The Butler County Community College Board of Trustees learned about positive metrics regarding students' campus experience at its meeting Wednesday.

“At the core of it, these numbers are so important, particularly in our student-centered institution,” said BC3 President Nick Neupauer.

The trustees received data from the Ruffalo Nowel-Levitz Student Satisfaction Inventory that was presented by Case Willoughby, vice-president for student affairs and enrollment management.

Every three years, the credit-seeking student population is offered a survey to evaluate their experience at the college.

The survey includes 95 questions, and the answers factor into 12 scales evaluating the student's experience. These scales include categories such as instructional effectiveness, campus climate and campus safety, among others.

Willoughby said the scales are from 1 to 7 with the higher numbers expressing the most satisfaction. He said they first use the scales to compare the school against previous reports.

“2014 was a banner year,” Willoughby said. “In 2017, we held our ground.”

For 2020, the college saw 19% of its students participate, and the data unveiled Wednesday showed improvement in all 12 categories, despite the data being collected during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“I was really pleased to see all of this, but we were concerned about skewed data because 2020 was so different,” Willoughby said.

To abate these concerns, the college also compared its metrics to the national average and found that it still had higher results on all 12 scales. To reinforce this analysis, the college turned to a third party for input — Randall VanWagoner, president of Mohawk Valley Community College.

“To move the needle on all 12 scales to the extent that Butler has done here — all focused around making students feel cared for and supported — requires alignment and leadership at all levels,” VanWagoner said.

Willoughby said the survey and its results are well-respected in the academic community, and the 2020 data shows BC3 is giving its students the right atmosphere to feel comfortable and confident during their time on campus.

“We were really excited to see these results,” he said.