A new Department of Religious Studies at the University of Zilina is in place. Two study programs – ´Mission work with children and youth´ and ´Religion studies’ – have more than 170 students and are doing well. We asked our students some questions. The questionnaire identifies how the student found out about the programs and what were their expectations and motivation for studying.
1. Where did students learn about this new program?
Most of the students learned about their study program from the internet. The second most common source of discovery was from their friend or former students of the programs. This confirms the fact that the best advertising is a satisfied person. The third source is a book titled “Where on the College”.
2. What was the main motivation of our students to choose the study programs ´Mission work with children and youth´ or ´Religion studies’?
From seven possibilities, our students chose their interest in working with children and young people. A slightly fewer number of students said they were motivated by the desire to get a degree. Third place in popularity was a desire to study in a program about Christianity.
3. Were students discouraged from studying because of finances?
The price for accommodation discouraged our students the most (students pay 70 euro per month; this price is standard height for accommodation in Slovak college dormitory, note). The second opinion was that students are satisfied with price for accommodation but were discouraged by the price of travelling. Of least concern was the price of food.
4. In which field do our students plan to work after school?
This open-ended question of the questionnaire brought a few answers. Most of them were similar. Our students’ desire and plan work with children in future. They like a job with people and a mission, too. Very often they gave answers about two sectors – education and economy. Some kind of surprise was the answer “I don’t know where I want to work.” This answer came from half of all respondents.
The review shows that our students are mostly satisfied with their study program. They considered their economy situation about moderate (medium, between strong and easy). The review’s ambition was to know about the situations of our students, and to help them as well as is possible.
