University of Washington, Bothell
2002-2003 Regional Needs Assessment: Implications for the Future Executive Summary
The University of Washington, Bothell (UWB) recently completed its second regional needs assessment. Like the first needs assessment, conducted in 1998, the second needs assessment sought to provide input to decisions about the academic development of UWB. In addition, the second needs assessment sought to provide input to decisions about strategic planning and UWB’s future role in the region.
The 2002-2003 regional needs assessment included five separate studies that were conducted during 2002 and 2003:
• Regional household survey – a telephone survey of 600 households in the region served by UWB;
• Regional UW alumni survey – a telephone survey of over 200 alumni from UWB or UW Seattle;
• Community college student survey – a telephone or in-class survey of 548 community college students at five community colleges in the UWB region;
• UWB student survey – an in-class survey of 1,231 UWB students; and
• UWB faculty and staff survey – an on-line survey of 75 UWB faculty and staff.
These studies had several overlapping areas of inquiry which are the focus of this report:
Familiarity with UWB, image of UWB, preferences for what UWB should be like or do, and the importance of knowledge, abilities, and outcomes in higher education or professional and personal development.
Key Findings
Image of UWB
Survey participants who were familiar with UWB typically rated it favorably on a series of 21 statements about the university. While UWB was not given any low ratings, some ratings were relatively higher than others. These are highlighted below.
Image of teaching and learning environment. UWB was given particularly high ratings on the following six items concerning the teaching and learning environment:
• “UWB serves non-traditional college students well.”
• “UWB enhances education by integrating technology into the teaching and learning process.”
• “UWB provides a positive intellectual environment for learning.”
• “The UWB campus is attractive.”
• “UWB provides high-quality teaching.”
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• “UWB has outstanding learning resources, including the library and academic services.”
UWB was rated relatively lower on the items, “UWB provides an interdisciplinary education,” and “UWB serves traditional college age students well.”
Image of academic quality and success. Of items describing academic quality and success, UWB was rated highest on two statements: “UWB graduates successfully compete for employment in careers,” and “UWB graduates successfully compete for admission to graduate school. “ UWB was rated lower for being a “center for high-quality research” and for having “high-quality post-baccalaureate and graduate programs.”
Image of UWB campus qualities. Of statements that describe the qualities of the campus, UWB was rated highest for “The UWB campus is conveniently located,” and lowest for
"UWB is a center for special events and activities in the community.”
Preferences for UWB
None of the items concerning the teaching and learning environment, academic quality and success, or campus qualities was rated unimportant for the role UWB should perform in the region, though some were rated relatively higher or lower in importance than others. These differences are summarized below.
Teaching and learning environment. The most important item concerning the teaching and learning environment was, “UWB should provide high quality teaching,” and the least important was, “The UWB campus should be attractive.”
Academic quality and success. The most important items concerning academic quality and success were “UWB should have high-quality undergraduate degree programs,” and “UWB graduates should successfully compete for employment in careers.” The least important item was “UWB should be a center for high-quality research.”
Campus qualities. The items concerning campus qualities generally were rated relatively less important for UWB than items concerning the teaching and learning environment or academic quality and success. Of the 21 items in all three areas, the one rated least important related to campus quality: “UWB should be a center for special events in the community.”
Familiarity with UWB
Many survey respondents said that they had “never heard of UWB.” About half of the households representing the general population in the region served by UWB, 13 percent of heads of households with children who are expected to attend college in Washington State, and 18 percent of UW Seattle alumni living in the region had never heard of UWB. Also, at least one half of the community college students surveyed did not know enough about UWB to be able to rate how well statements about its teaching and learning environment, academic quality and success, and campus qualities describe UWB.
Knowledge, Abilities, and Outcomes
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Verbal and reasoning abilities (including writing effectively, speaking effectively, and critically analyzing ideas and arguments), quantitative and analytic abilities (including defining and solving problems and understanding and applying computing skills and information technology), and transition outcomes (readiness for career, readiness for advanced education) were rated more important in higher education or professional and personal development than knowledge about groups and organizations or cultural and social issues.
• All of the verbal and reasoning abilities were rated high in importance by survey respondents: “Writing effectively,” “Speaking effectively,” “Critically analyzing ideas and arguments,” and “Locating information needed to help make decisions or solve problems.”
• While all of the quantitative and analytic abilities also were rated high in importance,
“Defining and solving problems” was rated relatively higher than the other three abilities (“Understanding and applying computing skills and information technology,”
“understanding and applying quantitative principles and methods,” and “understanding and applying scientific principles and methods”).
• Transition outcomes of “readiness for a career” and “readiness for advanced education”
were rated particularly important by regional households and community college students, the two groups of constituents from which future students are most likely to be drawn.
Conclusions and Implications UWB’s Role in the Region
• UWB appears to enjoy a favorable image among those who are familiar with it.
• The most important function for UWB, according to regional households, alumni, and faculty and staff, is to provide a high quality education that prepares students to successfully compete for employment in careers and admission to graduate school.
• The ability of UWB to serve the region and its constituents may be limited by the fact that many individuals in the region are not familiar with UWB. Accordingly, planning for UWB’s role in the region should include initiatives to increase awareness of UWB.
Academic Development and Planning
• UWB should continue to embrace its legislative mission and the mission and goals developed and approved by the General Faculty Organization in June 1996.1
• Academic development and planning should incorporate initiatives to increase awareness of UWB and its offerings to the community and potential students to overcome barriers created by the limited familiarity with UWB.
1 See Appendix C of the Report on the 2002 Household Survey Research (appended to this report) for a copy of the UWB Mission and Goals, June 1996.
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• In reviewing and planning academic programs, faculty and staff should continue to ensure that UWB achieves its core educational goals, including developing “critical thinking, writing, and information literacy, in order to graduate students with life-long learning skills,” and “making use of the best education technology.”2
• In developing communications strategies to reach the community, including prospective students, UWB faculty and staff should include tactics to increase awareness that UWB emphasizes development of basic abilities and graduates students who can compete for employment and graduate school admissions.
2 UWB Mission and Goals, June 1996, ibid.
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