College of the Desert students prefer in-person classes, survey finds
College of the Desert students prefer in-person learning, and some have dropped classes because they were offered only online, a new survey found. Among students who like online learning, most prefer "asynchronous" options, where some or all of the class is taken on their own time.
The findings were among the results of the latest California Community College Attendance Survey, which a college official presented to the board of trustees at its meeting Thursday.
Trustee Rúben Pérez said it was the kind of information he's been "hungry" for since joining the board.
"I think we have very clear direction as to what it is our students want and what it is that we need to do to best serve them," he said.
Oxana Aghaei, the director of COD's Office of Institutional Research, told trustees the survey found students' first preferred class type is in-person, followed by online asynchronous (self-paced with no fixed schedule). Online synchronous (scheduled and live teaching) was the least preferred.
But despite students' preference for in-person learning, during the last three terms — spring, summer and fall of this year — a large share of courses at the college were offered in an online or partially online format. Only half were provided in person, and some students said they dropped classes as a result.
"We spend a lot of time talking about students and what we think they want, what we believe they're all about, but we're working very hard to understand what it is that students are saying to us so that we can make more evidence-based decisions," said COD Interim Superintendent/President Laura Hope.
The survey was designed by the Research and Planning Group for California Community Colleges, known as the RP Group, and sent to previously enrolled and prospective students by COD's Office of Institutional Research.
College officials said they'll use the results to plan for the future.
Among many other key findings from the survey, Aghaei shared "introspective" student testimonials that ranged from their opinions on course availability and financial support, as well as other themes out of the college's control, such as work constraints and family responsibilities.
One read: "... it was much more my responsibility to balance things out but the help the (College of the Desert) is providing is a blessing."
Other submitted comments shared similar points of view: that while COD offers many resources, they felt they didn't take advantage of them as well as they should have.
Acknowledging that students know there are existing resources at the college but may not know how to use them, Board Chair Bonnie Stefan said COD can hopefully use this information to figure out how to improve accessibility to those resources.
"That's the whole crux of the thing," she said. "They have questions and they don't know how to ask the questions. And, of course, we can't answer a question that isn't asked."
Expanding student transportation
Also at Thursday's meeting, Hope revealed that COD is working to expand student transportation options — addressing a concern that the board has brought up previously. Hope said they have narrowed down their choices for bus providers to one vendor they're "seriously considering."
The route would loop from the Coachella Valley's east to west ends and return to the Palm Desert campus three times a day.
"So if our students can get to one of our campus locations," she said, "we will get them to the next campus location they want to go to."
The college plans to brand the buses "so folks know we're moving our Roadrunners around," she said.
The board of trustees will likely vote on the approval of the vendor contract next month at the next meeting on Friday, Dec. 14.
Other news
The board heard a proclamation acknowledging that next week is International Education Week — a joint initiative of the U.S. Departments of State and Education. Another proclamation expressed gratitude to the late Peggy Cravens, whose philanthropic work the college celebrated the day before.
Also recognized were three professors — Jose Limo, Ramiro Galicia and Linda Emerson — who returned from their sabbatical leave during the 2022-2023 academic year to advance their professional development and to continue to improve the work they do for their students.
Jennifer Cortez covers education in the Coachella Valley. Reach her at jennifer.cortez@desertsun.com.
This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: College of the Desert students prefer in-person classes, survey finds
