North Carolina State University
2008 First-Year Student Survey:
College Comparisons Introduction
This Web document points to tables reporting the frequency distributions of responses by college to questions in the 2008 First-Year Survey. You can use the index below to link to web tables of college comparisons by topic. For information about the survey and analysis methods see "2008 First-Year Student Survey: Introduction, Methods, and Student Demographic Profile." Exact question wording is available on the web or by clicking on the section headings in the tables.
The number of first-year students responding from each college varies widely. As noted in the introductory report on the survey's methods, both the actual number of respondents and the response rate affect the margin of error of the results reported. Table 1 below provides information on the number and proportion of students responding to the survey from each college, as well as the response rate and margin of error for the college. The margin of error in results reported for individual colleges in the 2008 First-Year Student Survey ranges from +0.3 in the College of Engineering and First-Year College to +1.4 in the Colleges of Natural Resources and Textiles. When looking at reported response distributions, it is important to keep the college margin of error in mind.
Table 1: Response Rates and Margin of Error by Academic Unit
| Academic Unit | First-Year Population |
Survey Respondents |
Response Rate |
Margin of Error |
||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| N | % | N | % | |||
| Agriculture and Life Sciences | 825 | 17.7% | 726 | 17.4% | 88.0% | ±0.4 |
| Design | 86 | 1.8% | 76 | 1.8% | 88.4% | ±1.3 |
| Education | 157 | 3.4% | 142 | 3.4% | 90.4% | ±0.8 |
| Engineering | 1,370 | 29.3% | 1,237 | 29.7% | 90.3% | ±0.3 |
| Natural Resources | 144 | 3.1% | 122 | 2.9% | 84.7% | ±1.4 |
| Humanities and Social Sciences | 480 | 10.3% | 425 | 10.2% | 88.5% | ±0.5 |
| Physical and Mathematical Sciences | 186 | 4.0% | 170 | 4.1% | 91.4% | ±0.6 |
| Textiles | 164 | 3.5% | 136 | 3.3% | 82.9% | ±1.4 |
| Management | 408 | 8.7% | 351 | 8.4% | 86.0% | ±0.7 |
| First-Year College | 849 | 18.2% | 784 | 18.8% | 92.3% | ±0.3 |
| Total | 4,669 | 100.0% | 4,169 | 100.0% | 89.3% | ±0.2 |
Index of Results of College Comparisons by Topic
Financial aid | Parent/guardian income | Parent/guardian educational attainment | First Generation Students | Household dependents |Home community size | Religious preference | Musical interests | Preparation for college | Personal Computers |
Location of future employment
Evaluation of the Application Process:
Number of colleges applied to | Factors influencing decision to attend NCSU | Most influential factor in decision to attend NCSU |Satisfaction with admissions process | Contacts during the admissions process | Virtual Advising Center
Educational Intents and Interests:
Reasons for less than 15 credit hours | Highest level of education planned | Goal/objective for attending NCSU | Certainty of college majorFirst semester employment plans | Interest in co-curricular activities
Goals
for Undergraduate Education:
Current
Development:
General education goals | Personal
development goals | World view goals
Goal Importance:
General education goals |
Personal development goals | World
view goals
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: March, 2009
Download a Microsoft Word Version of this report.
Return to 2008 First-Year Student Survey Table of Contents Page