North Carolina State University
2009-2010 Graduating Senior Survey:
Introduction, Methods, and Student Demographic Profile
Introduction
This series of reports presents findings from the 2009-2010 Graduating Senior Survey at NC State University. Students who graduated in December 2009 or May 2010 (AY09-10) are included. Survey topics include: student goals and intentions; academic environment and faculty contributions; campus climate; academic and non-academic services for students; NC State's contribution to student knowledge, skills and personal development; and student employment and involvement in extracurricular activities.
This introductory report describes the survey's methodology and provides a demographic profile of survey respondents in comparison to AY09-10 graduates. Specifically, it compares the gender, race/ethnicity1, and academic unit of survey respondents with those characteristics of the AY09-10 graduates. A separate report, "2009-2010 Graduating Senior Survey: All Respondents," focuses on each individual survey topic. Links to tables with gender and racial/ethnic comparisons, as well as comparisons between colleges, are available in the "2009-2010 Graduating Senior Survey: Table of Contents."
Survey Administration
Students planning to graduate in December 2009 or May 2010 were eligible to complete the Graduating Senior Survey (GSS). The web survey was available from the start of the fall semester in mid-August, 2009, until graduation in mid-May, 2010. At the time they submitted their online application for degree, graduating seniors were prompted to complete the Graduating Senior Survey. Late in each semester, those who had applied to graduate but who had not submitted the survey were sent an e-mail invitation to complete the survey. Up to three follow-up reminders were e-mailed to nonrespondents. As in past years, several colleges and most academic departments took the opportunity to include a departmental "insert" survey along with the campus-wide AY09-10 GSS to gather information more specific to their individual assessment needs. Students could complete an insert survey for each of their majors. Results from insert surveys are not available on the web, but are provided directly to the respective colleges/departments.
Respondents (Table 1)
Of the 4,057 students who graduated in Fall 2009 (N=1,262) or Spring 2010 (N=2,795), 52.3 percent (N=2,120) submitted usable surveys. Overall, spring graduates were slightly more likely than fall graduates to complete the survey (55.2% vs. 45.6%).
The margin of sampling error for the senior survey is low (±1.0 at a 95 percent confidence interval). That is, if 81.6 percent of the respondents answered a question saying "yes, they would choose NC State again," we can be 95 percent sure that the true figure would be between 77.7 percent (82.6 + 1.0) and 75.7 percent (80.6 - 1.0) if all graduating seniors had responded to the survey2. The margin of sampling error increases as the sample size decreases, so statements for various subgroups, such as the separate figures reported for whites and African Americans, are less precise than statements based on the total sample.
Table 1: Response Rate and Margin of Sampling Error by Semester| Semester of Graduation | Senior Class | Survey Respondents | Response Rate |
Margin of Sampling Error |
||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| N | % | N | % | % | ||
| Dec 2009 | 1,262 | 31.1% | 576 | 27.2% | 45.6% | ±2.2 |
| May 2010 | 2,795 | 68.9% | 1,544 | 72.8% | 55.2% | ±1.1 |
| Total | 4,057 | 100.0% | 2,120 | 100.0% | 52.3% | ±1.0 |
Gender and Race/Ethnicity (Tables 2 and 3)
There are no significant gender or racial/ethnic differences between the AY09-10 graduating senior population and survey respondents. Women make up 45.8 percent of the senior class population and 47.7 percent of the survey respondents. Among the senior population, 81.2 percent are white, 7.2 percent are African American, 4.9 percent are Asian American, 2.9 percent are Hispanic, and 3.8 percent are of other or unspecified race/ethnicity. Among survey respondents, 82.8 percent are white, 6.3 percent African American, 5.1 percent are Asian American, 2.1 percent are Hispanic, and 3.6 percent are of other or unspecified race/ethnicity.
Table 2: Gender of the Graduating Senior Class and Survey Respondents| Gender | Senior Class % (N) |
Survey Respondents % (N) |
Response Rate |
Margin of Sampling Error |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Men | 54.2% (2,200) |
52.3% (1,109) |
50.4% | ±1.5 |
| Women | 45.8% (1,857) |
47.7% (1,011) |
54.4% | ±1.4 |
| Total | 100.0% (4,057) |
100.0% (2,120) |
52.3% | ±1.0 |
| Race/Ethnicity | Senior Class % (N) |
Survey Respondents % (N) |
Response Rate |
Margin of Sampling Error |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Asian Amer | 4.9% (197) |
5.1% (109) |
55.3% | ±4.2 |
| Black / AfrAmer | 7.2% (294) |
6.3% (134) |
45.6% | ±4.6 |
| Hispanic | 2.9% (116) |
2.1% (44) |
37.9% | ±9.2 |
| White | 81.2% (3,295) |
82.8% (1,756) |
53.3% | ±1.1 |
| Other / Unknown | 3.8% (155) |
3.6% (77) |
49.7% | ±5.6 |
| Total | 100.0% (4,057) |
100.0% (2,120) |
52.3% | ±1.0 |
Table 4 shows enrollment of the AY09-10 graduating senior population and survey respondents by academic unit. The Colleges of Engineering and Agriculture and Life Sciences are slightly overrepresented among survey respondents, while the Colleges of Design, Textiles, Natural Resources and Physical and Mathematical Sciences are underrepresented.
Table 4: Classification by Academic Unit| Academic Unit | Senior Class % (N) |
Survey Respondents % (N) |
Response Rate |
Margin of Sampling Error |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Agriculture and Life Sciences | 20.0% (811) |
22.2% (470) |
58.0% | ±1.9 |
| Design* | 3.1% (125) |
1.0% (21) |
16.8% | ±17.8 |
| Education | 4.1% (167) |
3.3% (71) |
42.5% | ±6.7 |
| Engineering | 21.8% (883) |
26.4% (560) |
63.4% | ±1.5 |
| Natural Resources | 5.4% (221) |
3.9% (82) |
37.1% | ±6.8 |
| Humanities and Social Sciences | 24.0% (973) |
25.4% (539) |
55.4% | ±1.9 |
| Physical and Mathematical Sciences | 3.7% (150) |
2.7% (58) |
38.7% | ±7.9 |
| Textiles | 4.2% (170) |
2.1% (45) |
26.5% | ±10.7 |
| Management | 13.7% (557) |
12.9% (274) |
49.2% | ±3.0 |
| Total | 100.0% (4,057) |
100.0% (2,120) |
52.3% | ±1.0 |
The data obtained from survey respondents were analyzed using standard statistical methods3. These reports attempt to provide a level of detail that makes the data more accessible and interpretable to the 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 actually 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.
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. A 95 percent confidence interval denotes the range of values that contains the true population value in 95 out of 100 possible samples of the graduating senior population. Additionally, margins of error for individual questions are usually smaller than the given margin of error for the sample because the variance of proportions in each survey item is almost always less than the 50/50 figure used in calculating the confidence interval. Thus, the margin of error given is conservative. (back)
3. In analyses not presented in these reports, responses were tested to determine whether there were significant differences between women and men, between white, African American, and other minority students, and between different colleges. 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 Tukey's multiple comparison procedure. Complete results are available from University Planning and Analysis upon request. (back)
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: November, 2010
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