Main: Undergraduate Student Experiences at Hunter College

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Joan Tronto, Ph.D.
Jeneve Brooks-Klinger, M.S.
Sharon McCann-Doyle, M.S.
Nina Rosenqvist Doyle
Rachel Schwartz, M.S.

The Teaching Learning Center (TLC) at Hunter College was created to promote more effective teaching and learning within the college.In the fall of 2001, The Teaching Learning Center commissioned a study to explore how students experience Hunter.This research was intended to provide a basis for additional research and program development.

The study consisted of focus groups and interviews with Hunter undergraduates.Information was gathered in three areas of student experience

1) academic, 2) social, and 3)administrative.In addition, the students were categorized by academic orientation so that their comments could be considered in context.These categories included: high achievers, active adapters, and low achievers.

The study found that students were, in general, satisfied with faculty and the quality of teaching at Hunter.Regarding course material, low achieving students generally found it challenging, while high achieving students often found it too simple. Students were generally dissatisfied with the administrative aspects of Hunter, particularly the lack of academic advising and the frequency of being closed out of courses.

Recommendations for program changes include augmenting ORSEM so that it includes a more comprehensive study skills training.Furthermore, it is suggested that faculty take an even more active role in encouraging students to approach them, with particular outreach targeted towards low achieving students.Recommendations for additional research focus on the need to understand low achieving students better.