As a way to evaluate its strengths and weaknesses as an institution, Sterling College invited students to part-take in the Noel-Levitz Student Satisfaction Survey last semester. The results are in and Sterling College has seen progress in both increasing our areas of strength as well as areas of concern from the last time the survey was distributed.

“The results of the Noel-Levitz survey are very useful to us,” said President Paul J. Maurer. “We want to know what our students think so we can celebrate our strengths, and work to improve our areas of concern. The survey helps us pinpoint the areas we need to work on as a college to care for ours students and their needs.”

When compared to students at national four-year private institutions, Sterling outranked the competition in 19 areas of the survey. More students at Sterling feel welcomed, safe, and enjoy their time at Sterling than other private institutions. Students at Sterling are overall more satisfied with the faculty, adjunct faculty, academic advisors, registration help, and staff than at other institutions. The personnel at Sterling are seen as friendly, knowledgeable, caring, and concerned about the students as individuals. Students also felt like Sterling has a good reputation in the local community, more so than students at other four-year private institutions.

“The faculty and staff here are Sterling are great! They are always willing to take time out from what they are doing to give me their full attention as we talk through questions, homework assignments, or what we did over the weekend. The personal interest and attention is what sets Sterling faculty and staff apart from the rest of the pack,” said sophomore Nathan Ehresman.

Emily Zerger, senior, agreed with Ehresman. “My professors at Sterling really care about me as an individual – academically, emotionally, and spiritually. The environment here really fosters spiritual growth and encourages me to continue pursuing my walk with Christ.”

Overall, the survey summarized the strengths of the Sterling College to be the people. The faculty is educated and experienced in their respective fields, delivering excellent instruction as well as concerned about students who need extra help to succeed. They are available during office hours and approachable when students need advice on scheduling and major requirements. The residence hall staff and office staff on campus also received accolades for their caring nature and personalized service. The students expressed that they are treated as individuals, and feel welcome in the offices.

In addition to strengths, Noel-Levitz shed light on the challenges for Sterling College. The school developed a plan of action last year to address these concerns. For example, the college hired an additional staff member and a new financial aid company to work with the students on financial aid packages.

“Part of the problem is that we were understaffed,” said Tina Wohler, vice president of student life. “We hired another part-time staff member for the financial aid department to help students get their questions answered quickly. Enrollment has grown the past six years, and it was time to increase the staffing. We are also working with a new company, Vangent, to help process the financial aid paperwork in a more timely way.”

Another challenge highlighted by the survey was internet access and computer availability. Although Sterling has computers in every dorm, they found that students perceived the computer labs as old and unreliable. They discovered that students primarily use personal computers for doing homework, and use the labs for printing their papers and projects. This led Sterling to focus their investment on a printer that was able to serve an entire dorm, and a single new computer for students to load files onto for printing. Further advancements are planned to allow each student will be able to send files to the printer remotely, increasing the speed and convenience of the printer. They also purchased a color printer and copier that is available to students in the library.

To continue improving, Sterling College plans to survey students annually to better track advancements. Previously, students were surveyed approximately once every four years. By administering the survey more often, the college will obtain faster and more relevant feedback, improving the student experience at Sterling.

“The length of time was too long between surveys to accurately measure our progress. We want to know what our students think of the changes we are making on campus,” said Wohler. “If the student doesn’t think that the changes were helpful, then we need to find new ideas that will increase the services we offer. The survey helps us be more mindful of our client, the student.”

Noel-Levitz is a consulting company for higher education that helps identify what students see as the strengths and challenges of the institution. They provide insight into the opinions of the student to help colleges capitalize on its strengths, and work to improve its challenges. They also track from survey-to-survey how schools are doing in improving on their challenges.