Students And Faculty Perceptions Of Communications Channels: A Comparison Of Survey Results

Abstract

Individual communication between faculty and students outside of the classroom is one of the cornerstones of education. This survey examines the students and faculty perceptions of three communications media for several communication tasks that occur between students and faculty. A random sample of 449 students (undergraduate and graduate, full-time and part-time) which represents 10% of the population at a small Texas state university were invited to participate in a survey that elicited their perceptions on the effectiveness of face-to-face (office hours), e-mail and telephone communication. Similarly a random sample of 49 professors, which represents 32 % of the faculty population, was used to test several hypotheses. In this survey, the relevant results supported by some nonparametric statistical analyses are that at each media channel the "bootstrapped" confidence intervals estimates for the percentages in communications-time preferences of students and faculty were very similar, or without a significant difference. In addition, students and faculty expressed simultaneously (criteria of convergence) the same preference-level about e-mail for convenience and efficiency. Office hours were preferred for confidentiality, confrontation and emotional support. Equal preference about e-mail and office hours was expressed by both groups of study for the criteria: accuracy and overall effectiveness.