Student Satisfaction Inventory (SSI) (Ruffalo Noel-Levitz)

The Student Satisfaction inventory (SSI) (Ruffalo Noel-Levitz) measures not only how satisfied students are with the college, but also which issues are important to them.

The survey asks students to rate 73 items for both satisfaction and importance on diverse topics affecting the entire campus, including academics, student life, admissions, financial aid, and security. The SSI calculates the difference between the average satisfaction score and the average importance for each item; this difference is referred to as the “performance gap.” A large performance gap for an item indicates a relatively low level of satisfaction for an item of relatively high importance.

At Champlain College, the SSI Survey is conducted in rotation with the NSSE Survey and the MISO Survey; past years include: 2004, 2008, 2011, 2014, and 2017.

The survey inquires about student experience on campus, offering a 1-7 scale for Importance and Satisfaction, as rated by the students.

Example Items Related to Faculty

  • Faculty care about me as an individual.
  • Faculty are fair and unbiased in their treatment of individual students.
  • Faculty provide timely feedback about student progress in a course.
  • Faculty take into consideration student differences as they teach a course.
  • Faculty are usually available after class and during office hours.
  • Nearly all of the faculty are knowledgeable in their field.

Example Items Related to Instructional and Culture

  • The content of the courses within my major is valuable.
  • The instruction in my major field is excellent.
  • The quality of instruction I receive in most of my classes is excellent.
  • Adjunct faculty are competent as classroom instructors.
  • There is a good variety of courses provided on this campus.
  • Graduate teaching assistants are competent as classroom instructors.
  • I am able to experience intellectual growth here.
  • There is a commitment to academic excellence on this campus.

Survey Results

The survey is interpreted using six criteria:

  • Strategic planning overview - Learn your strengths and challenges, and identify the top issues for discussion on your campus.
  • Demographic summary - See responses to the demographic items on the survey, providing important context for the data.
  • Scale summary - Understand the importance and satisfaction scores for each composite scale.
  • Institutional summary - Review the importance and satisfaction scores, item by item, and the performance gap scores. (The gap scores subtract the mean satisfaction from the mean importance score, revealing the gaps between satisfaction and priorities.)
  • Summary items - Compare the responses to three questions concerning overall satisfaction with your institution to the national scores.
  • Conclusion - See ideas for converting your data to action.

To see a sample of the survey instrument, go to the Noel-Levitz website or view survey samples:

http://survey.noellevitz.com/index.cfm?personID=1931257703&sAction=login (electronic) 
https://www.noellevitz.com/NR/rdonlyres/FAB17FD7-9588-4BB4-B4E3-8371817FB590/0/SSI4yr.pdf (paper)

View past years' SSI Reports (internal):