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Annual Visits to Post-secondary Institutions
External Client Satisfaction Baselines and Targets for Improvement/Maintenance
Each year, usually in the fall, NSERC staff visit researchers and students at Canadian post-secondary institutions. The objectives of the visits, and the results of the surveys conducted during these visits, are described below. Table 1 and Table 2 outline the satisfaction and importance levels reported by participants. As you will notice, the overall satisfaction and importance levels are high—therefore our goal will be to maintain this high level of satisfaction in future years.
A) Visits to Researchers in Canadian Post-secondary Institutions (Table 1)
The objectives of the Information Sessions for Researchers are:
- to communicate information to the community about NSERC policies, regulations and review processes. The information conveyed during these sessions will deal with substantive issues related to policy directions, competition data and budget allocations; and
- to maintain dialogue with the community, receive feedback on applicants' and grantees' experiences with NSERC programs and procedures, and discuss issues.
The survey was developed to measure respondents’ levels of satisfaction (A) as well as the importance (B) they placed on subjects presented at the General Information Session and at the Workshop on the Preparation of Grant Applications. This survey was conducted for four years, from 2001 to 2004. In 2005, because of the high level of satisfaction expressed by the participants in earlier surveys, NSERC decided to conduct the survey every two years. A target of maintaining a satisfaction level of over 80 percent was established.
Notes
- The Introduction to the General Information Session presented during the visits includes news and budget information from NSERC—it is obvious from the lower satisfaction and importance levels shown in Table 1 that the participants attend these sessions to learn more about the preparation of grant applications.
- The Overall Satisfaction and Importance percentages reported in Table 1 do not represent the overall average of the preceding percentages. Participants were asked to rank this separately in the survey.
- The following table outlines data on the sampling for each year.
| Year | No. of institutions visited | No. of participants | No. of respondents | Bound on the error of estimation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | 32 | 575 | 87 | +/- 10% – 19 times out of 20 |
| 2002 | 52 | 1,274 | 196 | +/- 6.5% – 19 times out of 20 |
| 2003 | 58 | 1,500 | 209 | +/- 6.4% – 19 times out of 20 |
| 2004 | 63 | 1,422 | 271 | +/- 5.5% – 19 times out of 20 |
| 2006 | 65 | 1,597 | 351 | +/- 4.7% – 19 times out of 20 |
| 2008 | 64 | 1,185 | 200 | +/- 6.4% – 19 times out of 20 |
2001 observations: The overall satisfaction rating for this activity reached 83 percent in 2001, while the overall importance rating reached 96 percent. These results set a very high benchmark.
2002 observations: The overall satisfaction rating for this activity reached 87 percent in 2002, while the overall importance rating reached 88 percent. This shows a slight decrease in the importance rating from the previous year, but it is still over the 80 percent satisfaction level.
2003 observations: The overall satisfaction rating for this activity reached 86 percent in 2003, while the overall importance rating reached 88 percent. This is very similar to last year and our goal will be to maintain this level.
2004 observations: The overall satisfaction rating for this activity reached 87 percent in 2004, while the overall importance rating reached 89 percent. This is very similar to last year with very high satisfaction and importance levels.
2006 observations: The overall satisfaction rating for this activity reached 86 percent in 2006, while the overall importance rating reached 89 percent. This is very similar to last year and our goal will be to maintain this level.
2008 observations: The overall satisfaction rating for this activity reached 84 percent in 2008, while the overall importance rating reached 85 percent. This shows a slight decrease but, again this year, the satisfaction and importance levels are very high.
B) Visits to Students in Canadian Post-secondary Institutions (Table 2)
NSERC’s annual Scholarships and Fellowships University Visits are designed to inform students about NSERC’s undergraduate, graduate and postdoctoral programs.
A survey to participants was developed in 2003. The survey was developed to measure respondents’ levels of satisfaction (A) as well as the importance (B) they placed on topics presented at the annual visits.
Notes
- The importance levels reported are low in some instances—possibly due to the fact that, depending on the status of the participants (undergraduate, graduate or postdoctoral levels), the importance of the topics being presented varies. In the future, NSERC staff will analyze the responses received at the level of the category of participants, i.e., undergraduate, graduate and postdoctoral, in order to show more relevant results.
- The following table outlines data on the sampling for each year.
| Year | No. of institutions visited | No. of participants | No. of respondents | Bound on the error of esitmation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | 28 | 2,704 | 473 | +/- 4.1% – 19 times out of 20 |
| 2004 | 32 | 2,499 | 374 | +/- 4.7% – 19 times out of 20 |
| 2005 | 40 | 2,650 | 485 | +/- 4.1% – 19 times out of 20 |
| 2007 | 39 | 3,055 | 380 | +/- 4.8% – 19 times out of 20 |
2003 observations: The overall satisfaction rating for this activity reached 81 percent in 2003, while the overall importance rating reached 85 percent. The satisfaction and importance levels attained this year are quite high and set a high benchmark.
2004 observations: The overall satisfaction rating for this activity reached 80 percent in 2004, while the overall importance rating reached 85 percent. This is very similar to last year’s satisfaction and importance levels, and still high.
2005 observations: The overall satisfaction rating for this activity reached 80 percent in 2005, while the overall importance rating reached 84 percent. This is very similar to last year’s satisfaction and importance levels, and still high.
2007 observations: The overall satisfaction rating for this activity reached 80 percent in 2007, while the overall importance rating reached 84 percent. This is very similar to last year’s satisfaction and importance levels are still high.
Visits to Canadian Post-secondary Institutions for Research Grants Programs
| Table 1 Client Satisfaction (A) and Importance (B) Levels | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Years 2001 and 2002 Survey Results1 | ||||
| Service Dimension | Satisfaction and Importance Per Year (%) | |||
| Visits to Post-secondary Institutions – Research Grants | 2001 n = 87 |
2002 n = 196 |
||
| A | B | A | B | |
| 1. Introduction to Information Sessions (What’s New at NSERC – relevance and usefulness of the information) | 73% | 71% | 74% | 75% |
Quality of the presentation
|
83% | 82% | 84% | 83% |
| 2. Workshop – How to Prepare an NSERC Application | 82% | 91% | 85% | 88% |
Quality of the presentation
|
87% | 94% | 87% | 86% |
3. Visits to departments and individual visits
|
86% | 97% | 87% | 89% |
| Overall Satisfaction and Importance | 83% | 96% | 87% | 88% |
| Years 2003 and 2004 Survey Results1 and Year 2006 Targets for Improvement |
||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Service Dimension | Satisfaction and Importance Per Year (%) | Target (%)2 | ||||
| Visits to Post-secondary Institutions – Research Grants | 2003 n = 209 |
2004 n = 271 |
2006 | |||
| A | B | A | B | A | B | |
| 1. Introduction to Information Sessions (What’s New at NSERC – relevance and usefulness of the information) | 76% | 78% | 69% | 57% | 75% | 75% |
Quality of the presentation
|
83% | 83% | 86% | 85% | >80% | >80% |
| 2. Workshop – How to Prepare an NSERC Application | 81% | 84% | 86% | 88% | >80% | >80% |
Quality of the presentation
|
83% | 84% | 88% | 88% | >80% | >80% |
3. Visits to departments and individual visits
|
83% | 87% | n/a3 | n/a3 | n/a | n/a |
| Overall Satisfaction and Importance | 86% | 88% | 87% | 89% | >80% | >80% |
| Years 2006 and 2008 Survey Results1 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Service Dimension | Satisfaction and Importance Per Year (%) | |||
| Visits to Post-secondary Institutions - Research Grants |
2006 n = 351 |
2008 n = 200 |
||
| A | B | A | B | |
| 1. Introduction to Information Sessions (What’s New at NSERC – relevance and usefulness of the information) | 84% | 86% | 84% | 85% |
Quality of the presentation
|
84% | 85% | 83% | 84% |
| 2. Workshop – How to Prepare an NSERC Application | 87% | 89% | 85% | 89% |
Quality of the presentation
|
85% | 89% | 90% | 91% |
3. Visits to departments and individual visits
|
71% | 89% | 72% | 85% |
| Overall Satisfaction and Importance | 86% | 89% | 84% | 85% |
1The percentages contained in this table represent the weighted mean for the satisfaction and importance levels reported by the participants.
2Our goal is to maintain the satisfaction level for visits to post-secondary institutions above 80 percent.
3In 2004, NSERC changed the format of the information sessions and cancelled the visits to departments and the individual visits.
Visits to Canadian Post-secondary Institutions for Scholarships and Fellowships Programs
| Table 2 Client Satisfaction (A) and Importance (B) Levels | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Years 2003, 2004 and 2005 Survey Results1 and Year 2006 Targets for Improvement |
||||||||
| Service Dimension | Satisfaction and Importance Per Year (%) |
Target (%)2 |
||||||
| Visits to Post-secondary Institutions – Research Grants | 2003 n = 473 |
2004 n = 374 |
2005 n = 485 |
20063 | ||||
| A | B | A | B | A | B | A | B | |
| 1. Introduction on NSERC and NSERC News | 79% | 71% | n/a2 | n/a2 | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| 2. General Program Information | 77% | 68% | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| 3. Undergraduate Level | 77% | 51% | 72% | 44% | 71% | 46% | 79% | n/a |
| 4. Graduate Level | 77% | 69% | 76% | 68% | 76% | 66% | >80% | n/a |
| 5. Postdoctoral Level | 74% | 53% | 70% | 48% | 73% | 47% | >80% | n/a |
| 6. Program Literature | 79% | 86% | 82% | 87% | 81% | 87% | >80% | n/a |
| 7. Quality of Presentation | 81% | 81% | 82% | 82% | 81% | 81% | >80% | n/a |
| Overall Satisfaction and Importance | 81% | 85% | 80% | 85% | 81% | 84% | >80% | n/a |
| Year 2007 Survey Results | ||
|---|---|---|
| Service Dimension | Satisfaction and Importance Per Year (%) | |
| Visits to Post-secondary Institutions – Scholarships and Fellowships Programs |
2007 n = 380 |
|
| A | B | |
| 1. Undergraduate Level | 74% | 43% |
| 2. Graduate Level | 76% | 75% |
| 3. Postdoctoral Level | 73% | 62% |
| 4. Program Literature | 81% | 86% |
| 5. Quality of Presentation | 79% | 80% |
| Overall Satisfaction and Importance | 80% | 84% |
1The percentages contained in this table represent the weighted mean for the satisfaction and importance levels reported by the participants.
2The format of the visits changed in 2004, and this section was removed.
3It was decided not to establish a target level for 2006 with respect to the importance of some of the topics presented. NSERC staff will work at dividing the responses received per appropriate category of participants, i.e., undergraduate, graduate and postdoctoral, in order to show more valid percentages.