Weekend College Survey Report, Schoolcraft College

Abstract

Currently, Michigan's Schoolcraft College (SC) offers classes on weekends but no formal program that allows students to complete a degree on weekends. To determine the community's general interest and need for a Weekend College Program and for expanded services in general, SC conducted a survey of 399 residents of the college's service district, randomly selected from a State of Michigan identification database. Study results included the following: (1) 81% of respondents knew that Schoolcraft offered associate degree programs; (2) of the 25% of respondents who were interested in furthering their education, 27% had completed a bachelor degree and 17% had a high school diploma; (3) 67% of the respondents were employed full-time, 59% were female, and the average age was 39 years old; (4) 32% (n=129) of the respondents indicated that they would be very interested or interested in a Weekend College program, while the top 4 program choices were computers, business management, undecided, and liberal arts; (5) for those interested in the program, the most desirable times for taking classes were Saturday mornings (78%) and Saturday afternoons (58%), the least desirable was Friday evenings (24%), and 46% indicated that they would also attend on a weekday evening; (6) 38% of the respondents indicated an interest in attending college to complete a bachelor's degree and 25% would be interested in a bachelor's degree program at Schoolcraft; and (7) the most popular choice of alternative delivery was telecourses, preferred by 36% of respondents interested in either the Weekend College or bachelor's program. The survey instrument is appended. (KP)