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untcustomerrelations@unt.edu

The University of North Texas is the largest and most comprehensive university in North Texas. As the leading university in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex, UNT serves the citizens of Texas by offering academic degree programs and by developing partnerships with other institutions, private and government agencies, and businesses to help address the diverse needs of metropolitan and urban areas. The institution fulfills its responsibilities to help discover new knowledge and find ways to apply the results of such discovery through an active research program built around the strengths of UNT's nationally and internationally recognized faculty.

The primary customer for the University of North Texas is the student who studies in one of the institution's 103 baccalaureate, 136 master's, and 47 doctoral degree programs. Secondary customers are the citizens of the State of Texas who hire UNT graduates and who benefit from research conducted and services provided by the University. Because of its location, the primary service area of UNT is north Texas. A description of UNT students is provided on page 16 of the plan document.

Other secondary customers for UNT include institutional staff and faculty, and other governmental agencies. As directed in the guidelines for preparing this report, these customers are not included in this report. However, they are included in customer service programs implemented at the university. A small number of citizens are served through continuing education/non-credit programs at UNT, and their satisfaction with services is assessed through the Office of Continuing Education and Conference Management on an ongoing basis.

The overall customer service model implemented at UNT begins with the identification of the needs of customers/students. Strategies are initiated to address the needs based on the university's model of institutional effectiveness. Since 1985, the implementation of such a program has been mandated through the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS), the university's regional accrediting agency. Anyone who wants to file a complaint with SACS as UNT's accreditation body, may do so by contacting Donna Wilkison, Commission on Colleges, SACS, 1866 Southern Lane, Decatur, GA 30033-4907.

According to SACS, each member institution is expected to document quality and effectiveness by applying a comprehensive system of evaluation in all major aspects of the institution. Universities are also required to demonstrate that they use the results of these assessments to improve operations and programs. Students are involved in a variety of assessments, including evaluations of faculty, instruction, and student services.

The first step to understanding the needs of UNT students/customers is an examination of available data that describes the student. The UNT Office of University Planning annually publishes and makes accessible a fact book with extensive data about students and much more. The 1999-2000 book can be viewed at www.unt.edu/planning/Fact_Book_2000.

By its very nature, a large university has many components that address different needs of the student/customer. In general, various units have established standards for customer service and ways to address complaints and concerns, as well as defining wait and response time limits. In addition, UNT has a broad award system that recognized employees who provide exemplary service.

Most units at UNT collect complaints and statements of concern through surveys, suggestion boxes, e-mail messages, written correspondence, and informal statements. Responses are given in person, through return e-mail messages, telephone calls, or letters/memos. Open communication is one of the hallmarks of addressing customer concerns at UNT. Several programs encourage open communication among students and staff and faculty.

The Chancellor/President of the university conducts quarterly student coffees. At these events, the Chancellor answers questions from students and provides responses to concerns. When a statement from a student requires follow-up action, a written response is posted in Student Union and sent to the student. Students can also voice complaints and raise issues through the university's Answer Line (940) 565-4100. This telephone number is open 24 hours. Student concerns are forwarded to the appropriate university official and action is taken. The official responds by calling or writing the student if a name is left with the message.

Staff in the Student Development area also meet regularly with student groups to remain in touch with customer concerns and issues. There are over 200 student organizations and groups at UNT. The Student Association frequently conducts roundtable discussions about areas of concerns of students. Officials in Student Development use information gathered from these sessions to improve services and programs for students. For issues related to Student Organizations, students should contact the university's Customer Relations Representative listed below.

Various organizational structures are in place at UNT to support an open climate for students to express their concerns. The university offers a legal counselor from students and provides extensive training for advisors, counselors, and other staff to prepare them to respond effectively to the needs of the students. The goal is not only the implementation of a formal response system, but also the implementation of a proactive system to address student needs before a complaint arises.

The UNT customer service goal is as follows: to provide a safe and comfortable environment conducive to the education, social, and overall developmental growth of students.

The principles of the UNT customer service compact as are follows:

The University should:

• provide exemplary learning and service environments that include the acknowledgement of an individuals' worth and an appreciation of diversity of students;
• treat all students with dignity and respect;
• provide open lines of communication among university administrators, faculty, and students to allow for frank discussion of issues impending high quality learning;
• provide multiple channels of communication to express appreciation and concerns; and
• follow-up to address student concerns by assigning the appropriate administrative staff who shall also inform students about the resolution of the issues.

Wait time for students varies across university units, but the general standard is several minutes. New technology is used to decrease student wait time. For example, UNT offers students the opportunity to register on-line or by telephone, thus eliminating standing in line. There are a few peak times when delays occur on the system and students must wait, but the time is kept to a minimum. Because many students who attend UNT drive from Dallas or Fort Worth, the university has invested substantial funds to reduce the time students must spend on the road to reach campus, in particular by offering courses at other sites across the Metroplex. Some programs and activities are offered at locations outside of Denton. The best example of this is the new UNT System Center at Dallas located in southern Dallas. This new center offers opportunities to complete bachelor's and master's degrees in a location that is readily accessible by both public transportation and highways.

The primary method used to collect levels of satisfaction of the university's primary customer, the student, is through a student survey. The UNT Office of University Planning conducts this survey every three years. With new requirements in the Compact with Texans, this schedule will change to every two years.

Students are asked to rate a variety of services and activities at the University and encouraged to write suggestions for improvement. The results are aggregated and a report circulated to university officials. The most current survey was conducted in spring 2000 and the results are summarized below.

A survey was administered to both undergraduate and graduate students in spring 2000. The comprehensive survey contained 240 items. Students were also invited to write comments and suggestions in response to the question "How can UNT be a better place for you?"

The Sample. Professors in 60 course sections were invited to participate in this survey. These courses were chosen to reflect a stratified sample of the current student body. Many of the packets were returned without the original labeling, so it is not possible to calculate a response rate from the course sections. However, the number of surveys mailed out in packets totaled 3,240. The sample, that is the total number returned, was 1,488. A comparison of the sample to the actual spring 2000 enrollment provides evidence that the sample is representative of the enrollment in terms of student classification (when aggregated freshman/sophomore junior/senior and graduate as used in determining the sample), school/college of major, ethnicity, and age distribution. Male students are slightly underrepresented in the sample (40% sample, 45% university).

Following is a summary of the results of the 2000 student survey.

Customer Service Items Assessment. All percentages are the total of "satisfied" or "very satisfied" responses among those expressing an opinion.

• Facilities. Students were very satisfied with access to facilities (87%), the location of offices within them (90%) as well as facilities signage (80%). The amount of personal computers (79%) and lab hours (84%) for students' use was rated satisfactory by the majority of students. Students were satisfied with the amount of study space in the library (92%) as well as study spaces elsewhere (75%). Accommodations for students with disabilities received a very favorable 89% while university housing -- residence halls only received 69% in total satisfactory percentage.

• Staff. Staff treatment received a strong satisfactory mark from all students (88%). In addition, the library staff received 87% satisfactory percentage for "being knowledgeable" and 86% for "friendliness."

• Communications. Students were quite satisfied with "toll-free telephone access" (79%) and "electronic mail returns" (83%) as well being able to speak "to a live person" (72%). The "amount of time spent on hold" was also rated satisfactory (64%).

• Internet access. Most students rated satisfactory the "ease of use of internet" (89%), "information about [UNT] agencies" (85%), and the "listing of contact names" for them (81%).
• Complaint handling. Two-thirds of students who expressed an opinion were satisfied with the "complaint handling process" (66%) saying the process made it "easy to file a complaint" (67%) which was then "handled in a timely manner" (64%).
• Timeliness of service. UNT offer registration by phone and web both of which rated satisfactory by the majority (84%) of users. "Web payment by credit card" (88%) and "phone payment by credit card" (93%) both totaled a very high satisfaction percentage. Other services rating satisfactory with a high percentage of students were "timeliness of grade reports" (92%) and "processing of transcript requests" (86%). Rating not so well in satisfaction was the amount of time it takes to receive word on financial aid, "how long it takes to know about financial aid" (51%).
• Brochures. One of the highest rated areas overall, print information received very high percentages of satisfactory rating by students. "Readability of schedule of classes" (88%), "May mini-mester flier" (89%), "UNT academic calendar brochure" (91%) and "Brochures of other printed information" (91%) each had the overwhelming majority of students giving satisfactory marks. Also noted by students were library handouts which "are helpful" (88%). Students were extremely satisfied with the "accuracy of brochures" (91%).

Data analysis of other Items. For data analysis the students were aggregated into three classification groups: freshman/sophomore, junior/senior, and graduate. There were 168 students that did not indicate a classification. They are not included in this analysis. For some items one response option was "no opinion or not applicable." When the percentage of those expressing no opinion exceeded one-third of respondents, the percentages were recalculated and reported for only those expressing an opinion.

• What is your image of UNT? Items with a very high level of agreement (80% or higher) include: "university with a high quality faculty," has a "comfortable environment", "values diversity," and "is intellectually demanding." Next came "reputation for excellence in major field." A remarkably high percentage of graduate students agreed that UNT has "high quality graduate programs" (91%) and undergraduates agreed that UNT has "high quality undergraduate programs" (86%). Students did not agree with the following: "a university with a promising future in athletics" (24% of those expressing an opinion agreed) and "university of first choice" (43% agreed, 47% disagreed).
• Regular faculty. Undergraduates. At least 80% agreed that regular faculty "have a good attitude toward students," "value diversity," "provide high quality instruction," are "fair but demanding," and "communicate effectively". Graduate Students. At least 80% agreed that regular faculty "have a good attitude toward students," "provide high quality instruction," are "concerned that students learn" and "fair but demanding," "communicate effectively" and "value diversity."
• Faculty in my major encourage students to participate in research activities. Graduate students consistently agreed more than did undergraduates on these items. The highest percentage of agreement was for "encourages students to engage in research and creative endeavors" (83% graduates, 71% undergraduates). The lowest among those expressing an opinion was "encourage students to publish research (63% graduates, 42% undergraduates).
• Teaching fellows/assistants. Undergraduates only. Better than three-fourths agreed that teaching fellows/assistants "have a good attitude toward students" and "accept and value diversity." Teaching fellows/assistants averaged of 16 percentage points lower than regular faculty. The most significant of these were "high quality instruction" (23 percentage points less than regular faculty) and "good use of audio-visual aids" (22 less).
• Courses. Approximately 64%% of freshman/sophomore students agreed that courses were offered when they needed them but less than half (42%) of the junior/senior group said likewise. Most graduate students also agreed (60%)
• Schedule. General. Most (48%) students prefer to keep the current Monday/ Wednesday/Friday and Tuesday/Thursday schedule of day time classes, although one third (33%) would like a Monday/Wednesday & Tuesday/Thursday schedule. Three-fourths of freshman/sophomores would like to see classes begin "Morning, 9 am or later" as would two thirds of junior/senior students. Graduate students would like to see classes begin after 5:00 p.m. School year and schedule preferences. Three-fourths of the students prefer to keep the school year as it is. There was some interest in a winter mini-mester among Junior/senior students, 60% of whom indicated they would enroll.
• Registration. A strong majority of the students are "satisfied or very satisfied" with the various registration services. The highest rated services (over 80% satisfaction) are "readability of schedule of classes," "timeliness of grade reports," "telephone registration," and "services provided by registrar's office" among undergraduates and graduates alike. Graduate students were not well satisfied with "web registration" (54%).
• Financial aid. Of those offering an opinion, only "F.A.V.O.R.S" (78%) and "advice received about financial aid" (65%) garnered good satisfactory ratings. The remaining items were neither clearly overall satisfactory nor dissatisfactory.
• Satisfaction with university environment. Facilities. The only unsatisfactory rating was for parking where 80% were dissatisfied. The next lowest rated was "access to copiers" with only 59% of undergraduates satisfied. Residence/housing rated satisfactory among undergraduate students expressing an opinion (64%). Services. The highest rated items among all students were "staff treatment of students" (75%), "university union services" (71%). Undergraduates were more satisfied with "hours computer labs are open" (74%) than were graduate students (54%). Among items with high "no opinion or not applicable" response rates, those rating highest "payment by credit card," "on-line catalog," and "internet information on agencies" each of which were rated satisfactory by at least 85% of those expressing an opinion. Information. Among all students are satisfied with the "catalog" (92%) and "schedule of classes" (89%). The remaining items are rated among those expressing an opinion, all of which rated satisfactory (between 82% and 91%). Wellness and Counseling & Testing. Among students expressing an opinion, over 76% were satisfied with each item with the exception of "student health center services" which rated only 54% satisfactory. Student Service Organizations. Among those expressing an opinion, student service organizations rated satisfactory 64% to 83%. Overall. Finally, 84% of students are satisfied with UNT ("overall impression of UNT").
• Libraries. Facilities use. The majority of students (79%) use the Willis library. The next most used library is the Science & Technology library (31%). Seventy-three percent of students have taken a course having assignments that require using library resources. Nine percent of students do not use UNT library facilities. Information on Libraries. Students get their information about UNT libraries from other students, according to undergraduates (49%). Graduate students get their information about libraries from "personal contact with professors" (45%) and from "UNT libraries' home page" (46%). Accessing electronic resources. Most undergraduate students access the library resources by physically visiting the library facilities (60%). Freshman/sophomores are more likely to access them "from home or dorm" (49%). More than two-thirds of all students would prefer to access these resources "from home or dorm" (71%). Hours. Students are satisfied with the libraries' weekday (75%) and weekend (62%) hours of operation. Still, given the option, 63% of undergraduates would like to see 24-hour access to them. Staff. Students are satisfied with the library staff's knowledgeable assistance (66%) and friendliness (68%). Overall aspects. Students are satisfied with "personal safety," "lighting," "temperature," and "noise level" each of which rated 72% or higher. Among student expressing an opinion "TexShare library card program," interlibrary loan," "media resources," "microform collection," "reference by appointment" and "references services" each received 92% or higher satisfaction ratings.
• Students. Percentage of students receiving a scholarship from UNT is 14% while for those offered a scholarship from another institution is 22%. Most students have access to a computer at home (87%); 86% of graduate students have access to one at work while only 50% of undergraduates do. Most work off campus somewhere while attending UNT (63%) and 51% work more than 20 hours per week. Less than one-half of undergraduates (43%) stay in Denton on weekend mostly because they live outside of Denton (69%). Thirty-seven percent travel more than 25 miles per day to get to UNT. Students are more inclined to attend an event or exhibit on campus than a sporting event, 40% to 30%. More than half of all students attended summer school, summer 1999, 40% at UNT, 16% elsewhere.

• Comments Offered by the Student Respondents. There were recurring issues raised on the following topics: parking, costs, more evening classes, more advisors, and more student housing.

An additional contact is the university's new customer relations representative. UNT's Customer Relations Representative is Dr. Bonita Jacobs, Vice President for Student Development. She can be reached at 940 565-4909 or untcustomerrelations@unt.edu. Her office is Union 319. Written comments may be sent to Dr. Jacobs at P.O. Box 305358; Denton, TX 76203.

If a concern is voiced, Vice President Jacobs will determine what UNT office should get the complaint and ensure that a reply is sent. Replies will be sent by e-mail, letter, telephone, or in person. Jacobs will regularly submit reports to the Provost about complaints received in her office and how they were handled. Students will be notified about this process through the web, student Eaglemail, the student newspaper, and at the new student orientation sessions.