North Carolina State University
Fall 1998 Survey of Baccalaureate Alumni:
All Respondents

Respondents rated the importance of various undergraduate educational goals and their satisfaction with NC State’s role in helping them to accomplish these goals. They rated goal importance on a scale from "not important" (1) to "very important" (5), and their satisfaction with how well NC State helped them meet the goal on a scale from "very dissatisfied" (1) to "very satisfied" (5). The following section first explores how important respondents thought each goal was, and then their satisfaction with NC State's role in goal achievement. It concludes with a discussion of differences between importance and satisfaction mean ratings.

Importance of and Satisfaction with Educational Goals (Table 3-1)

Importance:

Each of the educational goals evaluated received a mean rating greater than 3.00, indicating that alumni considered all of the goals at least "moderately important". Mean ratings ranged from a high of 4.7 for preparing for a career, to a low of 3.4 for advancing my appreciation of arts, music, and literature.

More than 75 percent (76.2%) of respondents considered preparing for a career as "very important". Viewing learning as a lifelong process, understanding my own abilities and interests, and ability to think critically were also highly valued by respondents, each with a mean ratings of 4.5.

The lowest mean ratings were given to advancing my appreciation of the arts, music, and literature (3.4), understanding the present as it relates to historical events and processes (3.6), and being involved in public and community affairs (3.6). Almost 10 percent of respondents (9.5%) regarded advancing appreciation of the arts, music, and literature as "not important".

Satisfaction:

Most respondents were satisfied with NC State's role in helping them achieve these educational goals. Mean ratings ranged from a high of 4.3 to a low of 3.5. Alumni expressed greatest satisfaction with NC State’s contribution to acquiring a broad education (4.3), promoting their ability to think critically (4.2), and viewing learning as a lifelong process (4.1). The lowest mean ratings went to NC State's role in promoting student involvement in public and community affairs (3.5), and appreciation of the arts, music, and literature (3.6). Preparing for a career, which was rated highest in importance, received only moderate ratings (mean=3.9). Still, almost three-fourths (73.2%) of the respondents were at least "satisfied" with NC State’s efforts to prepare them for a career.

The mean ratings for importance and satisfaction vary considerably across goals, and these differences reveal potentially important aspects of the respondents' experience at NC State. Chart 3-1 displays these differences graphically. Most of the points fall below the diagonal line, indicating that mean ratings for importance were generally higher than for satisfaction with NC State's contribution. However, the fact that the pattern of goals has an upward slope similar to the diagonal line shows that in general, the respondents tended to be more satisfied with NC State's contribution toward goals that were important to them.

The upper right quadrant of the chart contains goals that are rated relatively high in both importance and satisfaction. Goals falling in this quadrant are those that respondents feel are important and which they believe NC State has met: being able to critically analyze events, information, and ideas (2); acquiring a broad general education (1); viewing learning as a life long process (14); and having tolerance for different points of view (5). That only a few goals fell into this quadrant suggests that respondents did not think that NC State's greatest contributions were to the goals they considered most important.

This can be seen even more strongly for the goals in the lower right quadrant, which were rated high in importance but comparatively lower in satisfaction. Most prominent is number 17, preparing for a career. Other goals in this quadrant include understanding my own abilities and interests (16), recognizing and acting upon ethical principles (7), having an ability to understand current literature in my field (3), and to a lesser extent, valuing gender equity (12), and valuing racial equity (11). In general, these goals represent areas where respondents do not think their preparation matched the goals' importance.

Goals in the lower left quadrant were rated low in both importance and development. These are goals which respondents considered neither very important nor well prepared for. Most notable are advancing an appreciation of the arts, music, and literature (15), understanding the present as it relates to historical events/processes (10), and being involved in public and community affairs (8). It seems likely that alumni are not as concerned about feeling less prepared in these areas because they seem less important. It is unfortunate that many of the goals in this quadrant are those associated with traditional liberal education and NC State's general education curriculum.

No goals occupy the upper left quadrant, suggesting that respondents' satisfaction with goal achievement rarely exceeded the goal's importance.

Summary of Goal Mean Ratings Comparison:

The overall similarity between importance and satisfaction rankings is impressive. In general, goals ranking high in importance also ranked high in achievement satisfaction and, conversely, goals ranked relatively low in importance also relatively ranked low in satisfaction. However, the large number of goals falling below the diagonal reveals that importance mean ratings tended to exceed those of satisfaction. This was especially true for understanding my own abilities and interests (16) and preparing for a career (17).

General Education Goals (Table 3-2)

Respondents were asked to assess the general preparation that their undergraduate education provided. Overall, they responded positively. A majority of respondents agreed that NC State had prepared them to be competitive with graduates from other institutions (57.3%) and that they keep in touch with current events by reading newspapers and magazines (59.0%). They were least likely to agree that social science courses at NC State provided knowledge and insight useful to their professional activities (26.2%). Like the lower left quadrant of Chart 3.1, this suggests some dissatisfaction with preparation in general education areas.

Leisure Reading (Table 3-3)

Well over half (61.8%) of the responding alumni read literature, other than newspapers and magazines, at least once a week. In fact, the largest percentage (35.4%) read for leisure "over three times a week". However, 21.2 percent of the respondents report reading for leisure less than once a month.

This section explores respondents' educational experiences after graduating from NC State, and their assessment of how well NC State prepared them for graduate/professional school.

Current Enrollment Status (Table 3-4)

Slightly more than one-third of respondents have attended graduate/professional school. About 12 percent had completed their studies, and slightly more than that (16.2%) were enrolled at the time they were surveyed. Another 6.4 percent had either been accepted (2.4%) or applied to graduate/professional school (4.0%). More than two-thirds (67.8%) of those currently attending graduate or professional school were enrolled full-time.

Graduate/Professional Schools Attended (Tables 3-5a and 3-5b)

More than 900 respondents reported continuing their education after receiving a bachelor's degree from NC State. Table 3-5a and 3-5b summarize the graduate, professional, and other institutions they attended.

Top 10 Institutions Attended:

Table 3-5a indicates that respondents were most likely to pursue their further education within North Carolina. Five North Carolina institutions account for 50 percent of respondents' post-baccalaureate study: NC State, UNC-Chapel Hill, East Carolina University, Wake Forest University, Campbell University, and UNC-Charlotte. The only institution on the "Top 10" list that is not in North Carolina is the University of South Carolina at Columbia. A substantial number of alumni elected to continue their study at NC State. More than four times as many respondents continued their education here than at the second-most attended institution, UNC-Chapel Hill.

Less than 20 percent (18.3%) of the respondents continuing study beyond their bachelor’s degree attended North Carolina institutions outside the Triangle. Almost 22 percent (21.6%) of the respondents in this subset pursued study at East Carolina University. Wake Forest University and Campbell University followed in attendance frequency, with 14.4 percent and 12.0 percent of the respondents in this category, respectively.

The remaining institutions attended were outside North Carolina (36.6%). As mentioned previously, NC State baccalaureate alumni pursued study at a variety of different locations throughout the US and the world. Some of these institutions included the British Court of Master Sommeleirs, Budapest University, La Universidad de Los Andes Bogota, Columbia, and the Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Science Sociales Paris, France. Respondents also attended highly selective institutions across the nation, including the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Harvard, Stanford, and Yale.

Post-Baccalaureate Degrees (Table 3-6)

Preparation for Graduate/Professional School (Table 3-7)

According to those alumni either currently enrolled in or already finished with graduate/professional school, NC State prepared them well for their continued education. Almost 85 percent (84.4%) of these respondents indicated that NC State provided "good" (45.4%) or "excellent" preparation (39.0%) for graduate/professional school. A mere 1.2 percent evaluated the preparation they received as "poor".

Interest in Graduate/Professional School (Table 3-8)

About two-thirds (62.7%) of the respondents who had never applied to graduate/professional school indicated at least a moderate interest in continuing their education. Nearly one-third (29.9%) reported a "high interest" in continuing their education.

This section explores respondents' employment experiences after graduation from NC State, and their assessment of how well NC State prepared them for employment.

Current Employment Status (Tables 3-9)

More than 90 percent of respondents reported that they were currently employed either full- (87.6%) or part-time (5.6%). Only 2.0 percent of respondents were unemployed and looking for work, while 4.7 percent were unemployed but not looking.

Relation of Employment to Degree (Table 3-10)

A large majority (83.8%) of employed alumni reported working in positions either "directly" (54.8%) or "somewhat" related (29.0%) to their degree from NC State. More than three-fourths (78.2%) of those who reported that their current position was not related to their degree indicated that this situation was their own choice.

Time to Secure First Job (Table 3-11)

A large majority (82.5%) of respondents indicated that it had taken them six months or less to secure their first full-time permanent job after graduating from NC State. Close to half (46.6%) had a permanent full-time position by graduation. About 10 percent took over a year to find such a position (7.6%) or had not yet found one (2.5%).

Preparation for Employment (Table 3-12)

One-fourth (25.4%) of employed respondents reported receiving "excellent preparation" at NC State for their post-baccalaureate jobs, and another 47.5 percent said they had received "good preparation". Just 3 percent reported being poorly prepared by NC State for their first job.

Salary (Table 3-13)

More than 20 percent (21.3%) of the respondents employed full-time reported salaries at or above $50,000 per year. Only 4.1 percent of full-time employed respondents reported an annual salary under $20,000.

NC State Work Experience (Tables 3-14)

About two-thirds of respondents indicated that they had participated in one or more academic-related work experience during their undergraduate studies at NC State. Respondents were most likely to say they had had "summer employment or a part-time job in major" (37.5%). One-fourth (25.6%) had participated in an internship program. Alumni were less likely to have worked in "research" (16.7%) or participated in a "cooperative educational program" (14.2%). More than three-quarters (76.3%) of the respondents who reported at least one of these academic-related work experiences said that it proved helpful in securing their current position.

This next section explores the importance of 37 skills and traits to respondents' current professional position (including graduate studies) and their satisfaction with the preparation NC State programs provided for each. The skills are grouped into seven different categories, each of which included a measure of overall importance and of overall satisfaction. The seven skill categories are communication skills; technical knowledge; overall knowledge of computer applications; work attitudes and skills; personal traits; professional development; and using knowledge to solve problems. The rating scale for how important the skills or traits are to their current professional position ranged from "not important" (1) to "very important" (5). Ratings for how well NC State prepared them for the skills or traits ranged from "poor" (1) to "excellent" (5). "Not applicable" responses were excluded from the analysis.

Overall Importance and Satisfaction (Table 3-15)

Three-fourths or more of respondents rated each of the overall traits as "important" or "very important" in their current professional position. All but two of the seven overall traits have average ratings of 4.5 or higher. Overall communication skills was given the highest average rating of importance (4.7). Three-fourths (74.7%) of respondents reported that these skills are "very important" in their professions. Respondents gave the lowest mean ratings to the importance of overall technical knowledge (4.1) and overall knowledge of computer applications (4.1).

Respondents' ratings of how well NC State prepared them for the overall skills were lower than those given the importance of the skills. Preparation for six of the seven overall traits was rated, on average, between 3.7 and 4.0, as alumni were more likely to rate their preparation as "good" rather than "excellent." The lowest average rating was given to overall knowledge of computer applications (3.4).

Communications Skills (Table 3-16)

Among the specific items comprising communication skills, respondents indicated that listening skills had proven the most important in their professional lives (mean ratings=4.6). The importance of foreign language skills had the lowest average rating of all 37 skills asked about (2.0). Only 14.4 percent of respondents considered foreign language skills as at least "important’, while 44.4 percent regarded them as "not important" to their current profession.

Average preparation ratings for 5 of the 6 communication skills asked about ranged from 3.5 to 3.8. Respondents tended to agree that NC State provided them with at least "good" preparation for all the communication skills except foreign language. A Almost one-third (32.5%) of respondents rated their foreign language preparation as "fair" or "poor".

Problem-Solving Skills (Table 3-17)

A majority of respondents rated each of the using knowledge to solve problems items as "important" or "very important" to their current profession. Of these items, solving problems (4.6) and using knowledge to solve problems overall (4.6) received the highest mean ratings. Rated least important among the various problem-solving skills were planning projects (4.2) and thinking creatively (4.2).

Using knowledge to solve problems overall was the "overall" category that received the highest preparation rating (4.0, see Table 3.15). Ratings for the extent of preparation of specific skills within this category ranged from 4.0 to 3.7.

Work Attitudes and Skills (Table 3-18)

Alumni ratings for the importance of the 9 work attitudes and skills items ranged from 4.0 to 4.6. Lowest average ratings were given to the importance of the ability to work with ethnically and culturally diverse persons (4.1) and skills gained through research, internship, or teaching experience (4.0).

Overall, respondents gave high ratings to how well NC State prepared them to work independently (4.1) and to work under pressure (4.0). Well over one-third of respondents rated the preparation they received for these skills as "excellent" (38.0% and 37.2%, respectively). NC alumni were least likely to report receiving "excellent" preparation for adjusting to new job demands (19.8%), which had the lowest average rating of skills in this category (3.7).

Professional Development (Table 3-19)

Four of the five professional development items were given average importance ratings of 4.6 (willingness to accept new responsibilities) or 4.5. Leadership and management skills received the lowest importance rating in this category (4.3).

Unlike other categories, respondents' preparation ratings for the various professional development items varied rather widely. The ability to learn independently received the highest preparation rating (4.1), with lower ratings going to the need to accept new responsibilities (3.8), professional development overall (3.8) and the ability to grow on the job (3.7). Preparation for leadership and management skills was rated lowest (3.3) in this category, and had the third lowest rating of all 37 items.

Professional Traits (Table 3-20)

All five items in the professional traits category were given average importance ratings of 4.6 or 4.5 by respondents. Respondents' ratings of the extent to which NC State prepared them for these skills were also consistent, with all five traits having average preparation ratings of 3.7 or 3.8.

Technical Knowledge/Computer Skills (Table 3-21)

As a group, the items included in technical knowledge/computer skills were least likely to be rated as "very important" by respondents. Within this category basic computer skills received the highest rating (4.2), followed by overall technical knowledge (4.1) and overall knowledge of computer applications (4.1). Respondents rated the importance of technical computer skills second to lowest of all 37 skills asked about (2.9).

Average ratings for the preparation for specific technical knowledge/computer skills items ranged widely, from 3.9 for ability to apply mathematical skills, to 3.0 for technical computer skills. And while a majority of respondents regarded the preparation they received for the individual technical knowledge traits as "good" or better (with the exception of technical computer skills), such skills generally were given the lowest preparation ratings of all 37 skills considered. More than one-third of respondents rated the preparation they received for technical computer skills as "fair" (18.7%) or "poor" (17.6%), and more than 20 percent rated their preparation for overall computer skills and for basic computer skills as "fair" or "poor".

Summary of Importance and Preparation Ratings

On average, respondents gave ratings of 4.0 or higher to the importance of all but four of the 37 skills asked. Though the communication skills overall item was rated highest in importance (4.7), specific items related to personal development, like confidence in one’s ability to perform well, willingness to accept new responsibilities, conducting work activities in an ethical manner, being dependable and punctual, professionalism, and working under pressure tended to have slightly higher importance ratings than skills from other categories. Respondents gave lowest average ratings to the importance of several technical skills -- ability to apply mathematical skills (3.6), ability to apply scientific principles (3.4), and technical computer skills (2.9). Foreign language skills was given the lowest importance rating of all 37 items (2.0).

Respondents were consistently less positive about the preparation NC State provided for each of the skills than about how important the skill was to their current professional profession. Only five skills received average ratings of 4.0 or higher on preparation (ability to work independently, ability to learn independently, ability to work under pressure, using knowledge to solve problems overall, and solving problems), while seven averages were 3.5 or lower. Respondents gave lowest average ratings to their preparation in foreign language skills (3.0) and in technical computer skills (3.0).

Comparing Skill/Knowledge Item Importance and Performance Mean Ratings (Chart 3-2)

Chart 3-2 graphically displays the relationship between mean ratings of importance and preparation. Most of the items in Chart 3-2 are heavily clustered in the upper-right quadrant. Items in this quadrant have fairly high mean ratings for both importance and preparation, indicating that respondents generally feel that NC State contributed well to their preparation in areas that are important to their jobs or graduate education. However, most of the items fall below the diagonal line, indicating that their mean ratings for preparation were slightly lower than their mean ratings for importance.

Chart 3-2 also highlights four outlying items. The ability to apply scientific principles (34), and the ability to apply math skills (35) are seen as somewhat less important than most items but their preparation mean ratings are close to those for most skill/knowledge areas. Technical computer skills (36) and foreign language skills (37) are the only items in the lower left quadrant. Respondents consider these areas less important than the others, and may not be concerned that they feel less prepared for them.

Table 3-22. Alumni Services