North Carolina State University
2012 Incoming Freshmen Survey:
Introduction, Methods, and Student Demographic Profile

Introduction

This series of reports presents findings from the 2012 Incoming Freshmen Survey at NC State. Each year since 1972, students entering in the Fall semester have been asked to participate in the survey. The survey is conducted during the summer months prior to the start of the semester. Students entering into all 11 undergraduate academic units, including the Agricultural Institute and the Division of Academic & Student Affairs, are included.

This introductory report describes the survey's methodology and 2012 first-year class. It compares gender, race/ethnicity1, academic unit, and academic preparation statistics of survey respondents with the Fall 2012 first-year student population. Reports with gender and racial/ethnic comparisons, as well as comparisons between colleges and departments within colleges, are available in the Table of Contents. In each report, summary statistics are presented for each survey topic, including student background characteristics, the application process, educational intent and interests, and goals for undergraduate education.

Survey Methods

Respondents

The 2012 Incoming Freshmen Survey was administered online between July 2, 2012 and September 4, 2012. During the week following their attendance at New Student Orientation during the summer prior to their first semester, students were sent e-mail invitations to participate in the survey. Those who did not attend summer orientation were also invited to participate. A total of 2,322 surveys were completed by enrolled and attending first-year students. This figure represents 53.1 percent of the 4,374 first-year students who were enrolled in classes in the Fall 2012 semester.

Analyses

The survey data were analyzed using standard statistical methods. In analyses not presented in these reports, responses were tested to determine whether there were significant differences between women and men, between respondents of different racial/ethnic groups, and between respondents of different colleges2.

These reports attempt to provide a level of detail that makes the data more accessible and interpretable to the novice data user. A primary purpose is to highlight patterns found in responses to related question items or between comparison groups. Such consistencies among items or between groups are usually more important for understanding the data than are the sizes of the differences between individual pairs of ratings or ranks or, to some extent, whether the differences are statistically significant. While some individual small differences might be statistically significant, they may not be substantively meaningful. On the other hand, when even relatively small differences yield consistent patterns within a similar series of questions, the results are potentially more telling.

Demographics of the First-Year Class and Survey Respondents

Gender and Race/Ethnicity (Table 1)

Women were somewhat overrepresented among survey respondents, making up 53.2 percent of survey respondents, but only 45.2 percent of the first-year population (Table 1). There are no significant racial/ethnic differences between the first-year students enrolled at NC State and those who responded to the survey.

Table 1: Demographics of First-Year Population and Survey Respondents

Race/Ethnicity N %	First-Year Population			Survey Respondents			Response Rate
	Men	Women	Total	Men	Women	Total	Men	Women	Total
Asian Amer	121 2.8%	101 2.3%	222 5.1%	59 2.5%	72 3.1%	131 5.6%	48.8%	71.3%	59.0%
Black / AfrAmer	133 3.0%	187 4.3%	320 7.3%	65 2.8%	118 5.1%	183 7.9%	48.9%	63.1%	57.2%
Hispanic	89 2.0%	100 2.3%	189 4.3%	44 1.9%	75 3.2%	119 5.1%	49.4%	75.0%	63.0%
White	1,843 42.1%	1,421 32.5%	3,264 74.6%	837 36.0%	877 37.8%	1,714 73.8%	45.4%	61.7%	52.5%
Other / Unknown	213 4.9%	166 3.8%	379 8.7%	82 3.5%	93 4.0%	175 7.5%	38.5%	56.0%	46.2%
Total	2,399 54.8%	1,975 45.2%	4,374 100.0%	1,087 46.8%	1,235 53.2%	2,322 100.0%	45.3%	62.5%	53.1%

Academic Units (Table 2)

Table 2 shows enrollment of first-year students and survey respondents by academic unit. The largest percentage of first-year students enrolled in the College of Engineering (31.5%), followed by DASA (17.9%) and the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (14.4%). Enrollment figures were lowest for the College of Design (2.4%). The College of Agriculture and Life Sciences is slightly overrepresented among survey respondents.

Respondents from the Agricultural Institute have been excluded from the analyses presented in this series of reports so that responses reflect the views and circumstances of students pursuing a four-year baccalaureate degree.

Table 2: Classification by Academic Unit

Academic Unit	First-Year Population		Survey Respondents		Response Rate
	N	%	N	%
Agriculture and Life Sciences	632	14.4%	428	18.4%	67.7%
Design	107	2.4%	49	2.1%	45.8%
Education	120	2.7%	50	2.2%	41.7%
Engineering	1,377	31.5%	666	28.7%	48.4%
Natural Resources	117	2.7%	64	2.8%	54.7%
Humanities and Social Sciences	372	8.5%	141	6.1%	37.9%
Physical and Mathematical Sciences	208	4.8%	102	4.4%	49.0%
Textiles	163	3.7%	101	4.3%	62.0%
Management	351	8.0%	202	8.7%	57.5%
Div. of Academic & Student Affairs	781	17.9%	436	18.8%	55.8%
Subtotal	4,228	96.7%	2,239	96.4%	53.0%
Agricultural Institute	146	3.3%	83	3.6%	56.8%
Total	4,374	100.0%	2,322	100.0%	53.1%

*Division of Academic & Student Affairs (DASA) includes students in the First Year College, Transition Program, and Environmental Sciences Program.

Academic Preparation (Table 3)

Table 3 presents academic preparation statistics for the 2012 first-year class and survey respondents. Total SAT scores were slightly higher among survey respondents than among the first-year students as a whole.

Table 3: Academic Preparation of First-Year Class and Survey Respondents

Academic Preparation Measure	First-Year Population	Survey Respondents
SAT Verbal	588.4	589.3
SAT Math	625.0	624.5
SAT Written	569.5	571.3
SAT Total	1782.9	1785.1

Endnotes:

1. The term "racial/ethnic" is used throughout these reports to recognize the potentially blurred distinction between the individual terms. In application materials students were requested to identify themselves using any number of the following categories: Hispanic or Latino, American Indian or Alaska Native, Asian, Black or African American, Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander, and White. For analysis purposes, these categories were collapsed into "Asian American," "Black/African American," "Hispanic," "White," and "Other/Unknown." (back)
2. Questions requiring categorical responses were analyzed with chi-square tests, and questions with numerically coded responses were analyzed with either T-tests or one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) with Duncan's multiple comparison procedure. Complete results are available from UPA on request. (back)

For more information on the 2012 Incoming Freshmen 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: October 2012

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