.3% |
| How often do you discuss your learning outside of the classroom with a faculty member? | 10.0% | 25.8% | 41.0% | 18.6% | 4.7% |
| How often do you discuss your learning outside of the classroom with a staff member? | 5.5% | 19.1% | 36.2% | 32.0% | 7.2% |
3. Which statement best describes your involvement with co-curricular activities at Carroll?
| Response Percent | |
| I am more involved in co-curricular activities at Carroll than I was involved in high school. | 17.3% |
| I am less involved in co-curricular activities at Carroll than I was in high school. | 51.4% |
| I am as involved in co-curricular activities at Carroll as I was in high school. | 31.3% |
4. Which statement best describes your involvement with community service at Carroll?
| Response Percent | |
| I am more involved in community service at Carroll than I was in high school. | 21.7% |
| I am lessinvolved in community service at Carroll than I was in high school. | 47.3% |
| I am as involved in community service at Carroll than I was in high school. | 31.1% |
5. Which of the following non-credit leadership programs would intrest you if offered at Carroll? Check all that apply.
| Response Percent | |
| Personal Leadership | 47.6% |
| Group Leadership | 38.7% |
| Campus Leadership | 24.6% |
| Community Leadership | 40.7% |
| Church Leadership | 26.4% |
| Non-Profit Leadership | 37.2% |
| None of these leadership programs interest me. | 20.3% |
Carroll College hired the campus planning firm of Dober Lidsky Mathey to update the college's master plan. Exhibit 3.3 of the master plan compares the average amount of space in nine space types at colleges with enrollments below 2,500 surveyed by the Society for College and University Planning (SCUP) for the 2006 Campus Facilities Inventory Report. A sample of the exhibit provides these benchmarks:
Exhibit 3.3 - Comparison of Carroll Space to SCUP Peers
| Classrooms | Campus | Offices | Library | Athletic | Residential | |
| SCUP Survey Avg Space | 44,514 | 71,713 | 80,479 | 45,558 | 88,566 | 223,622 |
| SCUP Survey Avg per Student | 26 | 43 | 48 | 27 | 53 | 133 |
| Carroll Existing Space | 42,096 | 63,059 | 47,851 | 34,097 | 45,439 | 139,880 |
| Carroll Existing per Student | 29 | 44 | 33 | 24 | 32 | 97 |
| Carroll NASF at SCUP Averages | 38,136 | 61,438 | 68,948 | 39,030 | 75,876 | 191,581 |
Dober Lidsky Mathey reported: "Nearly 14.5 percent of Carroll's space id devoted to General and Campus Use, typically supporting campus life functions. This is lower than peer norms, a fact confirmed by those responsible for student life and student activities. Space in the Campus Center is at a premium as this building serves so many functions beyond student life--conferences, administrative meetings, outside speakers and a whole range of College events. The space is good quality, there simply is not enough to meet current and future needs for these important student life and leadership programs."
The firm recommended: "Plan to devote additional space to student life needs. The Campus Center is asked to serve multiple functions--dining, student center, conference center, chapel, etc. While this multi-functionality is an efficient use of space, frequently these uses conflict, creating a game of musical chairs that too often leaves the student as 'odd man out.' Part of a liberal arts education is encouraging student growth outside the classroom in organizations and activities. Carroll needs to provide a place for this growth to flourish. This can be accomplished by adding space either for student groups and activities or for a more functional, contemporary, competitive conferencing facility. Vacated conferencing space could then be converted to student-dedicated space."
Source: Centennial Plan, 2008-2009, Carroll College. Dober Lidsky Mathey. December 2009.
4 ASCC Executive Officers
16 ASCC Senators
20 ASCC House of Representatives
2 Orientation Coordinators
18 Orientation Core Team Members
107 Orientation Leaders
48 Recognized Student Organizations
47 Softball Teams - Softball Weekend
Please rate how valuable you believe each of these areas contribute to the quality of campus life at Carroll:
Intramurals
40.6% Highly Valuable
34.8% Somewhat Valuable
8.6% Somewhat Lacking Value
4.1% Highly Lacking Value
12.0% Unable to Evaluate
Lectures and Presentations
43.8% Highly Valuable
40.2% Somewhat Valuable
10.1% Somewhat Lacking Value
0.7% Highly Lacking Value
5.2% Unable to Evaluate
Outdoor Recreation
57.6% Highly Valuable
24.9% Somewhat Valuable
8.7% Somewhat Lacking Value
1.1% Highly Lacking Value
7.6% Unable to Evaluate
Student Activities
59.8% Highly Valuable
26.7% Somewhat Valuable
7.0% Somewhat Lacking Value
1.3% Highly Lacking Value
5.2% Unable to Evaluate
Student Leadership
48.3% Highly Valuable
27.4% Somewhat Valuable
10.6% Somewhat Lacking Value
2.7% Highly Lacking Value
11.0% Unable to Evaluate
Source: Student Life Annual Survey (2010)
I have found the small town nature of Helena:
Source: Student Life Annual Survey (2010)