1998 Graduating Senior Survey: Knowledge, Skills, and Personal Development

1998 Graduating Senior Survey: Knowledge, Skills, and Personal Development

Graduating Seniors were asked to rate the extent to which NC State had contributed to their knowledge, skills, and personal development in terms of four areas: technical skills, attitudes and values, established goals for undergraduate education, and personal development. To measure impact in these areas, a four-point scale was used (1=not at all, 2=very little, 3=somewhat, 4=very much). A "don’t know" response was also provided.

Technical Skills

Mean and Std. Dev.	All	Female	Male	Af. Am.	White	Other
Writing skills +	3.44	3.52	3.38	3.60	3.42	3.51
	0.65	0.65	0.65	0.52	0.66	0.72
Speaking skills	3.42	3.44	3.41	3.52	3.42	3.39
	0.66	0.66	0.66	0.61	0.67	0.65
Listening skills +	3.41	3.47	3.36	3.55	3.40	3.39
	0.68	0.66	0.69	0.61	0.68	0.73
Comprehension skills	3.49	3.54	3.46	3.66	3.47	3.60
	0.64	0.62	0.65	0.57	0.64	0.57
Using math skills +	3.44	3.31	3.54	3.51	3.42	3.54
	0.74	0.79	0.68	0.80	0.74	0.72
Applying scientific methods +	3.51	3.41	3.59	3.58	3.50	3.53
	0.67	0.74	0.61	0.63	0.68	0.64
Enhancing analytic skills +	3.66	3.60	3.71	3.63	3.66	3.65
	0.55	0.58	0.51	0.60	0.55	0.51
Developing computer skills	3.59	3.56	3.61	3.70	3.57	3.63
	0.64	0.66	0.62	0.55	0.65	0.67

+ Gender: p<0.01

Established Goals for Undergraduate Education

Mean and Std. Dev.	All	Female	Male	Af. Am.	White	Other
Present as it relates to history	3.04	3.07	3.01	3.24	3.02	3.05
	0.82	0.81	0.83	0.75	0.82	0.78
Science, technology, and everyday life	3.50	3.46	3.53	3.57	3.50	3.47
	0.65	0.66	0.64	0.63	0.65	0.64
Critical analysis of ideas/info	3.67	3.68	3.65	3.75	3.67	3.60
	0.53	0.53	0.53	0.53	0.52	0.59
Work with diverse people +	3.42	3.53	3.34	3.57	3.41	3.49
	0.74	0.67	0.78	0.68	0.74	0.75
Lead or guide others – abiltiy	3.40	3.46	3.36	3.55	3.39	3.39
	0.71	0.68	0.74	0.71	0.71	0.73
Team functioning ability +	3.60	3.66	3.55	3.74	3.58	3.62
	0.65	0.61	0.67	0.56	0.65	0.69
Independently plan/carry-out projects +	3.62	3.71	3.56	3.66	3.62	3.68
	0.61	0.53	0.65	0.59	0.60	0.69
Learning as a life-long process +	3.56	3.69	3.46	3.59	3.56	3.54
	0.69	0.58	0.74	0.61	0.69	0.77
Commitment to personal health/fitness	3.00	3.07	2.95	3.09	2.99	3.13
	0.91	0.89	0.92	0.96	0.91	0.83

+ Gender: p<0.01

Personal Development

Mean and Std. Dev.	All	Female	Male	Af. Am.	White	Other
Taking responsibility for behavior +	3.35	3.43	3.29	3.37	3.34	3.42
	0.84	0.81	0.86	0.87	0.84	0.78
Self-confidence +	3.34	3.43	3.28	3.20	3.35	3.41
	0.78	0.74	0.81	0.86	0.77	0.80
Sense of personal identity +	3.34	3.47	3.23	3.30	3.35	3.26
	0.82	0.76	0.86	0.86	0.82	0.89
Independence and self-reliance +	3.53	3.64	3.44	3.52	3.53	3.48
	0.73	0.63	0.79	0.73	0.73	0.74
Potential for success +	3.61	3.72	3.53	3.69	3.61	3.54
	0.62	0.52	0.68	0.56	0.62	0.68
Coping with change +	3.43	3.51	3.37	3.48	3.43	3.49
	0.74	0.72	0.75	0.68	0.74	0.77
Ability to handle stress	3.37	3.41	3.34	3.54	3.36	3.32
	0.81	0.81	0.81	0.77	0.81	0.90
Personal growth	3.61	3.67	3.55	3.61	3.60	3.62
	0.62	0.58	0.64	0.65	0.60	0.72

+ Gender: p<0.01

Attitudes and Values

Mean and Std. Dev.	All	Female	Male	Af. Am.	White	Other
Developing tolerance for divergent views +	3.30	3.41	3.22	3.34	3.30	3.34
	0.77	0.74	0.78	0.71	0.77	0.75
Understand diverse cultures/values +	3.20	3.33	3.10	3.21	3.19	3.34
	0.81	0.78	0.81	0.84	0.81	0.79
Recognizing/acting on ethical principles +	3.12	3.25	3.03	3.28	3.12	3.09
	0.85	0.80	0.87	0.84	0.85	0.80
Community svc/public responsibility ++	2.86	2.98	2.78	3.20	2.85	2.77
	0.91	0.87	0.93	0.80	0.91	0.87
Appreciating racial equity +	2.97	3.09	2.87	3.03	2.95	3.12
	0.93	0.91	0.94	1.04	0.93	0.80
Appreciating gender equity +	3.00	3.10	2.92	3.08	2.98	3.14
	0.91	0.88	0.92	1.00	0.91	0.83
Appreciation of the arts +	2.68	2.82	2.56	2.76	2.65	2.90
	0.95	0.91	0.97	0.93	0.96	0.88
Understanding world issues/problems +	3.12	3.21	3.05	3.24	3.11	3.17
	0.82	0.80	0.83	0.72	0.83	0.80

+ Gender: p<0.01; ++ Ethnicity: p<0.01

Frequencies and Percentages

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