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 BCC Student Fast Facts on Broward College Students and Programs
Demography Approximately 60% of the students were female and 40% male. White students represented the largest racial group (42.7%). In terms of ethnicity, around one-third of students classified themselves as Hispanic. English was the preferred language of 78.9% of students. Almost one-fifth of students were primary caregivers. Further, first-generation students represented 44%. Enrollment For 53.8% of the students, BCC was their institution of first choice. This was the case for 58% of first-generation students. The three leading reasons students chose BCC were affordability (67.7%), campus location (59.6%), and ability to transfer to a four-year college. Although affordability was the leading important factor for primary caregiver, family obligation was a great consideration (27% vs. 14%) when compared to the overall survey population. Additionally, for this group, job advancement (25% vs. 15%), specific course offerings (29% vs. 21%) and support services (12% vs. 7%) were rated more frequently. Moreover, the single most influencing factor in decision to enroll was parents and/or relatives (43.7%). By part-time/ full-time breakdown, outside of parents and relatives, high school counselors were more influential for full-time students than part-time students (27% vs. 16%). For part-time students, employers and co-workers had greater influence than for full-time students (10% vs. 5%). The students considered course availability as the most important factor in determining the number of credit hours to take. For primary caregivers, family consideration really stood out (54% vs. 22%). Goals The primary goal for a great number of students (73.2%) was to transfer to a four-year college. For those who BCC was not their first choice, 80% had intentions of transferring to a 4-year college vs. 68% of those who BCC was their first choice. Many of those who chose BCC as their institution of first choice, as well as first generation students, wanted to complete a 2-year program and enter the workforce. Campus Choice The leading factor in campus choice was convenience to home. Forty-seven percent of students took most of their classes at Central campus. Online Courses Overall, students preferred to classroom based courses. First generation students reported preferring classroom based teaching at a greater rate than overall survey population (59% vs. 49%). Of the surveyed students, 18.3% had already taken online courses, 15% had done so at BCC. By subset, twice as many primary caregivers had taken BCC’s online classes (30% vs. 15%). Of the 18% who had taken online courses, 24.7% were willing to take another online course. Course Schedule Overall, students preferred the regular 16-week term. The primary caregivers’ preference for 16-week term was comparatively lower (52% vs. 64%). More students in this group were in favor of the 8-week and 12-week term (58% vs. 44%) and were more likely to opt for weekend only classes (8% vs. 3%) than the overall survey population. Classes scheduled on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday was most popular with the surveyed students. Overall, more part-time students prefer evening classes than full-time students (40% vs. 20%). In terms of starting times, students preferred the earlier times of 5:00PM, 6:00PM, and 6:30PM. However, part-time students preferred 6 and 6:30 starts, not 5PM.
The vast majority of students (93.5%) had access to the Internet outside of the service provided by BCC. The most popular methods for saving work completed in class or labs was by USB port. Students were mostly using BCC’s online services for registration purposes (drop/add and registration dates). In terms of satisfaction, students were most satisfied with registration (drop/add and registration dates) and online payments.
The leading major source of funding was own income/savings, followed by grants and scholarships. First-generation used their own savings to a greater extent (54%) and had less parental financial support (40% vs. 43%). More prep students relied on bank loans (22% vs. 10% non-prep). The primary caregivers utilized a range of sources more than the overall survey population. These are namely employer contributions (17% vs. 6%), student loans (32% vs. 18%) and public assistance (19% vs. 9%).
By and large, the most common reason for employment was to support self/family. However, more first-generation students worked to earn money for their education (20% vs. 16%) and prep students tended to work to earn extra money (53% vs. 18%) Student Response Center A little over half of the students were not aware of the existence of the Student Response Center. Of those who were aware, they used this service to obtain information on registration, financial aid, and admissions. Nearly one-quarter of those who called the center said their calls were answered. When calls were not answered, the most common course of action was to hang up and call back.
When contacting college professors and administration, students preferred to use their BCC email address, cellular telephone and in-person contact. The order to preference changed according to who was contacting them.
Services provided by the library (LRC, labs, and tutoring) were seen as the leading impact on the success of the students (26.6%).
Students wrote about inadequate parking facilities, need for greater course availability, need for improved student and administrative services, increased financial aid, improved advising services, and better instructors.
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Fall 2006 Student Survey Results
