• 8,333 alumni who received bachelor's degrees from NC State between December 1993 and August 1996 were surveyed in the fall of 1998. Thirty-eight percent returned completed surveys. The results have a 1.2 percent margin of error.

• Twenty percent of employed respondents provided permission to contact their supervisors. Seventy-three percent of those supervisors (or 14.6 percent of all employed respondents' supervisors) returned completed surveys. The supervisors' responses have a 4.2 percent margin of error.

• Respondents rated preparing for a career as their most important goal (mean rating=4.71 on a 1-5 scale). They were most satisfied with NC State's contribution to their acquiring a broad education (mean=4.29), increasing my ability to think critically (4.19), and instilling the belief that learning is a lifelong process (4.13). Preparing for a career and understanding my own abilities and interests were ranked much higher in importance than in satisfaction.

• Advancing my appreciation of the arts, music and literature received the lowest ratings for importance (mean=3.44) and satisfaction (3.56).

• About 30 percent of alumni respondents had either completed graduate/professional school, were currently enrolled, or had been accepted. The most frequently sought advanced degrees were in engineering (18.8%), the humanities and social sciences (15.7%), and management (14.9%). Almost 85 percent of those with post-baccalaureate education said that NC State had provided "good" (45.4%) or "excellent" preparation (39.0%) for graduate/professional school. White respondents were more likely than African Americans to say they had "excellent preparation" for graduate/professional school (39.9% vs 24.4%)

• More than 90 percent of respondents were currently employed full- or part-time (87.6% and 5.6% respectively). Only 2.0 percent were unemployed and looking for work. More than half (54.8%) of employed respondents were working in a position "directly related" to their degree from NC State. About three-quarters of respondents said they had "excellent" (25.4%) or "good" preparation (46.5%) at NC State for their post-baccalaureate work. More than half (53.3%) of the responding supervisors rated their NC State alumni as "much better" or "somewhat better" prepared than other employees. Very few (1.1%) felt they had "somewhat poorer" preparation.

• While almost half (46.6%) of all respondents had a permanent full-time position by graduation, this was more likely for men (52.1%), whites (47.2%), and non-African American minority students (51.7%) than for women (39.4%) and African Americans (33.2%). Women and African Americans were more likely than men (8.2% vs 3.6%) and white respondents (9.3% vs 5.5%) to be working part-time. African Americans were slightly more likely than white respondents to be working in a position unrelated to their degree (21.2% vs 16.0%). Women and African Americans were more likely than men (18.1% vs 8.3%) and white respondents (18.6% vs 12.1%) to report full-time incomes under $25,000.

• College of Engineering alumni were more likely than others to have participated in a co-op education program (32.0%). Over sixty percent (60.6%) of College of Forest Resources graduates had had an internship while at NC State. Alumni from the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and the College of Physical and Math Sciences were more likely than others to have had undergraduate research experience (35.7% and 31.6% respectively). More than three-fourths (76.3%) of all respondents who participated in one of these programs while at NC State said that experience was helpful in obtaining their current position.

• Women were more likely than men to have participated in an internship program (31.0% vs 21.1%). African American respondents were more likely than whites to have participated in an internship program (35.3% vs 25.0%).

• Communication skills overall was most likely to be rated as "very important" for respondents' jobs or post-baccalaureate education (74.7%). However, only 16.8 percent rated NC State's contribution to their preparation in this area as "excellent." Another 49.1 percent rated NC State's contribution to their preparation as "good." Supervisors also rated NC State employees' performance in this area low relative to these skills' importance. Other skills which alumni rated relatively high in importance but not in preparation include leadership and management skills, adjusting to new work demands, ability to grow on the job, listening skills, and professionalism. Skills which supervisors rated relatively high in importance but not in preparation include solving problems, conceptual ability overall, and bringing information and ideas together from different areas.

• Alumni rated working under pressure relatively high in both importance and preparation, and supervisors rated attitude towards work relatively high in both areas. Both groups rated foreign language skills and technical computer skills relatively low in importance and in preparation.

• About half of respondents said they valued career planning and placement assistance (54.0%), alumni seminars and short courses (50.9%), and hearing about NC State events (50.9%). Only 20.3 percent said they valued reunions.

Posted: September, 2000

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