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North Carolina State University
2005 First-Year Student Survey:
Gender and Racial/Ethnic Comparisons of
Goals for Undergraduate Education

This document reports gender and racial/ethnic differences in the respondents' mean rating of their current development of and importance given to general education, personal development, and world view goals. Frequency distributions of responses by gender and race/ethnicity are available in "2005 First Year Student Survey: Frequency Distributions of Survey Item #18 (Goals)." For information about the survey and analysis methods, see " 2005 First-Year Student Survey: Introduction, Methods, and Student Demographic Profile." Exact question wording is available on the web or by clicking on the "Q" next to the table heading.


Current Level of Development | Level of Goal Importance | Scatterplots: Comparison of Goals Ratings


Q Current Development
General Education Goals Mean Rating
Scale: 5="very high," 4="high," 3="average," 2="low," 1="very low"
All Women Men AfAm. White Other
Broad general education 3.61 3.69 3.56 3.83 3.58 3.65
Communicate in writing 3.26 3.36 3.18 3.54 3.23 3.24
Communicate ideas orally 3.41 3.43 3.39 3.64 3.39 3.36
Good listening skills 3.69 3.80 3.60 3.93 3.66 3.72
Good reading comp. skills 3.46 3.53 3.39 3.69 3.42 3.47
Apply mathematics skills 3.63 3.47 3.77 3.74 3.62 3.65
Understand scientific influence 3.53 3.34 3.68 3.68 3.50 3.62
Apply scientific principles 3.29 3.13 3.42 3.37 3.27 3.37
Develop computer skills 3.56 3.49 3.61 3.86 3.52 3.57
Critically analyze info. 3.55 3.58 3.53 3.74 3.53 3.52
Plan/carry out project indep. 3.66 3.82 3.53 3.81 3.64 3.63
Understand diverse cultures 3.55 3.71 3.42 4.07 3.43 3.97
View Frequency Distributions

Personal Development Goals Mean Rating
Scale: 5="very high," 4="high," 3="average," 2="low," 1="very low"
All Women Men AfAm. White Other
Taking responsibility for behavior 4.14 4.30 4.00 4.48 4.10 4.07
Learning as lifelong 3.97 4.13 3.85 4.23 3.94 3.98
Acting upon ethical principles 3.88 4.02 3.77 4.13 3.85 3.88
Improving leadership/management skills 3.60 3.68 3.53 3.89 3.57 3.49
Function as part of a team 3.86 3.96 3.77 4.08 3.84 3.78
Involved with public/community affairs 3.32 3.52 3.15 3.63 3.28 3.33
Understanding own abilities and interests 3.78 3.84 3.72 4.07 3.75 3.74
Commitment to health and fitness 3.60 3.61 3.60 3.84 3.59 3.48
Having self-confidence 3.62 3.61 3.63 4.08 3.57 3.54
Realizing my potential for success 3.69 3.73 3.66 4.12 3.65 3.61
Clarifying personal identity 3.69 3.75 3.63 4.12 3.64 3.63
Coping with change 3.51 3.45 3.56 3.77 3.48 3.50
Being independent and self-reliant 3.80 3.86 3.76 4.01 3.79 3.71
Handling stress 3.40 3.21 3.56 3.69 3.37 3.38
Managing my time 3.31 3.40 3.23 3.48 3.30 3.24
Having self-discipline 3.69 3.76 3.64 4.00 3.66 3.67
View Frequency Distributions

World View Goals Mean Rating
Scale: 5="very high," 4="high," 3="average," 2="low," 1="very low"
All Women Men AfAm. White Other
World problems/issues 3.41 3.37 3.45 3.71 3.36 3.52
Present as it relates to history 3.31 3.23 3.37 3.58 3.27 3.38
Interact with diverse people 3.81 3.94 3.70 4.27 3.73 4.01
Appreciation of the arts 3.44 3.61 3.31 3.73 3.39 3.56
Tolerance for different views 3.74 3.85 3.65 4.09 3.67 3.95
Valuing gender equity 4.10 4.28 3.96 4.49 4.04 4.18
Valuing racial equity 4.11 4.26 3.99 4.62 4.02 4.30
View Frequency Distributions
Back to Top

Q Goal Importance
General Education Goals Mean Rating
Scale: 5="very important," 4="important," 3="moderately important," 2="of limited importance," 1="not important"
All Women Men AfAm. White Other
Broad general education 4.28 4.44 4.15 4.52 4.25 4.31
Communicate in writing 3.98 4.20 3.79 4.39 3.91 4.08
Communicate ideas orally 4.26 4.42 4.14 4.60 4.22 4.33
Good listening skills 4.26 4.41 4.13 4.63 4.21 4.31
Good reading comp. skills 4.17 4.34 4.04 4.58 4.11 4.25
Apply mathematics skills 4.18 4.13 4.22 4.42 4.14 4.24
Understand scientific influence 4.01 3.94 4.07 4.22 3.98 4.01
Apply scientific principles 3.90 3.82 3.96 4.10 3.86 3.96
Develop computer skills 4.16 4.17 4.16 4.44 4.13 4.13
Critically analyze info. 4.16 4.24 4.10 4.38 4.12 4.26
Plan/carry out project indep. 4.32 4.47 4.20 4.48 4.29 4.37
Understand diverse cultures 4.05 4.29 3.84 4.57 3.96 4.22
View Frequency Distributions

Personal Development Goals Mean Rating
Scale: 5="very important," 4="important," 3="moderately important," 2="of limited importance," 1="not important"
All Women Men AfAm. White Other
Taking responsibility for behavior 4.52 4.68 4.39 4.73 4.49 4.52
Learing as lifelong 4.30 4.46 4.16 4.58 4.26 4.26
Acting upon ethical principles 4.31 4.49 4.17 4.60 4.28 4.32
Improving leadership/management skills 4.35 4.47 4.25 4.63 4.31 4.36
Function as part of a team 4.33 4.45 4.23 4.58 4.30 4.30
Involved with public/community affairs 4.01 4.23 3.83 4.43 3.95 4.04
Understanding own abilities and interests 4.39 4.57 4.25 4.69 4.36 4.37
Commitment to health and fitness 4.34 4.49 4.23 4.52 4.32 4.33
Having self-confidence 4.47 4.63 4.33 4.74 4.44 4.45
Realizing my potential for success 4.41 4.57 4.28 4.70 4.38 4.37
Clarifying personal identity 4.29 4.52 4.10 4.63 4.25 4.26
Coping with change 4.28 4.48 4.11 4.55 4.25 4.22
Being independent and self-reliant 4.45 4.61 4.32 4.62 4.42 4.48
Handling stress 4.41 4.60 4.25 4.58 4.39 4.41
Managing my time 4.54 4.70 4.40 4.73 4.51 4.54
Having self-discipline 4.49 4.63 4.37 4.72 4.46 4.48
View Frequency Distributions

World View Goals Mean Rating
Scale: 5="very important," 4="important," 3="moderately important," 2="of limited importance," 1="not important"
All Women Men AfAm. White Other
World problems/issues 4.22 4.37 4.09 4.46 4.18 4.24
Present as it relates to history 3.96 4.05 3.89 4.27 3.92 4.01
Interact with diverse people 4.29 4.50 4.12 4.71 4.23 4.37
Appreciation of the arts 3.87 4.08 3.69 4.17 3.83 3.89
Tolerance for different views 4.26 4.47 4.09 4.62 4.21 4.32
Valuing gender equity 4.33 4.55 4.16 4.69 4.28 4.40
Valuing racial equity 4.36 4.55 4.20 4.80 4.29 4.49
View Frequency Distributions
Back to Top

Scatterplots: Comparisons of Goal Ratings

Scatterplot Comparing Goal Development and Goal Importance Ratings (All Respondents)

Scatterplot comparing goal development and goal importance ratings for all respondents
1 Taking responsibility for behavior 19 Commitment to health and fitness
2 Valuing racial equity 20 Improving leadership/management skills
3 Valuing gender equity 21 Develop computer skills
4 Learning as a lifelong process 22 Critically analyze information
5 Recognizing/acting upon ethical principles 23 Understand diverse cultures/values
6 Function as part of a team 24 Understand influence of science/technology
7 Interact with diverse people 25 Coping with change
8 Being independent and self-reliant 26 Good reading comprehension
9 Understanding own abilities and interests 27 Appreciation of arts/music/literature
10 Tolerance for different views 28 Understanding world problems/issues
11 Having self-discipline 29 Communicate ideas orally
12 Good listening skills 30 Handling stress
13 Realizing my potential for success 31 Involvement in public/community affairs
14 Clarifying personal identity 32 Present as it relates to history
15 Plan/carry out projects independently 33 Time management
16 Apply mathematics skills 34 Apply scientific principles
17 Having self-confidence 35 Communicate ideas in writing
18 Broad general education  

View rank ordering of development and importance ratings
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Scatterplot Comparing Goal Development and Goal Importance Ratings (By Gender)

Scatterplot comparing goal development and goal importance ratings  among females Scatterplot comparing goal development and goal importance ratings among males
1 Taking responsibility for behavior 19 Commitment to health and fitness
2 Valuing racial equity 20 Improving leadership/management skills
3 Valuing gender equity 21 Develop computer skills
4 Learning as a lifelong process 22 Critically analyze information
5 Recognizing/acting upon ethical principles 23 Understand diverse cultures/values
6 Function as part of a team 24 Understand influence of science/technology
7 Interact with diverse people 25 Coping with change
8 Being independent and self-reliant 26 Good reading comprehension
9 Understanding own abilities and interests 27 Appreciation of arts/music/literature
10 Tolerance for different views 28 Understanding world problems/issues
11 Having self-discipline 29 Communicate ideas orally
12 Good listening skills 30 Handling stress
13 Realizing my potential for success 31 Involvement in public/community affairs
14 Clarifying personal identity 32 Present as it relates to history
15 Plan/carry out projects independently 33 Time management
16 Apply mathematics skills 34 Apply scientific principles
17 Having self-confidence 35 Communicate ideas in writing
18 Broad general education  

View rank ordering of development and importance ratings
Back to Top

Scatterplot Comparing Goal Development and Goal Importance Ratings (By Race)

Scatterplot comparing goal development and goal importance ratings among African American respondents Scatterplot comparing goal development and goal importance ratings among white respondents Scatterplot comparing goal development and goal importance ratings among non-African American minority respondents
1 Taking responsibility for behavior 19 Commitment to health and fitness
2 Valuing racial equity 20 Improving leadership/management skills
3 Valuing gender equity 21 Develop computer skills
4 Learning as a lifelong process 22 Critically analyze information
5 Recognizing/acting upon ethical principles 23 Understand diverse cultures/values
6 Function as part of a team 24 Understand influence of science/technology
7 Interact with diverse people 25 Coping with change
8 Being independent and self-reliant 26 Good reading comprehension
9 Understanding own abilities and interests 27 Appreciation of arts/music/literature
10 Tolerance for different views 28 Understanding world problems/issues
11 Having self-discipline 29 Communicate ideas orally
12 Good listening skills 30 Handling stress
13 Realizing my potential for success 31 Involvement in public/community affairs
14 Clarifying personal identity 32 Present as it relates to history
15 Plan/carry out projects independently 33 Time management
16 Apply mathematics skills 34 Apply scientific principles
17 Having self-confidence 35 Communicate ideas in writing
18 Broad general education  

View rank ordering of development and importance ratings
Back to Top


For more information on the 2005 First-Year Student Survey contact:
Dr. Nancy Whelchel, Associate Director for Survey Research
Office of Institutional Planning and Research
Box 7002
NCSU
Phone: (919) 515-4184
Email: Nancy_Whelchel@ncsu.edu

Posted: February, 2007

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