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Spring 1998 Graduating Senior Survey: An Overview

Table of Contents

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Office of Institutional Planning and Research, July 1998
Mark Lindblad, Graduate Research Assistant
Denise Gardner, Coordinator of Survey Research


INTRODUCTION

This report presents descriptive statistics for NC State's 1998 Graduating Senior Survey. The purpose is to provide readers with an overview of seniors' demographic composition, academic environment, satisfaction with services, and educational outcomes. A more thorough interpretation and discussion can be found in the forthcoming sections of the Fall 1998 reports.

The sample consisted of 1,094 survey respondents, which comprised 53.9% of the population of 2,028 spring 1998 seniors who had applied to graduate as of March 30, 1998. Tests for sample representativeness by gender, ethnicity and college revealed no significant differences between the sample and population.

SUMMARY

DEMOGRAPHICS

Graduating Senior surveys were administered to those seniors who were enrolled in the Spring 1998 semester and had applied to graduate as of March 30, 1998. Note that this population definition is different than in previous years. Due to UNC-General Administration's mandates, this population may include some seniors who did not actually graduate in May, and may exclude a few seniors who applied to graduate after March 30th.

The demographic composition of survey respondents (n=1,094) compared to this population (N=2,028) is shown in the following two tables. Chi-square tests for sample representativeness revealed no significant differences between survey respondents and the population by gender, ethnicity, or academic unit.

Graduating Senior Class *
Survey Respondents
Ethnicity
Female
Male
Total
Female
Male
Total
African-American
90

4.4%
56

2.8%
146

7.2%
41

3.7%
26

2.4%
67

6.1%
Other Minorities
73

3.6%
73

3.6%
146

7.2%
36

1.8%
42

2.1%
78

3.8%
White
743

36.6%
993

49.0%
1736

85.6%
404

36.9%
545

49.8%
949

86.7%
Total:
906

44.3%
1,122

55.3%
2,028

100%
481

44.0%
613

56.0%
1,094

100%
* Those seniors who had applied to graduate as of March 30, 1998.


College or School
Graduating Senior Class *
Survey Respondents
Agriculture and Life SciencesN = 378 19 %n = 191 17 %
Design68 3 %22 2 %
Education and Psychology140 7 %69 6 %
Engineering492 24 %313 29%
Forest Resources87 4 %45 4 %
Humanities and Social Sciences368 18 %179 16 %
Management278 14 %145 13 %
Physical and Mathematical Sciences92 5 %53 5 %
Textiles125 6 %77 7 %
Total:N = 2,028 100 %n = 1,094 100 %
* Those seniors who had applied to graduate as of March 30, 1998.


PROFILE OF RESPONDENTS

This section displays a profile of seniors in terms of employment while attending NC State, field experience, campus climate, plans after graduation, and whether or not they would choose NC State again.

Hours Worked Per Week During the Past Academic Year


It should be noted that 83% of survey respondents indicated the average hours that they had worked during the current academic year.

Relatedness of Academic Year Job to Major


Of the 35% who said their academic year job was not related to their major, 66% indicated that having an unrelated job was by choice.

The 56% of respondents who indictated that their major included a co-op, practicum, student teaching, or other field experience were asked to evaluate that experience in terms of job offers and personal and professional growth.

Contribution of Field Experience to Personal and Professional Growth


35% of participants received a job offer from one of their field experience employers.

Plans After Graduation



Seniors Who Said They Would Choose NC State and Major Again



Campus Climate for Student Sub-groups

Campus Climate: Supportiveness

Students Disagreeing that Racial Conflict and Lack of Respect are Prevalent


NC State is Committed to Helping Minority Students Succeed

FACULTY CONTRIBUTIONS AND ACADEMIC ENVIRONMENT

This section displays educational areas such as faculty contributions, instruction, intellectual environment, and overall education. Items were rated on a four-point scale ranging from 4 = "excellent" to 1 = "poor".

Faculty Contributions


Quality of Instruction


NC State's Intellectual Environment


Overall Education Received at NC State

SERVICES FOR STUDENTS

This section displays student evaluations of the services offered by NC State. Student services included academic advising, library services, technology services, career counseling, employment assistance, and other service areas such as financial aid, residence life, and recreational opportunities. Respondents were also asked to rate staff responsiveness in seven of the service areas. Items were rated on a four-point scale ranging from 4 = "excellent" to 1 = "poor". A "don't know/did not use" option allowed respondents to indicate if they were not aware of or had not used the service. The charts in this section show the responses in decreasing mean score order, and do not include the "don't know" responses.

For each service area, the "don't know / did not use" responses were summed and then divided by the number of items in that area. This provided an average score which was converted to a percentage and plotted on the chart below. The chart below displays the average "don't know / did not use" responses by student service area. Results indicate that services such as career related services and employment assistance were used by far fewer respondents than technology and library services.

Average "Don't Know / Did Not Use" Responses by Student Service Area



Academic Advising in Major


Library Services



Technology Services


Career Related Services

Employment Search Assistance

Other Services

Staff Responsiveness

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, AND PERSONAL GROWTH

This section displays the extent to which NC State contributed to seniors' education in terms of technical skills, attitudes and values, established goals for undergraduate education, and personal development. Items were rated on a four-point scale ranging from 4 = "very much" to 1 = "not at all". A "don't know" option was also provided. Less than 3% of respondents answered "don't know" for any of the items in this section. The charts in this section show the responses in decreasing mean score order, and do not include the "don't know" responses.

Contribution Made by NC State to Technical Skills

Contribution Made by NC State to Attitudes and Values


Contribution Made by NC State to Established Goals for Undergraduate Education



Contribution Made by NC State to Personal Development



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