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Training Analysis Autumn 2006 Report
Training Analysis Autumn 2006 Report
Training Analysis Autumn 2006 Report
During the period of October – December 2006, 590 feedback forms were
filled in by students after they had attended our information skills training
sessions. This report is structured according to the questions asked in the
form and is intended to demonstrate the key trends in the results, as well as
highlight potential areas for further consideration. Whilst the report focuses
on the feedback gained during the period stated, the results of quantitative
feedback from previous years are also included to provide a retrospective
comparison.
Overview
Trainers can also voluntarily complete their own feedback forms, outlining key
situational information about the sessions that they have provided. During the
Autumn term, these forms were completed for 37 of the sessions provided.
They demonstrate that of the 439 students expected to attend these sessions,
356 actually did, a healthy overall attendance rate of 81%, up 13% on the
previous year. This improvement demonstrates that the proactive marketing
of the sessions during the induction period had a very positive impact in
encouraging students to attend.
0%
24%
Partially
2004 Completely
Not at all
76%
0%
16%
Partially
Completely
2005 Not at all
84%
0%
19%
Partially
Completely
2006 Not at all
81%
81% of students were completely satisfied with the course content, which is
highly encouraging. Longitudinally, the figure is (minimally) down 3% on last
year, but is still 5% up on 2004. It is worth monitoring this trend over time, but
it is not significant enough to warrant greater investigation at this stage. As in
both previous years, no-one felt that the course content was totally
unsatisfying. The rationale for the 19% who felt that their needs had only
been partially met is explored in the following question.
In 2005, the most frequent response to this question was that they had not
had enough time to familiarise themselves with the content and would need to
practice after the session. This trend continued in 2006, with the majority of
students framing this positively. However, a secondary, recurring comment
from those students who had attended the “Discovering quality information”
course was that the session had only introduced RefWorks and they needed
more information about this particular package. This may just be an indication
of their keenness to learn this new software rather than a statement that the
course they had attended was deficient.
As in 2005, there was a general understanding amongst the students that the
session was introductory and that they could refer back to their information
specialist for further advice and support. This demonstrates that the
recommendation made in the 2004 analysis to make this philosophy clearer is
continuing to be successfully adopted into the sessions.
2%
18%
Too much
2004 Just right
Too little
80%
1% 11%
Too much
Just right
2005 Too little
88%
1%
18%
Too much
Just right
2006 Too little
81%
81% of students were satisfied with the amount of information covered in the
course, a 7% decrease on last year, but matching the 2004 results.
Significantly, that 7% now feel that the course contains too much information
and this is an issue that will require close monitoring in future years as further
increases in this response may require a different approach to the way the
courses are delivered. The number of students responding that the course
contains too little information has remained constant.
4. Was the level of the information…
4%
3%
Too easy
2004 Just right
Too hard
93%
4%
3%
Too easy
Just right
2005 Too hard
93%
3% 5%
Too easy
Just right
2006 Too hard
92%
92% of students were satisfied with the level of information covered in the
course, consistent with previous years, and the highest rating within the
feedback received. This reinforces the statement made in the 2005 report
that the proportions are probably at their optimum, so it is recommended that
any future variations from this model should be considered carefully.
5. Was the speed of the presentation…
4%
18%
Too slow
2004 Just right
Too fast
78%
13% 7%
Too slow
Just right
2005 Too fast
80%
14% 6%
Too slow
Just right
2006 Too fast
80%
The results for this question were consistent with those of 2005, and
maintained the improvement made in 2004-5. 80% of students were satisfied
with the speed of the presentation. 14% felt that the course was too fast,
which follows the trend of comments received in questions 2 and 3 relating to
the amount of information covered.
6. Was the timing of the session within the academic year…
13% 3%
Too early
2004 Just right
Too late
84%
3%
17%
Too early
Just right
2005 Too late
80%
5%
23%
Too early
Just right
2006 Too late
72%
72% of students were satisfied with the timing of the session within the
academic year, which is a very respectable figure in itself. However, we
cannot ignore that the number of students who are dissatisfied has risen 10%
over the past three years and it is recommended that this issue is discussed
to attempt to find a suitable means of combating this trend. In 2005, a
number of individual courses were responsible for the overall increase in
responses from students feeling the course had been delivered “too late” for
them, but in 2006 there was a more general dissatisfaction across all courses.
7. Were the exercises…
4%
Not helpful
2004 Helpful
96%
3%
Not helpful
Helpful
2005
97%
3%
Not helpful
2006 Helpful
97%
The minority who didn’t find them useful generally felt that the demonstrations
within the trainers’ presentations were enough and that they didn’t gain
anything from the additional practice time. This can be interpreted as a
difference in learning styles and is not something that we should examine too
deeply given the number of students who are satisfied with the format of the
sessions.
It is worth noting that this question received only a third of the number of
responses that the previous question did, implying that students are generally
much more positive about the training sessions than they are negative. The
main trends in responses to this question were as follows:
There were far fewer comments this year relating to language issues and the
difficulty of following the trainer’s typing or cursor movements on the screen,
which indicates that the recommendations made in the 2005 report have been
successfully integrated into the training sessions. Furthermore, criticisms
from 2004 related to the heat in the training room / lack of air conditioning, the
content being irrelevant to the research interests of the attendees and lack of
relevant PINS and passwords in advance were also unmentioned this year.
This demonstrates that trainers and other relevant members of staff have
been highly responsive in tackling and resolving these issues to improve the
quality of the sessions.
This section was mainly used to show appreciation for the usefulness and
quality of the session. A couple of students felt that the session should have
been better promoted, and one student suggested that it would be helpful to
have the materials available on the Web site for future reference.
Summary
The feedback shows that the training we provide is very well-received by our
customers. The lowest “just right” rating for questions 3-6 (relating to the
amount and level of the information provided, the speed of the presentation
and the timing of the session within the academic year) was 72%, and 97% of
respondents felt that the practical exercises were helpful in consolidating their
learning.
It is also encouraging that the attendance rate had improved 13% on last
year, as a result of all the extra targeted marketing that had taken place
during the registration period and induction tours.
The late timing of the presentation and the amount of information delivered
were the two main criticisms of the training sessions, both within the
structured and qualitative questions, and must be addressed. Alll negative
comments received in the past have been successfully dealt with and have
not recurred and it is hoped that we will be able to deal with these new, not
insignificant, challenges as successfully.