CAC Survey
Students satisfied with College Academic Counseling!
CAC surveyed students who had had an appointment with either a College Academic Mentor (CAM) or College counselor during Fall 2011 or Winter 2012. Students who rated their overall satisfaction with CAC indicated consistent and substantial satisfaction with CAC services:
Please rate your overall satisfaction with the College Academic Counseling Department
Fall 2011 |
Winter 2012 |
|
Dissatisfied/Very Dissatisfied |
8% |
8% |
Satisfied/Very Satisfied |
92% |
92% |
And of the 88-89% who agreed that “my overall experience with the counselor was positive,” approximately two-thirds “strongly agreed” with that statement:
My overall experience with the counselor was positive
Fall 2011 |
Winter 2012 |
|||
Strongly Disagree |
4% |
12% |
5% |
11% |
Disagree |
8% |
6% |
||
Agree |
29% |
88% |
31% |
89% |
Strongly Agree |
59% |
58% |
||
Many students wished they had known about CAC services earlier or realized that academic counseling encompasses many areas, not just academic difficulty, and made comments such as, “College Academic Counseling made my undergraduate experience more enjoyable by providing assistance in areas that I was otherwise unaware of,” and “I'm sad I didn't take advantage of these counseling services sooner.” One student wrote, “Made me feel like I wasn’t just a number at this school.” And the impact CAC has had on some students is quite significant:
The College Academic Counseling made a big difference in my undergraduate career. They made my success a primary concern. Many members of the Academic counseling staff have helped me navigate and prioritize around priorities and challenges I faced while pursuing my degree. They showed concern about my well being and my personal challenges by offering resources available and advocating on my behalf. I am very grateful for the help I received.Another student wrote,
Every time I've come here panicking about a petition or a requirement, everyone has been incredibly helpful. The people at the window and the counselors are always friendly and really listen to whatever I'm trying to do; they go out of their way to make sure that I leave knowing exactly what to do and that everything I've filed so far is correct. I would have come in more before my senior year if I'd known how awesome everyone at CAC is. It really is a great resource.
A small number of comments (5%) reflected a negative impact, such as “not encouraging,” concerns over misadvising, or disappointment “with the amount of bureaucracy at UCLA and the lack of concern for students seeking help.”
When asked for recommendations for improvement, approximately 19% of the comments in Fall specifically recommended no improvements, and 16% had positive comments about CAC. The second largest group of suggestions (16%) advocated online or advance appointments, additional windows, or longer appointment times. While we cannot physically build another window, nor would we have the staff to keep it open, we did review our appointment scheduling procedures to see how we might address this issue. We saw that mid-morning appointments often remained open and unused, and implemented a new procedure of offering advance appointments during slower weeks once all same-day appointments have been booked. Although we cannot offer this every week, this has helped in several ways: students were sometimes able to make advance appointments instead of having to return another day, and appointments that would probably otherwise have remained unused were actually utilized, increasing our efficiency.
Because we do a great deal of screening when making appointments (many issues can often be resolved at the window without an appointment), it is not possible to offer appointments online or over the phone, since we would not be able to evaluate a student’s situation adequately. Conversely, students often want to ask a “quick question” but end up needing an appointment, so having separate lines or windows for questions and appointments, even if it were possible, would probably not make a substantial difference.
Students also often recommended longer (45 minute) appointments. This would reduce the number of available appointments by half, making it more difficult to serve the large number of students in our care. Most appointments are completed within the 30 minutes allocated, but we encourage students to be sure all of their needs are met, and if necessary a follow-up appointment can usually be arranged with the counselor.
When students come in for help, we do want to help them as best as we can and as thoroughly as possible. We have tried to use the survey to improve our procedures after careful consideration. Based on the survey results, it seems that we have been very successful for most part, and we are very proud of the satisfaction documented in this survey.
OTHER COMMENTS
“She was very approachable and non-judgmental in our discussion. I felt that she genuinely had my best interests at heart and wanted to help me best fulfill my goals.”
“The Counseling office creates a sense of stability within me that I do not get if I feel that I'm not doing the right thing or if I'm confused about something. It is one of the most useful things to utilize here on campus in order to do better, maintain a good school career and to succeed in the undergraduate life.”
“Game changer. Not only do I know about more options and opportunities now, I'm actually EXCITED to see what the future holds!”
“She made sure that all of my questions and issues had been answered before concluding our session!”
“I didn't think there was any way out of the terrible position I've put myself into academically; however, the counselor was very considerate and kind. She helped me gain another perspective on my coursework and advised me in many of the services provided by the university to help me get back on track. She was very helpful and I am very grateful to have met such an understanding counselor.”
“[The counselor] seemed to always try to find the best possible options, and not just provide me with bare minimum information. I felt as though he did care about my situation and was always doing his best to provide me with multiple alternatives when making a decision in relation to my academics.”
“My counselor had to deliver some bad news to me, but she was sensitive and kind and gave me several options that I would not have considered otherwise.”
“[The counselor was] the most helpful staff member that I have ever met. She has given her input on personal endeavors, guided me along my academic career, and also presented me with on-campus opportunities that would help me.”
“It relieved a great deal of stress for me. It is very easy to get lost in this school and the counselors are so kind.”
“College Academic Counselors were the persons I turned to when I just couldn't figure out a particular problem/issue regarding my academic life on my own. They were very helpful to me in giving me guidance when I was a little "wish-washy" on what to do next in my academic career.”
“I ONLY had great experiences working with the counselors here. They were always very helpful, positive, and informing.”
“I expected a purely business-mannered counseling, but I was surprised to find the experience very personal and comfortable.”
“She considered my problem and gave me reasonable advice as to how to solve it. She gave me options.”
“I just felt like he seemed genuinely concerned about my success.”
“He definitely laid out all of my options in regards to my situation. He was very friendly, personable and knowledgeable.”