A Profile Of 1997 Entering First-Year Students:
Educational Intent And Interests

• Summary
  

• College Major
  

• Primary Goal for Attending NC State
  

• Eductional Aspirations
  

• Time to Degree Completion
  

• Enrollment Status
  

• Plans to Work
  

• Foreign Language
  

• Student Affairs
  

• Tables for NC State Respondents: Educational Intent and Interests
  

• Tables for College Summaries: Educational Intent and Interests
  

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This report presents educational intent and interests from the 1997 entering first-year students at NC State. It is based on their responses to the survey given to new students during summer and fall orientation. Educational intent and interests concern students' majors, course load, and extra-curricular interests.

A total of 3,157 surveys (83.2% of the first-year students registered for fall 1997) were usable for this report. No significant differences were found between the survey group and the broader population of registered students; thus, the results may be regarded as representative of the entire first-year class. Significant differences were found in answers to some questions, however, when gender, and/or ethnicity were considered.

The data obtained from the first-year orientation sessions were analyzed using standard statistical methods. Responses were tested to determine whether there were significant differences when gender, or ethnicity were considered. Analysis was also done across academic units and those findings are available on the web. All questions requiring categorical responses were analyzed using chi-square tests, and all questions with numerically coded responses were analyzed using either T-tests or one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) with Duncan's multiple comparison procedure.

Summary

• The majority of first-year students said they were either "certain" or "very certain" about their majors.
• The majority of first-year students marked that their primary goal for attending NC State is either to obtain a bachelor's degree as preparation for further schooling or to obtain a bachelor's degree as preparation for career.
• Most students plan to continue their education beyond a bachelor's degree, with the plurality anticipating completing a master's degree. Females reported a greater intent to earn a degree beyond their bachelor's. African-Americans and other minority students indicated greater interest in earning doctoral degrees than did white students.
• Nearly all first-year students planned to graduate in five years or fewer with greater percentages of females and other minority students planning four years or fewer.
• Most students intended to take at least 15 credits during their first semester.
• One-third of the respondents intended to work during their first semester at NC State.
• The highest percentage of respondents indicated an interest in intramurals. The only non-significant difference between genders was for outdoor adventures. Males tended to express more interest in recreational activities while females more often pursued non-recreational activities (arts, volunteerism, student government, etc.). African-American students expressed significantly more interest in Union Activities Board and Judicial Board. Other minority students indicated significantly more interest in volunteer services, and student publications/media, while white students marked more interest in intramurals and outdoor adventures.

College Major

Most first-year students surveyed indicated that they were relatively positive about their choice of majors. Over two-thirds (68.7%) said they were either "certain" or "very certain" about their majors. One in four (25.5%) reported being "uncertain" while very few (5.8%) indicated being "very uncertain" (see Chart 1).

Significant differences did not materialize when examining the data across genders and ethnic groups.

Primary Goal for Attending NC State

As shown in Chart 2, a majority of first-year students marked that their primary goal or objective for attending NC State is either to obtain a bachelor's degree as preparation for further schooling (52.5%) or to obtain a bachelor's degree as preparation for a career (33.4%).

Significant differences (p=0.001) were found when gender was considered. More females (61.1%) said they are preparing for further schooling than did males (46.7%). Males (36.1%) indicated more often than females (29.5%) that their bachelor's degree would be used in preparation for their career.

Educational Aspirations

The majority of first-year students (70.7%) plan to continue their education beyond a bachelor's degree. The plurality of students (43.3%) said the highest level of education they are anticipating is completing a master's degree (see Chart 3).

When looking at both gender and ethnicity, significant differences (p=0.001) were uncovered. More males (30.2%) than females (22.4%) reported the bachelor's degree as their highest planned educational level. Females indicated a greater interest in both Doctor of Veterinary Medicine and other professional degrees.

Among ethnic groups, more white students said they plan to earn a bachelor's degree, while both African-Americans and other minority students indicated greater interest in earning doctoral degrees.

Time to Degree Completion

The majority of first-year students (69.2%) said they plan to complete their bachelor's degree in four years or less. Nearly all (95.6%) said they plan to take five years or fewer. Females indicated significantly more often (p=0.001) than did males that they planned to complete their bachelor's degree in four years or fewer (74.1% females vs. 66.0% males).

Significant differences were also found across ethnicity (p=0.001). As shown in Chart 4 below, greater percentages of whites and other minority students reported plans to complete their degree in four years or fewer. More African-Americans indicated they plan to take between four and five years to complete their degree.

Enrollment Status

The majority of students (87.0%) indicated that they intend to take 15 credit hours of classes or more during their first semester at NC State. Significantly fewer (p=0.001) African-American students (79.3%) reported that they plan to take 15 credit hours compared to other minority (89.1%) and white (87.9%) students.

Those taking less than 15 credits in their first semester indicated their reasons why. The top concerns reported include: courses wanted were not available, want to make better grades, and combination of credit hours would have been too much if I had taken another big course.

Fewer than ten-percent of respondents (9.5%) planned to take the majority of their courses in late afternoon and evening. There were no significant differences when gender and ethnicity were considered.

Plans to Work

About one-third of the students (31.8%) marked that they intend to work during their first semester (see Chart 5). Most of those who indicated they plan to be employed said they anticipate working less than 20 hours each week.

Foreign Language

First-year students reported whether they planned to study a foreign language beyond the minimum requirements set for their major and, if so, which language they would pursue. Nearly two-thirds of the students (63.8%) indicated they intend to take language courses beyond the requirement level. Of those continuing their education in a foreign language, the majority (59.3%) recorded that they would take Spanish. A sizable percentage of students (17.8%) planned to continue in French. Significant differences (p=0.001) were found across both gender and ethnicity, although the majority of students in each sub-group indicated they would continue in Spanish or French.

Student Affairs

First-year students indicated their interest in 26 programs and activities. Chart 6 presents the percentage of respondents interested in each program or activity by gender and ethnicity. The highest percentage of all respondents indicated an interest in the following programs or activities: intramurals (54.6%), outdoor adventures (37.6%), co-op program (34.9%) and social fraternity/sorority (32.5%).

There were significant differences (p<0.01) between males and females for 25 of the 26 programs and activities. Males tended to express more interest in recreational activities while females more often pursued non-recreational activities (arts, volunteerism, student government, etc.). The only non-significant difference between genders was found for outdoor adventures.

Significant differences (p<0.01) also were found among the three ethnic groups for 16 of the 26 programs and activities. African-American students expressed significantly more interest than white or other minority students in Union Activities Board, and Judicial Board. Other minority students indicated significantly more interest in volunteer services, and student publications/media than did either African-American or white students. And white students marked more often than African-American or other minority students that they were interest in intramurals and outdoor adventures.