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Student Satisfaction

See how learners rate their Capella experience

On-line learners may have different needs, expectations, and priorities than more traditional students. At Capella, we strive to understand and meet those needs, priorities and expectations. One way we do that is to measure learner satisfaction using standardized surveys. These surveys allow us to evaluate Capella's performance and to compare it to other similar institutions.

• Noel-Levitz Priorities Survey for Online Learners (PSOL)
• National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE)

Priorities Survey for Online Learners

The Noel-Levitz Priorities Survey for Online Learners (PSOL) is designed specifically for online learners. It asks learners to rate their satisfaction with several aspects of their experiences in online learning. Capella asks a sample of bachelors, masters, and doctoral learners to complete PSOL every quarter.

On the PSOL, students respond to "expectation statements" (e.g., "online course registration is convenient") to rate how important each expectation is to them and how satisfied they are that Capella meets each expectation. Two of the graphs below show how Capella compares to the PSOL national benchmark which represents approximately 120 different institutions. In each you can see the average ratings for:

• All Capella respondents
• Capella respondents at each degree level
• Other PSOL respondents

The graph on the left compares responses on scales that reflect how an institution is perceived and how the institution performs on 4 categories of service. The graph on the right compares ratings on 3 individual satisfaction questions. The third graph shows responses to three questions specific to Capella, so no comparison information is available. All the data were gathered between July 2015 and June 2016.

National Survey of Student Engagement

Each year Capella participates in the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE). In 2015, all Capella undergraduate students that were the equivalent of first-year or senior level students were invited to participate.

Results reported here are from students at the senior-year level. Capella's results are compared to the survey's the national sample results, which represent over 300,000 senior learners from several hundred institutions.

NSSE focuses on student participation in programs and activities and their interactions with faculty and other students. The results provide a picture of how undergraduates spend their time and what they gain from attending college The graphs below represent several aspects of that picture.

• The first graph shows 7 engagement indicators or benchmarks. Each indicator comprises several items, and NSSe calculates the score based on a 60-point scale.
• Below that is the Quality of Interactions graph which shows what students thought about their interactions with 5 different groups.
• The next grpah shows how much experience at the institution has contributed to the development of 10 general skills and abilities.
• The bottom graph shows what students thought was emphasized in the coursework.