LEVEL OF SATISFACTION OF CSU PIAT STUDENTS TO THE STUDENT

PUBLICATION

Shella D. Dela Cruz

Cagayan State University, Piat, Cagayan
cp #: 09954881218

This study used the Disconfirmation Model by Churchill and Suprenant (1982) to assess
the level of satisfaction of the students from the different colleges of Cagayan State University Piat
campus to the pages of The Greenthumb, the campus student publication. It gathered data on how
satisfied are the respondents on the Editorial/Opinion page, News page, Feature/ Literary page,
Developmental Communication page and the Sports page. It further discovered the role the student
paper plays in the campus as perceived by the respondents and their preferred topics to be written
in the paper. Moreover, the study tried to look into the “pass – on” rate of the school paper or the
possibility that the respondents will likely to pass or share the school paper to a friend after reading
it. It also elicited information on the preferred school paper type which the students wanted to
receive. The descriptive-correlational design was used in the study to describe the profile of the
respondents as to college affiliation and gender. It has also been used to describe the level of
satisfaction of the students to the school paper, their preferred topics to be written in the school
paper, the pass – on rate of the school paper, respondents’ perception on the roles of the school
paper and the preferred school paper type to be published.. Moreover, the design involved the
comparative analysis of the level of satisfaction of the respondents to the school paper when
grouped according to the profile variables. The study showed that the students were “moderately
satisfied” with the different pages of the school paper, however the different colleges marked
significant difference in their level of satisfaction. It was found out that the respondents looked
into the school paper as an “information bulletin” as its primary role in the campus and in the
community. Furthermore, most of the respondents suggested “personal issues(Love and
Friendship)” to be written in the school paper. Moreover, the magazine type was preferred by the
respondents over the newsletter, tabloid and folio. Since the respondents are just “moderately
satisfied” with the school paper, the researcher concluded that efforts of the staff are not enough
yet to really represent the ideas of the readers in the campus. It is then recommended that results
of this study shall be used to improve the next issues of the school paper in the campus.

Keywords: satisfaction, school paper, pass – on rate, information bulletin

 Introduction:
The school paper is the voice of the students. RA 7079 provides that all schools in the
Philippines, public or private must publish a school paper to represent students’ ideas and to serve
as students’ vehicle for press freedom.
School papers should then be manned by student writers chosen through a qualifying exam,
interview, journalistic experiences and academic standing. Members of the editorial board are
expected to write issues concerning students’ welfare with utmost freedom and responsibility.
Cagayan State University Piat Campus has been maintaining a school paper for many years
now. Two issues of the paper are released every year. The Greenthumb, the official student
publication of the campus is usually in newsletter form for the first semester and in magazine form
for the second semester.
The Greenthumb is being recognized as a student publication as its pages have been
winning awards in the regional press conference. Its writers are consistently winners in both
national and regional levels press conferences.
However, despite the credibility of the student paper and its writers, the researcher notices
that the students do not give much value on the The Greenthumb. This can be seen on the way the
students read, hold and keep their copies. More often than not, copies of the The Greenthumb are
scattered after they are being read by the students. Some copies are used as students’ shelter against
the sun and the rain. They are also being used as fans. Sometimes they are also used as scratch
papers.
This fact pains the researcher, who is also the school paper adviser. Knowing that the
school paper is a product of time, effort and skills of the editorial board, she believes it should be
given the respect it deserves. Besides, it is also a product of student’s money.
The researcher then urged herself to investigate on the root cause of this problem and find
ways on how to solve it. She believes that the students will only value the school paper if they are
satisfied with its content and packaging. She assumes that the students will value the school paper
if they could relate with it and see the importance of the articles in their daily lives.
The researcher then would like to find out how satisfied the students in CSU Piat are in the
school paper issued to them. Also, she would like to investigate on the pass – on rate of the school
paper and to discover what can be done to produce a better school paper.
Statement of the Problem
1. What is the profile of the respondents according to:
a. College affiliation
b. Sex
2. What is the level of satisfaction of the students in the different pages of the Greenthumb
issue specifically on:
a. Editorial page/Opinion Page
b. News page
c. Feature and literary page
 d. Development Communication page
e. Sports page
3. Is there a significant difference in the level of satisfaction of students in the different pages
of the Greenthumb when grouped according to the profile variables?
4. What role does the school paper play as perceived by the students?
5. Is there a significant difference in the perceived role of the school paper when grouped
according to college affiliation?
6. What kind of topics do the students suggest to be written in the paper?
7. What is the “pass-on” rate of the school paper after being read by the students?
8. What type of packaging is preferred by the respondents?
Hypothesis
1. There is no significant difference on the level of satisfaction of students in the different
pages of The Greenthumb when grouped according profile variables.
2. There is no significant difference in the perceived role of the school paper when
grouped according to college affiliation.
 CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK
This study is based on the concept that products and services given by an organization must
be evaluated especially if the clients pay for these services. Cagayan State University Piat, Cagayan
commits to give only the best service to its students. Thus, an evaluation of its services is a must.
One of the services given to students in this campus is the School Paper Publication. Every
semester, the editorial board of the paper releases a copy for all students. This study ventured on
the assessing the performance of the school publication as a service given to students.
The Disconfirmation Model by Churchill and Suprenant (1982) was used as basis for the
evaluation process. This model is based on the comparison of customer’s expectation and their
perceived performance rating. Specifically, an individual’s expectations are confirmed when a
product performs as expected. It is negatively confirmed when a product performs more poorly
than expected.
There are four constructs to describe the traditional disconfirmation paradigm mentioned
as expectations, performance, disconfirmation and satisfaction. Satisfaction is considered as an
outcome of purchase and use, resulting from the users’ comparison of expected rewards and
incurred costs of the purchase in relation to anticipated consequences. In operation, satisfaction is
somehow similar to attitude as it can be evaluated as the sum of satisfaction with some features of
the product.
The school paper is expected to become the avenue of the students for self - expression of
scientific, artistic, literary, factual and opinionated ideas. They pay P60 per semester for a school
publication fee.
This study assesses the satisfaction of the students towards the school publication by letting
the positively confirm or negatively confirm the performance of the school publication vis – a vis
their expectation on its role in the campus.
According to Parasuraman et. Al (1988), the usual measures of the customer satisfaction
involve a survey using a Likert Sacale. The customer is asked to evaluate each statement in terms
of their perceptions and expectations of the performance of the organization, service or product
being measured.
This study used the three point Likert Scale in evaluating the level of satisfaction of the
respondents to the school paper.
The paradigm that follows shows the flow of the study.
 Input Process

I. Profile of the respondents Assessment of the following

according to a. Level of Satisfaction of
a. College affiliation respondents towards
b. Sex the School paper
II. Level of satisfaction of b. Perceived role of the
respondents in the pages School paper on student
a. Editorial/opinion development Improved school paper for
b. News c. Pass-on rate of the CSU Piat
c. Feature and Literacy School paper
d. Developmental
communication
e. Sports page
III. Perceived role of the School
paper in Student
development
IV. “Pass-on” rate of School
paper

Output

Significance of the Study

 This study will be important to the following:
1. The Student Publication Staff – This study will give the staff a valuable information
about how satisfied the readers to the school publication and what are their
preferred topics to be written in the paper. This information becomes the basis of
the staff in writing to ensure that the students will read and value the school paper
issues.
2. CSU Piat – This study will greatly improve the kinds of topics to be written in the
school paper, thus also improving its readership. The school then will also live up
to its thrust of giving only the best to the students.
3. Students of CSU Piat – The students are the ultimate clientele who shall benefit
from this study. As publisher of the school paper, the students deserve a quality
school paper that will represent their aspirations and ideas. With this study, the
students are assured that they could relate with the school paper and will understand
the articles since they were the ones who have decided for the topics to be written.

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

A. Campus Journalism in the Country

Journalism is considered the “Fourt Estate” in the Philippines. It checks and balances the
three branches of the Government namely, Executive, Legislative and Judicial branches. It
serves as vanguard of truth. It plays a great role in maintaining freedom and democracy in the
country.
In the Philippines, the thrust of developing budding campus writers among students in both
public and private schools is clearly stipulated in the Republic Act 7079, An Act Providing for
the Development and Promotion of Campus Journalism and for other Purposes. This Campus
Journalism Act of 1991 (CEAP Bulletin, 1991) was enacted into law on July 5, 1991. It aims
“to uphold the freedom of the press even at the campus level, to promote the development and
growth of campus journalism as a means of strengthening ethical values, encouraging critical
and creative thinking, and developing moral character and personal discipline of the Filipino
youth.” (RA 7079)
Today, most colleges and high schools in the country have their own campus
publications. Campus papers vary in sizes and frequency depending on the size of the student
population and activities in their campuses. (Malinao, 2005)
A campus publication can be described as a student-publication, run by students for the
 students. Many universities have multiple campus publications that are published by different
colleges or organizations. For example in UP Diliman, aside from the Kule, there are the UP
Newsletter and UP Forum published by the UP administration and numerous college-based
student-publications like the Engineering Logscript, Tinig ng Plaridel (Mass Communications)
and the Education Quarterly.
In Cagayan State University (CSU), the eight campuses have a campus paper of their own.
CSU Piat publishes a campus paper, The Greenthumb, once in a semester.
The goal of a campus publication is to help provide relevant information and analysis to
help make informed decisions, raise the level of discourse, and shape their public opinion.
(Arao, 2010)
B. Campus Paper Readership
According to Arao (2010) Campus publications connect national issues that are significant
to the lives of students. It is then very important that student writers be able to arouse the interest
of the students in the campus to read the campus paper so that the latter will be adequately informed
of issues besetting the country and can actively share their ideas and opinions.
The rise of online newspapers contributed to the decline of newspaper readership in the
country as there was now a faster and more accessible source of news for the new
technologically dependent generation. The access to the online realm is improving much with the
development of the wi-fi and local area networking in universities in Metro Manila.
A Nielsen report in 2009 said that the internet played a big role in drawing markets away
from print publication. The print media cannot grab new markets among the youth.
Internally, the decline of newspaper readership is also attributed to a failure of
publications to engage the readers’ taste. In a study conducted last 2007, results show that more
than 68% of teenagers do not know where to buy a newspaper. (Jaena, 2007)
Foreign studies also support this decline of newspaper readership among the youth. A
research done by Joan Shorenstein Center on the Press Politics and Public Policy (2007) showed
only 16% of people aged 18-30 read news daily. Half of the total respondents of the study said
they rarely read the news.
Using a more intellectual sample of young people, the same trend of the decrease in the
number of college students using newspapers is apparent.
This research paper is an effort of the researcher to improve the readership of the campus
paper. Like the above mentioned researches, the researcher who is also the campus paper adviser
in CSU Piat notices the decreasing interest of the students in reading the school paper. This can be
seen from the attitude of the students who leaves the school paper scattered anywhere after
receiving them. Through this paper, the researchers hopes to uncover the preferences of the
students in terms of articles to be written in the school paper so that ultimately, the readership of
the paper will increase.
In a research that studied the media consumption of students from the three top
universities in Metro Manila, almost two out of three students prefer reading news online than in
print. Only a little less than 10 percent of the students who were surveyed read news from print
everyday as compared to 49 percent for online news. Almost all read news online while only 78
percent reads newspapers. Almost two thirds of the respondents also taught that online news sites
have better style and design than newspapers. (Ramos, 2009)
With regard to content, college students in the city are more interested in soft news rather
than on hard news. Soft news are stories about people, sports, entertainment and odd news while
hard news are stories about crime and politics.
 Soft news offer a uniqueness that make them memorable for a reader while hard news are
numbing due to the resulting perceived sameness of the articles. Students often want something
that is light and fun to read. Short articles find students wanting more and thus they research
more about them. (Batac, 2009)

C. Qualities of a Campus Paper

For a newspaper to be successful, it must have three qualities: (1) It must contain the
information people want and need. (2) It must attract the audience. (3) It must be interesting.
Visual communication or design can help make a newspaper attract the desired audience and
help it be attractive. Visual communication can also make the paper interesting. (Graham, 2002).
In its many years of existence in the campus, The Greenthumb, is being produced from
the outputs of its editorial members. However, since there is no skilled lay – out artist and there is
no printing press in the campus, the lay – out and the mass production of copies rely much on a
private printing press. Visual impact of the paper is usually a concerted effort of the lay – out artist
of the press and the editor – in-chief of the paper.
According to Graham (2002), the nature of the newspaper poses a challenge for visual
communicators in the aspect of devising methods of presenting information in the most effective
way possible. Some of the elements that graphic communicators use to achieve this are type, art,
borders, photographs, drawings and typographic devices.
The quality of a paper, its surface characteristics and its color have an impact on how a
publication is perceived. A well designed publication balances pages containing lots of visual
activity with text-heavy pages. Visual points of entries stand out as opposed to pages that have
large areas of text and little visual activity. Even though points of entries are important, it is also
ideal to keep a visual balance in mind, so much so these points are balanced with pages that
contain little activity. (Evans, 2006)
As a practice in the region, the campus paper must have the following pages: News,
Editorial and Opinion, Feature, Literary, Developmental Communication and Sports. Each page is
taken care of by an editor who is assumed to be an expert of the qualities of an article that belongs
in every page.
D. Researches on Campus Paper Preferences
AARON SIMON ENDAYA CAPARAZ (2012) conducted a research entitled A STUDY ON THE
PREFERENCES OF STUDENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF THE PHILIPPINES-
DILIMAN IN THE PHILIPPINE COLLEGIAN, and found out the following:
A. Among the choices for preferred types of stories in the Collegian, news still got the
highest number of votes (52 out of the 65 respondents voted for this). Opinion, feature and
entertainment stories followed with 42, 38 and 35 respondents voting for them respectively. The
other types of stories failed to get at least 50 percent of the votes from the respondents. Other
types of stories that were mentioned by the respondents but were not included on the list were
those pertaining to games and fashion.
B. The UP Collegian has been known to cover national news. However, 16 respondents
answered that they don’t want to see national news in college newspapers. Forty nine of the 65
respondents, though, still wanted to see news about national issues in college newspapers.
C. With regard to the stand of the Collegian on issues involving the national government
and university officials, 15 respondents would like the student-publication to have a
more neutral approach. This is huge compared to 12 respondents who prefer the
Collegian to have a more anti or critical approach to people in power. Only two
 respondents wanted the publication to exhibit a stand in support of people with
authority.

These areas of research conducted by Caparas are similar to what the researcher of this
paper wanted to come up. As the school paper adviser, the researcher wanted to look into
the level of satisfaction of the readers into the different pages of the campus paper.
Moreover, it aims to discover the kinds of topics the students wanted to be written in the
school paper making them an active part in the decision – making in the school paper in
which they are the publisher, by virtue of their school paper fee they pay upon enrolment.

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
This chapter presents the methodology used in the conduct of the study. It included the
research design, locale of the study, respondents of the study, data gathering tools, data gathering
procedures and analysis of data.

Research Design

The descriptive – correlational method was used in this study. As defined by Lardizabal,
descriptive research method is a method that presents the status of an organization, a place, an
individual or anything. Moreover a study is correlational when it aims to determine how two sets
of variables are related to one another. This design was used to describe profile of the respondents
as to college affiliation, year level and gender. It has also been used to describe the level of
satisfaction of the students to the school paper, their preferred topics to be written in the school
paper, the pass – on rate of the school paper and respondents perception on the Roles of the school
paper. Moreover, the design involves the comparative analysis of the level of satisfaction of the
respondents to the school paper when grouped according to the profile variables.
Locale of the Study
This study was conducted at Cagayan State University Piat campus using the first semester
issue of the school paper for the SY 2015 – 2016.

Respondents of the Study

 The respondents of the study were the students of Cagayan State University Piat campus.
They were selected through the Slovin’s formula. After the desired sample size was determined,
stratified random sampling was used to proportionately allocate the number of respondents per
college. Moreover, respondents in every year level across colleges were proportionately allocated.
Drawlots was utilized to determine the respondents in every section. Below is the number of
respondents per college in the campus.

College Number of Students

College of Information Technology 56
College of Agriculture 168
College of Education 312
College of Criminal Justice Education 192
Total 728

Data Gathering Tools

The primary tool used in this study was the questionnaire. It was composed of three parts.
The first part elicited the profile of the respondents. The second part elicited information onhow
satisfied the respondents on the different sections of the school paper such as the editorial/Opinion
Page, News Page, Feature/Literary Page, DevCom Page and Sports Page. The third part elicited
the perception of the respondents on the role played by the school paper in the campus. Moreover,
the fourth part determined the “pass – on” rate of the school paper. Pass- on rate of the school
paper speaks of the percentage the students will likely to share the paper to others outside the
school or to their friends after reading it. The fifth part of the questionnaire gathered data on what
topics can student suggest to be written in the school paper.

Data Analysis
The following are the statistical tools used to analyze the data.
Frequency and Percentage count were used to determine the profile of the respondents
The weighted mean was utilized to analyze the data on the level of satisfaction of the
students to the school paper, their perception on the roles played by the student paper in the
campus, the pass – on rate of the school paper, and the preferred topics suggested by the students.
The following scale was used to determine the Level of Satisfaction of Students to the school
paper.
Scale Descriptive Interpretation
 2.34 -3.00 Satisfied
1.67-2.33 moderately satisfied
1.0- 1.66 Unsatisfied

The ANOVA was used to determine the differences in the level of Satisfaction of students
to the school paper and the Perceived Roles of the School Paper when grouped According to Profile
Variables.
All hypotheses were tested at .05 level level of Significance.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Table 2. Profile of the Respondents
Table 2 shows the profile of respondents in the study as to college affiliation and gender.
As seen in the table there are 728 respondents coming from the different colleges in the campus.
College of Information Technology has 56 respondents (7.6%), College of Agriculture has 168
respondents (23.07), College of Teacher education has 312 respondents (42.85) and College of
Criminal Justice Administrations has 192 (26.37%). The table further shows that there was an
equal number of male and female respondents in the study.

Profile Frequency Percentage

College
College of Information Technology 56 7.6
College of Agriculture 168 23.07
College of Teacher Education 312 42.85
College of Criminal Justice Education 192 26.37

Total 728

Sex
Male 364 50%
Female 364 50%

Total 100%
Table 3. Level of Satisfaction of the Respondents the Editorial/ Opinion Page
Table 3 reflects the level of satisfaction of the respondents to the editorial /opinion page of
the student publication. As reflected in the table, the respondents are satisfied with all the items
under the editorial/opinion page. However, they marked number two with the highest weighted
mean of 2.18 which means that most of them are satisfied with the editorial /opinion page with its
effort to present both sides of the issue being discussed in the editorial/ opinion articles. On the
contrary, the respondents marked item number four with the lowest weighted mean of 2.02 which
means that they may not be able to relate so much with the topics discussed in the articles especially
with the national issues. The overall mean of 2.11 means that the respondents are satisfied with
the editorial/ opinion page of the school paper.
Item Weighted Mean Descriptive Interpretation

1. The Editorial represents the

stand of the Editorial Board
and the Opinion articles 2.15 Moderately Satisfied
represent the mind and the
feelings of the whole
studentry.
2. The Editorial and Opinion
articles present both sides of
the issue being discussed
giving the readers the
freedom to weigh in their 2.18 Moderately Satisfied
own decisions.
3. The editorial and opinion
articles are interesting and 2.14 Moderately Satisfied
arguments are presented
clearly so readers can react
easily in return.
4. The editorial and opinion
articles range from local to 2.02 Moderately Satisfied
national issues which
students can relate from.
5. The editorial and opinion
articles influence the readers 2.05 Moderately Satisfied
to act on the issue thereby
changing or improving their
ways and their surroundings.

Overall Mean 2.11 Moderately Satisfied

Table 4. Level of Satisfaction of the Respondents to the News Page
Table 4 shows the level of satisfaction of the respondents to the news page of the school
paper. It can be seen in the table that the respondents are satisfied with all the items under the news
page. However the respondents marked item number five with the highest weighted mean of 2.20
when the news are student – centered which embody the students interest. The researcher
discovered that most of the news written in the school paper are school – based and community
based. This means that the respondents are satisfied with news articles that they are familiar with
and news stories which directly affect them. On the other hand, the respondents marked item
number two with the lowest weighted mean of 2.08. Although this data also means the students
are satisfied with the news articles, they still feel that these articles must be improved in terms of
exhibiting balance reporting and presenting all the information needed by the readers. This implies
that the students are keen observers of the events taking place in the campus and in the community
because they know whether the news articles in the school paper presented the complete data
needed. The overall mean of 2.14shows that the respondents are satisfied with the news page.
Item Weighted Mean Descriptive Interpretation
1. The newsare timely and up – 2.14 Moderately Satisfied
to – date
2. The news exhibits balance
reporting and presents all 2.08 Moderately Satisfied
information needed by the
readers
3. The news captures important 2.12 Moderately Satisfied
events in the school and in
the community.
4. The news is presented in an
inverted triangle style so 2.15
readers can get important Moderately Satisfied
facts even without finishing
the story.
5. The news are student – 2.20
centered which embody the Moderately Satisfied
interest of the student
readers.
Overall Mean 2.14 Moderately Satisfied

Table 5. Level of Satisfaction of the Respondents to the Feature/Literary Page

Table 5 presents the level of satisfaction of the respondents to the Feature/ Literary page
of the school paper. Similar to the editorial/opinion page and news page, the respondents also
marked all the items under the feature/literary page a satisfactory rating. It can be noted from the
table that the respondents rated item number one with the highest weighted mean of 2.21 where
the respondents see at the feature/literary articles as entertaining, relaxing and enlightening. This
implies that the respondents appreciate the feature/literary writers’ effort to adhere to the first
quality of the feature/literary articles which is to entertain readers and to attack serious issues in
light mode. Item number 2 which elicited the respondents’ satisfaction to articles that features
factual and inspiring stories of students and other people in the campus and in the community was
rated the lowest weighted mean of 2.07 among all items. The researcher tried to look into these
kinds of personality articles in the school paper and found out that there were few articles featuring
students and other people with inspiring stories. This is probably the reason why the respondents
rated this item the lowest satisfactory rating. Nevertheless, the overall mean of 2.14 shows that the
respondents are satisfied with the feature/literary page of the school paper.

Item Weighted Mean Descriptive Interpretation

1. The feature/and literary Moderately Satisfied

articles are entertaining, 2.21
relaxing and enlightening.
2. The feature and literary
articles showcase factual 2.07 Moderately Satisfied
and inspiring stories of
students and other people in
the campus and in the
community.
3. The feature and literary
articles use appropriate 2.13 Moderately Satisfied
literary techniques to make
the poem or story colourful.
4. The literary and feature
articles appeal to the 2.12
emotions and imagination of Moderately Satisfied
the readers.
5. The feature and literary
articles are centered on local 2.16
and national social issues Moderately Satisfied
which students could relate
from.

Overall Mean 2.14 Satisfied

Table 6. Level of Satisfaction of the Respondents to the Developmental Page

 Table 6 reflects the respondents’ satisfaction to the developmental page of the school paper.
It further shows that again, the respondents are satisfied with all the items under this page. Item
number 1 however, was rated with the highest weighted mean of 2.29 where they look at the
developmental articles as an avenue to feature school programs and activities that are helpful in
the community. This means that the respondents understand that the programs and activities
conducted in the campus are helpful in the development of the community. However, both items
number 3 and item number 4 got the lowest weighted mean of 2.06.Item number three seeks the
satisfaction of the students on developmental articles whose topics are the programs conducted in
school. Apparently, as the rating implies, the respondents see these programs as more of
personality-focused rather than program- focused. This means that these articles feature the
designers of the program more than the program objective itself. On the other hand item number
four elicits the satisfaction of the respondents on the efforts of the DevCom page to foster
awareness among students on how the campus extends its programs to the community. With the
low satisfaction rate, it is deduced from the data that the Dev Com articles lack information about
how the campus disseminate its developmental programs. The overall mean of 2.14 reflects that
the respondents are satisfied with the developmental page.
Item Weighted Mean Descriptive
Interpretation

1. The Dev Com articles

feature school programs 2.29 Moderately Satisfied
and activities that are
helpful to the community.
2. The Dev Com articles
serve the information 2.12 Moderately Satisfied
bulletinof the community
to the school programs and
activities.
3. The DevCom articles are Moderately Satisfied
program-centered rather 2.06
than personality –
centered.
4. The DevCom page fosters Moderately Satisfied
awareness among students 2.06
on how the school extends
its programs to the
members of the
community.
5. The DevCom page ModeratelySatisfied
develops enthusiasm 2.15
among students to become
active part of the school
programs and activities
that are helpful to their
fellows and to the
community.
 Overall Mean 2.14 Moderately Satisfied

Table 7. Level of Satisfaction of the Respondents to the Sports Page

Table 7 reflects the level of satisfaction of the respondents with the sports page of the
school paper. The table further shows that the respondents are satisfied with all the items under
the sports page. However, item number two has the highest weighted mean of 2.19 and item
number 5 is rated the lowest with 2.11. This means that most of the respondents look at the sports
articles to exhibit balance reporting while they notice that the page does nt offer much a variety of
articles. This observation from the respondents has been found to be valid when the researcher
went over the sports articles in the school paper. She noticed that most of the articles in the page
are all sports news which follow the standards or quality of a sports news. However it is very rare
that there are other articles like sports feature or sports opinion in the page. The overall mean of
2.15 shows that the respondents are satisfied with the sports page.
Item Weighted Mean Descriptive
Interpretation
 1. The sports articles are 2.17 Moderately Satisfied
timely and up – to – date
2. The sports articles exhibit 2.19 Moderately Satisfied
balance reporting and
present all information
needed by the readers Moderately Satisfied
3. The sports articles use 2.14
appropriate sports lingo
which makes them
interesting and vivid.
4. The sports articles exudes 2.12 Moderately Satisfied
action which makes them
lively.
5. The sports page presents 2.11
variety of articles from Moderately Satisfied
news to feature to opinion
and discusses local and
national sports issues.

Overall Mean 2.15 ModeratelySatisfied

Table 8. Summary of the Respondents’ Satisfaction to the Different Sections of the School
Paper
The table below shows the respondents satisfaction to the different pages of the school
paper. As seen in the table, the respondents are satisfied with all the pages of the school paper with
a weighted mean ranging from 2.11 – 2.15. This means that the school paper issues articles that
pass journalism standards but these articles still need improvements until respondents will become
“very satisfied” with them.
Section Weighted Mean Descriptive Interpretation
Editorial 2.11 Moderately Satisfied
News 2.14 Moderately Satisfied
Feature/ Literary 2.14 Moderately Satisfied
Developmental Communication 2.14 Moderately Satisfied
Sports 2.15 Moderately Satisfied
Overall Mean 2.14 Moderately Satisfied

Table 9. Comparative Analysis of Respondents’ Level of Satisfaction to the Different Sections

of the School Paper when grouped According to Profile Variables.
 Table 9 shows the comparative analysis of the respondents’ level of satisfaction to the
school paper according to their sex and college affiliation. It can be inferred from the table that the
respondents’ sex does not determine their level of satisfaction towards the school paper. This
means that whether the respondents are males or females, there is no significant difference in their
level of satisfaction towards the school paper.
On the contrary, it can be seen on the table that college affiliation greatly affects the level of
satisfaction of the respondents towards the school paper. This means that the respondents vary in
their level of satisfaction towards depending on what college they belong. It can further be seen
on the table that the College of Information Technology has the highest level of satisfaction (2.48)
among all the colleges in the campus, followed by the College of Criminal Justice Education
(2.43), then the College of Teacher Education (2.29) and lastly, the College of Agriculture ( 1.33).
Grouping Specific Mean Standard Computed Tabular Decision
Variables Profile Deviation Value Value
Sex Male 2.158 .070 t-value= 1.646 Accept H0
Female 2.117 .029 1.197
College 3.24 Reject H0

CIT 2.48 .097 F-value=

CA 1.33 .069 395.89
CTE 2.29 .016
CCJE 2.43 .016

Table 10. Perception of Students on the Roles of Student Paper in the Campus
Table 10 shows the how the respondents perceived the role of the student paper in the campus. It
can be seen on the table that the respondents looked at the school paper as an information bulletin
since they ranked item number one as the first, among the roles of student paper mentioned in this
research. This means that the articles in the school paper is a source of facts and events that maybe
important for the respondents. The researcher tried to validate this answer by examining samples
of school paper issued in the campus. She found out that most of the time, the staff issues a
newsletter which publishes more news compared to other journalistic genre. Even the magazine
issues also consistently maintain more pages for news stories. Consequently, the respondents read
more news stories which are actually sources of information.
It can also be noted on the table that the respondents ranked item no.7 which speaks of the
ability of the school paper to influence the readers to act on certain issues as the last, among the
functions of the school paper. This means that the respondents were rarely affected with the topics
discussed in the school paper and that there were no changes in their ways and attitude after reading
the school paper. This result is saddening considering that the ultimate goal of a school paper
should be to improve the lives of the readers by inspiring them in the articles being written in the
school paper. Apparently, the result of this study shows that this aim of the school paper is rarely
if not ever seen in the school paper.
Item BSIT CA CTE CCJA Weighted Rank
mean
 1. It is an information bulletin for 2.542 1.55 2.314 2.643 2.262 1
students, faculty members,
administrative staff and the
community.
2. It serves as the vehicle of truth 2.385 1.232 2.281 2.511 2.117 5
and opinion of the students
3.It is an avenue for self- 2.607 1.214 2.308 2.542 2.16 3
expression.
4. It promotes awareness on local 2.5 1.274 2.35 2.5 2.156 4
and national issues
5.It caters to students creativity 2.308 1.155 2.292 2.365 2.03 8
and literary skills.
6. It entertains the students during 2.340 1.232 2.714 2.607 2.22 2
their leisure hours
7. It influences the readers to 2.167 1.214 2.464 2.231 2.019 10
move or to act on a certain issue
8.It changes the way the students 2.25 1.256 2.583 2.246 2.083 7
think and act
9. It bridges the gap between the 2.308 1.274 2.385 2.167 2.033 9
students and the administration
10. It represents the students 2.5 1.273 2.344 2.292 2.102 6
qualities, aspirations and
uniqueness.

Table 11. Comparative Analysis of Respondents’ Assessment on the Roles of the School
Paper When Grouped according to College Affiliation
Table 11 shows the comparative Analysis of Respondents’ Assessment on the Roles of the
School Paper When Grouped according to College Affiliation. It can be seen on the table that there
is no significant difference in the perception of the respondents from the different colleges when
it comes to the role of the school paper in the campus. This means that the respondents, whatever
college they belong, have consistent observation towards the role of student paper in the campus.
Grouping Specific Mean Standard Computed Tabular Decision
Variables Profile Deviation Value Value

College CIT 2.49 0.345 F-value= 2.87 There is no

CA 1.27 0.427 2.6823 a
CTE 2.40 0.143 significant
CCJE 2.42 0.176 difference

Accept Ho

Table 12. Respondents’ Preferred Topics To Be Written in the School Paper

Table 10 shows the sequence of topics which the respondents prefer to be written on the
school paper. As shown on the table, the respondents ranked “personal issues(love and friendship)”
as the most preferred topic to be written on the paper followed by “education issues (curriculum,
school- based)”, “defense and security issues”, “success stories”, “Science articles”, “political
issues”, “alumni stories”, “insurgence and calamity issues”, “health issues”, “environmental
issues” and lastly, “others(crime – related) issues.
It can be inferred on the table that the respondents interest on personal issues maybe due
to their age. The respondents belong to the teen – age years (16-19 years old) which is known to
be the age of getting involved with others for love or friendship. It is of course sad to note that
education only ranked second to love and friendship, which means the respondents prioritize
personal issues over issues that may affect their studies.
Topics BSIT BSA CTE CCJE Weighted Rank
mean
1 Political issues (2) 3.5 15 (8.9) (18) 5.7 (8) 4.1 5.55 6

2.Environmental (6) 10.7 (25) 14.8 (25) 14.8 (22) 11.4 4 10

Issues
3. (4) 7.1 20 (11.9) (20) 11.9 (15) 7.8 5.4 8
Insurgence/Calamity
Issues
4. Health Issues (1)1.7 12 (7.1) (12) 7.1 (3) 1.5 4.35 9
5. Defense and (1)1.7 8 (4.7) (8) 4.7 (64) 33.3 11.1 3
Security Issues
6. Education (6)10.7 18 (10.7) 108 (34.6) (13) 6.7 15.67 2
Issues(Curriculum,
School – Based
Issues
7. Personal Issues (18) 32.1 20 (11.9) (92) 29.4 (28) 14.5 21.97 1
(Love and
Friendship)

8. Success Stories (6) 10.7 25 (14.8) (23) 7.3 22 (11.4) 11.05 4

9 Alumni Stories (5) 8.9 12 (7.1) (10) 3.2 (5) 2.6 5.45 7
10. Science Articles (7) 12.5 13 (7.7) (1) .3 (6)3.12 5.9 5

11. Others (6) 3.12 3.12 11

Crime -
related

Table 13. Respondents’ “Pass- On” Rate Level of the School Paper
The table that follows shows the “ pass – on” rate of the school paper or the possibility
that the respondents share their copy of the school paper after reading it. It can be seen on the table
that the respondents “always” (60.9%) share their copy to others after reading it. Thirty – two point
eight percent (32.8%) of the respondents say they “sometimes” share the school paper to others
after reading it and only 6.1 % of the respondents say they “never” share the school paper to others
after reading it. This data show that the respondents appreciate the articles written on the school
paper and they like others to also read these articles that is why they share it. This further implies
that the school paper publishes articles from which the respondents can understand and can relate
from.

Pass – On Rate BSIT BSA CTE CCJE Total Percentage

Always 32 98 209 105 444 60.9

Sometimes 20 58 96 65 239 32.8
Never 4 12 7 22 45 6.1
100%

Table 14. Respondents Preferred School Paper Type

Table 14 shows the respondents’ preferred packaging of the school paper. As shown on the
table, 89.43% of the respondents like magazine better than a newsletter with 10.57 %. This is
probably because the magazine is hardly covered while a newsletter is self- covered. According to
the respondents, the magazine is more decent to see and to display while a newsletter is easier to
crumple and to tear. Nobody from the respondents chose a tabloid or a folio. This is probably
because the school paper had never issued a tabloid or folio yet due to budget constraints, therefore
the respondents have no idea about these two types yet.
School Paper BSIT BSA CTE CCJE TOTAL Percentage
Type
Magazine 44 152 272 183 651 89.43
Newsletter 12 16 40 9 77 10.57
Tabloid 0 0 0 0 0
Folio 0 0 0 0 0
Total 100

Conclusions
In the light of the foregoing results, the researcher has drawn the following conclusions:
1. The respondents are satisfied with the specific pages of the school paper and with the
school paper as a whole. This means that the school paper is really serving its purpose
in the campus.
2. The different colleges in the campus have varying levels of satisfaction towards the
school paper. This implies that the respondents have different reception and different
ways of relating to the articles of the paper.
3. The respondents think that the school paper aims primarily to inform the readers about
events in the campus and in the community. This implies that the school paper mostly
publishes articles that are factual and informative.
4. Most of the respondents share their copies of the school paper to others after reading
them. This further validates their satisfaction towards the school paper because they
will not pass their copies to others if they have not read something good from it.
5. The respondents prefer magazine over the newsletter.

Recommendations
Based on the conclusions of this study the following are recommended:, thus
 1. The Editorial staff should publish articles in the school paper which are on – the
level of the student readers and which the students can relate from to achieve
maximum satisfaction towards the school paper. This may also heighten the school
papers’ pass –on rate to spread the good articles to others.
2. The Editorial staff should vary the kinds of articles they write in the school paper
in such a way that topics must cater the interest of all kinds of students in the
campus.
3. The Editorial staff must conduct more trainings for the writers in order to hone them
write different types of articles. In this way, the school paper can publish not only
informative but also entertaining, inspiring, argumentative influential articles, thus
playing all its roles as the students’ voice in the campus.
4. The school paper should publish a magazine because this is what the students, the
publisher of the school paper, prefer to have.
5. The Editorial staff should regularly conduct this kind of research to improve the
paper and to ultimately serve its publisher - the students.

REFERENCES
1. Arao, Danilo: Campus Journalism and the shaping of Public opinion 2010
<http://risingsun.dannyarao.com/2010/08/18/campus-journalism-and-the-shaping-of-
public
opinion>
2. Alixander Haban Escote, A Brief History of Campus Journalism in the Philippines
2008
<http://socyberty.com/history/a-brief-history-of-campus-journalism-in-the
philippines/#ixzz1U4eyTB33>
3. Cruz, Isagani R. A Deconstructive Meditation in the Writer and Society. Philippine
Studies. Vol. 36, 2nd Quarter, 1988, pp. 191-194