Students were asked questions regarding their primary goal or objective in attending NCSU and to what degree that goal or objective was accomplished. Table 3-1 shows goals/objectives and accomplishment. The majority of respondents' primary goal in attending NC State was either to prepare for a career (46.3%) or for graduate or professional school (31.2%). Almost three-fourths (74.5%) of all respondents said they "fully accomplished" their goal.

Respondents who said their primary goal was to earn a bachelor's degree or certificate were most likely to fully accomplish that objective (86.5%). Around three-fourths of the seniors whose goal was to improve for current career (75.0%) or to prepare for a new career (73.4%) said they "fully accomplished" their goal. Slightly fewer of those whose goal was to prepare for graduate or professional school said they "fully accomplished" their goal (70.0%).

Post-Graduation Plans (Table 3-2)

At the time they completed the survey, about one-fifth of respondents said they had either already accepted a job for after graduation (16.6%) or would continue in their current position (3.2%). About 40 percent (39.1%) were still seeking employment. Slightly more than one-fifth said they plan to go on to graduate or professional school, either full-time (17.7%) or part-time (3.5%).

Satisfaction with Education (Table 3-3)

The majority of students appeared to be satisfied with their education at NC State. Almost three-fourths (73.8%) said they would choose NC State again if they could start over. Two-thirds (66.9%) said they would choose the same major again. Less than 10 percent said they would not choose NC State again (8.8%), and 14.4 percent would not choose the same major again.

Evaluation of Education (Tables 3-4 and 3-5)

Students were asked to give their opinions of the academic environment at NC State. Specifically, they rated the overall education they received, instruction in their major and overall, and the intellectual environment on campus.

Most respondents (91.0%) gave positive ratings to the overall education they had received at NC State. The majority of students were also happy with the quality of instruction they had received, although ratings were much higher for instruction within their major than overall. Almost 45 percent of respondents (44.7%) said instruction in their major was "excellent" and another 44.5% said it was "good." In comparison, only 13.2% rated their overall instruction as "excellent," while 67.4 percent said it was "good." Finally, over two-thirds of respondents (67.2%) agreed that the intellectual environment on campus was "strong" (54.0%) or "very strong" (13.2%).

Survey respondents were instructed to evaluate various academic services provided by NC State, based on their experiences within the last two years on campus. Ratings ranged from 1 ("poor") to 4 ("excellent"). The "don't know/did not use" option available for those students with insufficient experience to evaluate a service area was excluded from analyses. Students participating in an off-campus degree program were asked about their likelihood of obtaining a degree on a UNC campus had this service not been available.

Academic Services (Table 3-6)

Four primary areas of academic services were assessed: academic advising, research support, technology services, and career-related services. Among overall ratings of each service area, highest mean ratings were given to technology services (3.21) and career-related services (3.18). The three highest ranking individual items were within the technology services area: access to the Internet (3.65), hours of operation for computer labs and help desks (3.30), and access to up-to-date facilities (3.30).

Academic Advising: Between two-thirds and three-fourths of respondents gave positive ratings to each of the various aspects of academic advising in their major. About 40 percent rated access to advisor (41.0%) and accurate information about degree requirements and course sequencing (40.2%) as "excellent." Students were less satisfied with the amount of time they had with their advisor: over ten percent (11.3%) rated this aspect of advising as "poor."

Research Support: Research support items received relatively lower ratings when compared with those in other areas. Each of the three items received mean ratings below 3.0, with less than 30 percent of respondents rating each of them as "excellent."

Technology Services: Seventy percent of respondents rated access to the Internet as "excellent," and about 45 percent rated hours of operation for computer labs and help desks (45.6%) and access to up-to-date facilities (44.7%) as "excellent." However, access to trained staff for help (mean rating of 2.69) and technology training classes (2.78) had the lowest average ratings of all academic service items.

Career-related Services: Highest average ratings for career-related services were for information available through Internet and other technology (3.28) and opportunity for career assistance (3.22). All career-related services items received mean ratings above 3.0, making this area the most consistently high-rated academic service area.

Off-campus Degree Program (Table 3-7)

Respondents participating in an off-campus degree program (n = 67) were asked how likely it is that they would have obtained their degree on a UNC campus had the off-campus program not been available. Over half indicated that they "probably" would have (38.8%) or that it was "very likely" (17.9%). Over one-fourth said it was "not likely" (28.4%).

General Growth and Training (Table 3-8)

A majority of respondents (53.8%) said NC State met their intellectual growth needs "very well." Respondents were slightly less positive about NC State's contribution to their personal growth (45.4% said their needs were met "very well") and much less positive about the contribution to their career training (33.4%). More than one-fifth said NC State contributed only "somewhat adequately" (17.3%) or "poorly" (5.1%) to their career training needs.

Knowledge, Skills, and Personal Development (Table 3-9)

Graduating seniors rated the extent to which NC State contributed to 35 factors related to their general education, personal development, and world views, using a scale of 1 ("not at all") to 4 ("very much"). The majority of respondents said NC State contributed at least "somewhat" to all factors listed. In general, higher mean ratings were given to NC State's contribution to general education and personal development goals compared with world view goals.

On average, highest ratings were given to enhancing analytic skills (3.62), ability to critically analyze ideas and information (3.59), ability to plan and carry out projects independently (3.59), realizing potential for success (3.57), and ability to function as part of a team (3.56). Lowest ratings were given to advancing appreciation of the arts (2.76), exercising public responsibility and community service (2.89), commitment to personal health and fitness (3.00), appreciating racial equity (3.04), appreciating gender equity (3.06), understanding the present as it relates to history (3.10), and understanding issues and problems facing the world (3.10).

Number of Hours Worked (Table 3-10)

About 80 percent of respondents (80.4%) indicated they were employed during their graduation year. Of those respondents who worked, 40.1 percent worked an average of 20 or more hours per week during their last year at NC State.

Job Relationship to Major (Table 3-11)

More than one-third (36.5%) of respondents who worked during graduation year were working in jobs directly related to their academic major. The majority of those working in areas unrelated to their major said they were doing so by choice (67.9%).

Co-op Experience (Table 3-12)

Over half of all respondents (52.9%) had a co-op, internship, practicum, or field experience while at NC State. Of these respondents, over half (56.9%) said the experience made an "excellent" contribution to their personal or professional growth. Almost half (44.1%) of those with such experience said they received a job offer from their employer.