North Carolina State University
1999 Graduating Senior Survey:
All Respondents

(Report No. 3)

 

This report presents findings from the 1999 Graduating Senior Survey. It describes the overall responses to each survey question within the following topics: student goals and intentions; academic environment and faculty contribution; campus climate, evaluation of student services; knowledge, skills and personal development; and employment and extracurricular activities. For a full discussion of the survey's methodology, see "1999 Graduating Senior Survey: Introduction, Methods, and Student Demographic Profile." Responses broken down by gender, race/ethnicity, and college are available on the web.

Student Goals and Intentions

Educational Goals (Table 3-1)
Students were asked questions regarding his or her 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 new career (46.5%) or for graduate or professional school (31.5%). Almost three-fourths (74.0%) 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 (88.4%). Three-fourths (76.7%) of the 437 seniors who said their primary goal was to prepare for a new career said they "fully accomplished" their goal. Slightly fewer of those whose primary objective was to prepare for graduate or professional school said they "fully accomplished" their goal (62.9%).

Table 3-1: Goals and Objectives at NC State

Primary goal/objective

Accomplishment of goal/objective

% saying

Total %

Fully accomplished

Partially accomplished

Not accomplished

Prep for career (n=437)

76.7%

23.3%

0.0%

46.4%

Prep for grad school (n=297)

62.9%

37.0%

0.0%

31.5%

Bach. Degree/certificate (n=173)

88.4%

11.6%

0.0%

18.4%

Improve for current career (n=18)

55.6%

44.4%

0.0%

1.9%

Other (n=13)

69.2%

23.1%

7.7%

1.4%

Courses for personal interest (n=4)

75.0%

25.0%

0.0%

0.4%

Total %

74.0%

25.9%

0.1%

Post-Graduation Plans (Table 3-2)
At the time they completed the survey 14.6 percent of respondents said they had already accepted a job for after graduation, while 43.6 percent were still seeking employment. A small percentage (3.6%) planned to continue working in their current position after graduating. About one-fourth said they plan to go on to graduate or professional school, either full-time (20.2%) or part-time (3.9%).

Table 3-2: Plans Following Graduation

% saying Yes

Still seeking employment

43.6%

Graduate/prof. School full-time

20.2%

Accepted a job

14.6%

Don't know yet

9.1%

Grad/prof school pt & work pt

3.9%

Continuing in current position

3.6%

Not seeking empl./not plan school

2.3%

Take more undergrad courses

1.1%

Other

1.4%

Academic Environment and Faculty Contributions

Satisfaction with Education (Table 3-3)
The majority of students appeared to be satisfied with their education at NC State. Almost three-fourths (74.4%) said if they could start over, they would choose NC State again. About two-thirds (68.4%) said they would choose the same major again. About 10 percent each however, said they would not choose NC State again (9.0%), or would not choose the same major again (11.5%).

Table 3-3: Satisfaction with Education

% saying

Yes

No

Not Sure

Choose NC State again?

74.4%

9.0%

16.6%

Choose same major again?

68.4%

11.5%

20.1%

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 (94.1%) 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 higher for instruction within their major than overall. Half of respondents (50.0%) said instruction in their major was "excellent" and another 42.4 percent said it was "good." In comparison, just 14.2 percent rated their overall instruction as "excellent," while 70.3 percent said it was "good." Finally, almost three-fourths of respondents agreed that the intellectual environment on campus was "strong" (57.5%) or "very strong" (15.5%).

Table 3-4: Evaluation of Education

% saying

Excellent

Good

Fair

Poor

Overall education received at NCSU

41.3%

52.8%

5.8%

0.1%

Overall quality of instruction

14.2%

70.3%

14.6%

0.8%

Quality of instruction in major

50.0%

42.4%

7.1%

0.5%


Table 3-5: Campus Environment

% saying

Very strong

Strong

Average

Weak

Very weak

Intellectual environment on campus

15.5%

57.5%

23.4%

3.0%

0.6%

Faculty Contributions (Table 3-6)
Students were asked to evaluate how well faculty members in their major department do each of various tasks, using a scale from 1 ("poor") to 4 ("excellent"). "Don't know" responses were not included in calculations of average ratings. Overall, students were very positive about the contributions faculty in their major department make toward their education. Highest average ratings were given to faculty setting high expectations to learn (3.39) and to encouraging that time and energy be devoted to coursework (3.31). Although still rated as "excellent" or "good" by majorities of respondents, factors related to faculty involvement with students on a more individual basis received somewhat lower ratings.

Table 3-6: Faculty Contributions

Mean Rating

% saying

4:Excellent

3:Good

2:Fair

1:Poor

Set high expectations to learn

3.39

44.2%

50.9%

4.7%

0.2%

Time/energy to coursework encouraged

3.31

40.1%

50.7%

8.9%

0.3%

Opp for coop learning w/ fellow students

3.22

39.5%

44.6%

14.2%

1.7%

Encourage active learning

3.16

32.5%

52.8%

13.1%

1.6%

Freq and prompt feedback from faculty

3.11

27.2%

57.2%

14.8%

0.8%

Encourage student/faculty interaction

3.07

31.5%

47.6%

17.7%

3.1%

Care about academic success/welfare

3.05

31.6%

45.2%

20.1%

3.0%

Respect diverse talents & ways of learn

3.02

22.9%

57.6%

17.8%

1.7%

Overall rating of faculty

3.20

30.0%

60.2%

9.4%

0.4%

Campus Climate (Table 3-7)

Students were asked to rate what they perceived to be the general attitude on campus towards various groups of people. A majority of respondents felt the campus climate was at least "moderately supportive" toward each of the groups asked about, with one exception. Only a little more than one-fourth (27.8%) of respondents felt the campus climate was at least "moderately supportive" towards gay and lesbian students, while another 25.6 percent thought it was either "moderately" (15.5%) or "strongly unsupportive" (10.1%) towards them.

Table 3-7: Campus Climate

Group

% saying

Strongly supportive

Moderately supportive

Neutral

Moderately unsupportive

Strongly unsupportive

Women

35.0%

32.1%

28.2%

4.4%

0.3%

Men

43.1%

21.6%

32.3%

2.0%

1.0%

African American

35.8%

26.0%

31.5%

6.1%

0.5%

Other Ethnic Minorities

24.5%

27.4%

41.2%

6.0%

0.9%

International Students

27.7%

28.3%

39.0%

4.7%

0.3%

Disabled Students

26.4%

28.5%

37.1%

6.5%

1.5%

Gay & Lesbian Students

10.9%

16.9%

46.5%

15.5%

10.1%

Services for Students

Survey respondents were instructed to evaluate various academic and non-academic services provided by NC State, based on 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 inadequate experience (for purpose of evaluation) with the service area was excluded from analyses.

Academic Services (Table 3-8)
Academic services encompassed three primary areas: academic advising, research support, and technology services.

More than three-fourths of respondents gave high ratings to each of the various aspects of academic advising within their major asked about. Access to advisor was most likely to be rated "excellent" by students (45.2%), while advisor's knowledge of campus policies and procedures was least likely to be as highly rated (35.4%).

Ratings of technology services were much more varied. Overall, respondents were much more positive about their access to the Internet (3.76) and access to up-to-date facilities (3.42) than they were to services providing assistance such as technology training classes (2.81) and access to trained staff for help (2.79).

Large numbers of students responded they "don't know/did not use" the research support services asked about. Among those rating such services ratings were generally positive, although more likely to be "good" than "excellent."

Table 3-8: Academic Service Areas

Mean Response

% saying

4:Excellent

3:Good

2:Fair

1:Poor

Academic advising (in major)

Access to advisor

3.19

45.2%

35.0%

13.6%

6.2%

Accurate info about degree requirements

3.14

41.5%

35.4%

18.1%

4.9%

Sufficient time with advisor

3.11

41.4%

34.5%

17.8%

6.4%

Knowledge of campus policies/procedures

3.07

35.4%

41.5%

18.2%

4.9%

Overall academic advising services

3.12

38.4%

40.5%

15.3%

5.8%

Research support

Access to up-to-date facilities (research)

3.15

36.7%

45.5%

13.9%

4.0%

Access to faculty in research

3.01

28.2%

50.2%

15.9%

5.8%

Research support overall

3.06

26.1%

56.8%

14.0%

3.2%

Technology services

Access to Internet

3.76

78.3%

19.8%

1.8%

0.1%

Access to up-to-date facilities (tech)

3.42

51.7%

39.8%

7.2%

1.2%

Hours for computer ctrs/labs/help desks

3.27

45.3%

39.7%

11.6%

3.4%

Technology training classes

2.81

20.9%

48.5%

22.7%

8.9%

Access to trained staff for help

2.79

22.0%

43.3%

26.2%

8.5%

Overall technology services

3.28

37.3%

53.9%

8.7%

0.1%

Non-academic Services (Tables 3-9 and 3-10)
Students were also asked to evaluate a range of non-academic services. For those services involving interaction with staff members (secretaries, tutors counselors, office workers, etc.), students were also instructed to evaluate the responsiveness of the staff.

Each of the services asked about was rated as at least "good" by a majority of respondents with one exception. Almost 15 percent (14.8%) rated campus food services as "poor", and another 39.5 percent said it was "fair." Opportunities for recreational activities and library services were most likely to be rated as "excellent" (41.7% and 37.0 % respectively).

In general, respondents were more likely to rate the staff associated with a given service as "excellent" than they were to rate the service itself as "excellent." Largest differences in ratings were for staff associated with campus health services and with non-career campus counseling. Staff associated with the registration process, however, received somewhat lower ratings than did the registration process more generally.

Table 3-9: Non-Academic Services

Services

Mean Rating

% saying

4:Excellent

3:Good

2:Fair

1:Poor

Opportunities for rec activities

3.30

41.7%

48.6%

7.5%

2.2%

Library services

3.25

37.0%

52.8%

8.6%

1.5%

Registration process

3.14

32.8%

50.5%

14.7%

1.9%

Opps to dev leadership skills

3.13

33.6%

49.2%

14.1%

3.1%

College/dept placing services

3.06

30.9%

49.7%

14.0%

5.4%

Univ planning & placement services

2.94

21.5%

54.9%

20.1%

3.5%

Campus health services

2.94

23.4%

52.4%

19.1%

5.2%

Campus counseling (not career) services

2.89

23.4%

49.3%

20.1%

7.2%

Opportunities for community svc

2.85

22.5%

47.9%

21.6%

8.0%

Business svcs/cashier/stdnt accts

2.83

15.8%

56.7%

21.9%

5.6%

Personal safety on campus

2.82

14.8%

58.0%

21.7%

5.6%

Bookstore services and products

2.76

15.4%

53.0%

24.0%

7.7%

Financial aid services

2.75

20.0%

47.2%

20.7%

12.1%

Residence life programs

2.66

14.8%

46.2%

29.4%

9.6%

Campus food services

2.39

7.9%

37.9%

39.5%

14.8%


Table 3-10: Staff Responsiveness

Services

Mean Rating

% saying

4:Excellent

3:Good

2:Fair

1:Poor

Library services

3.22

37.7%

49.4%

10.5%

2.4%

Registration process

3.09

29.2%

52.1%

17.2%

1.5%

College/dept placing services

3.08

32.9%

46.8%

15.8%

4.5%

Campus health services

3.03

32.0%

44.8%

17.3%

5.8%

Univ planning & placement services

2.99

26.2%

50.1%

19.1%

3.8%

Campus counseling (not career) services

2.92

30.8%

39.7%

20.5%

8.9%

Personal safety on campus

2.80

19.6%

49.3%

22.6%

8.6%

Bookstore services and products

2.77

15.8%

51.3%

26.7%

6.3%

Business svcs/cashier/stdnt accts

2.76

15.6%

53.0%

23.2%

8.2%

Financial aid services

2.66

20.1%

41.2%

23.7%

15.0%

Residence life programs

2.66

15.3%

46.7%

26.3%

11.7%

Campus food services

2.43

11.8%

37.8%

32.6%

17.9%

Financial Aid (Tables 3-11 and 3-12)
Almost 60 percent of respondents (59.8%) said they received some sort of financial aid. The majority (87.3%) of these respondents said they were either "very" (43.8%) or "moderately satisfied" (43.5%) with the aid package received.

Respondents were asked with which aspect, if any, of financial aid services were they least satisfied. Seventy-percent of those receiving financial aid opted not to respond, indicating that they were generally satisfied with financial aid services
1. However, slightly more than 10 percent of those receiving aid said they were least satisfied with the award package they received. Slightly fewer were least satisfied with the application process (7.8%) and the customer service skills of the reception staff (7.2%).

Table 3-11: Financial Aid Received

Satisfaction with financial aid package received
(of those saying "Yes, received aid," n=568)

% saying

% saying Yes

Very satisfied

Moderately satisfied

Moderately dissatisfied

Very dissatisfied

Financial aid received

59.8%

43.8%

43.5%

9.5%

3.2%

Table 3-12: Dissatisfaction with Financial Aid (among those who received aid)

Area LEAST satisfied with (n=568)

% saying Yes

The financial aid award package I received

10.7%

The financial aid application process

7.8%

Customer service skills of the reception staff

7.2%

Customer service skills of the advisor staff

2.3%

Customer services skills of the phone staff

2.1%

Nothing mentioned

69.9%

Knowledge, Skills, and Personal Development

General Growth and Training (Table 3-13)
A majority of respondents (60.4%) said NC State contributed "very well" to their intellectual growth. Respondents were less positive about the university's contribution to their personal growth (45.7%) and career training (36.4%). More than 20 percent of respondents (22.0%) said that NC State contributed only "somewhat adequately" (18.6%) or "poorly" (3.4%) to their career training.

Table 3-13: NC State's Contribution to

Mean Rating

% saying

4:Very Well

3:Adequately

2:Somewhat adequately

1:Poorly

Intellectual Growth

3.54

60.4%

33.8%

4.9%

1.0%

Personal Growth

3.27

45.7%

38.0%

13.6%

2.7%

Career Training

3.11

36.4%

41.6%

18.6%

3.4%

Knowledge, Skills, and Personal Growth (Table 3-14)
Graduating seniors rated the extent to which NC State contributed to 35 factors related to their general education, world views, and personal development, using a scale of 1 ("none") to 4 ("very much"). The majority of respondents said NC State contributed at least "somewhat" to all but four of the factors listed. Respondents were more likely to say NC State contributed "very much" to their development of general education and personal growth goals than to their development of world view goals.

On average, highest rating were given to enhancing analytic skills (3.60), developing computer skills (3.60), ability to critically analyze ideas and information (3.59), ability to plan and carry out projects independently (3.60), and developing potential for success (3.59). Lowest ratings were given to the university's contribution to a number of world view goals: appreciating gender equity (2.92), appreciating racial equity (2.90), exercising public responsibility and community service (2.82), and advancing appreciation of the arts (2.61).

Table 3-14: Contribution to Knowledge, Skills, and Personal Growth

Mean Rating

% saying

4:Very Much

3:Somewhat

2:Very Little

1:None

General education

Enhancing analytic skills

3.60

64.7%

31.1%

4.0%

0.3%

Developing computer skills

3.60

68.6%

24.7%

5.5%

1.5%

Applying scientific methods

3.44

56.2%

33.3%

8.9%

1.4%

Comprehension skills

3.43

51.5%

40.8%

6.5%

1.3%

Writing skills

3.39

49.5%

40.8%

8.6%

1.0%

Speaking skills

3.39

50.5%

39.9%

8.4%

1.5%

Using math skills

3.37

53.4%

33.0%

11.1%

2.4%

Listening skills

3.34

46.1%

43.0%

8.8%

1.7%

World views

Critical analysis of ideas/info

3.59

64.5%

31.0%

3.9%

0.6%

Ability to plan/carry out projects indep

3.60

66.9%

26.9%

5.1%

1.1%

Science/tech influence on everyday life

3.52

61.3%

31.0%

6.6%

1.3%

Ability to function as part of a team

3.53

61.4%

31.0%

6.4%

1.2%

Value learning as a life-long process

3.51

60.7%

31.8%

5.6%

1.9%

Ability to work with diverse people

3.39

50.4%

39.3%

8.6%

1.6%

Ability to lead or guide others

3.32

67.2%

40.2%

10.1%

2.6%

Develop tolerance for divergent views

3.20

39.1%

45.4%

11.4%

4.1%

Understanding world issues/problems

3.15

37.8%

42.6%

16.1%

3.5%

Understand diverse cultures/values

3.10

34.2%

45.8%

16.0%

3.9%

Recognizing/acting on ethical principles

3.08

33.3%

45.6%

17.4%

3.7%

Present as it relates to history

3.08

31.6%

48.8%

15.8%

3.8%

Commitment to personal health/fitness

3.00

33.6%

39.0%

21.6%

5.8%

Appreciating gender equity

2.92

29.2%

41.6%

21.1%

8.2%

Appreciating racial equity

2.90

28.5%

41.6%

21.2%

8.6%

Community svc/public responsibility

2.82

25.5%

39.6%

26.4%

8.6%

Appreciation of the arts

2.61

22.4%

32.0%

29.4%

16.2%

Personal development

Potential for success

3.59

65.3%

29.6%

3.4%

1.7%

Personal growth

3.52

60.4%

32.9%

4.9%

1.7%

Independence and self-reliance

3.48

60.8%

29.5%

6.7%

3.0%

Self-discipline

3.48

59.4%

31.9%

6.3%

2.4%

Time management

3.45

57.2%

32.8%

7.3%

2.6%

Coping with change

3.37

51.6%

36.9%

8.2%

3.2%

Self-confidence

3.32

49.7%

36.4%

9.7 %

4.2%

Taking responsibility for own behavior

3.31

51.7%

32.6%

10.4%

5.3%

Ability to handle stress

3.29

50.8%

33.1%

10.3%

5.8%

Sense of personal identity

3.25

47.4%

35.7%

11.4%

5.6%

Employment and Extracurricular Activities

Number of Hours Worked (Table 3-15)
About 80 percent of respondents indicated they were employed at some time while they were at NC State. Almost 40 percent (39.3%) of those who worked during their graduation year worked an average of 20 or more hours per week while at NC State.

Table 3-15: Number of Hours Worked

% saying Yes

Less than 5 hrs/wk

6.1%

5-9 hrs/wk

12.0%

10-14 hrs/wk

20.3%

15-19 hrs/wk

22.2%

20-24 hrs/wk

19.1%

25-29 hrs/wk

6.8%

30-34 hrs/wk

5.6%

More than 35 hrs/wk

7.8%

Job Relationship to Major (Table 3-16)
More than one-third (35.9%) 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 (73.5%).

Table 3-16: Job Relation to Academic Major

% saying

Directly Related

Somewhat Related

Not Related

Job related to academic major? (n=750)

35.9%

31.9%

32.3%

Yes

No

If Not Related" was this by choice? (n=238)

73.5%

26.5%

Co-op Experience (Table 3-17)
Slightly more than half of respondents (51.2%) had a co-op, internship, practicum, or field experience while at NC State. A large majority (65.6%) of those said the experience made an "excellent" contribution to their personal or professional growth. Thirty-eight percent said they received a job offer from their employer.

Table 3-17: Co-op Experience

 

% saying
Yes

Job contribution to personal/professional growth

% saying

Excellent

Good

Fair

Poor

Co-op/internship/practicum/field experience

51.2%

65.6%

28.8%

4.8%

0.9%

Yes

No

Job offer from employer?

38.5%

61.5%

Extracurricular Involvement (Table 3-18)
Students were asked to indicate all school-related groups which they had been involved in while at NC State. The most frequent responses were organizations/clubs related to your major (57.5%) and intramural/recreational sports, club teams (46.9%).

Table 3-18: Extracurricular Involvement at NCSU

% saying Yes

n

Organizations/clubs related to major

57.5%

550

Intramural/rec sports, club teams

46.9%

449

Academic (Honors program, etc.)

33.2%

318

Honor/service/professional frat/sorority

30.1%

288

Social fraternity/sorority

16.7%

160

Religious/political/issue groups

14.3%

137

Other groups

6.8%

65

Residence hall council, IRC

6.6%

63

Visual/performing arts/music groups

6.5%

62

Minority student groups

5.5%

53

Varsity athletic teams

5.0%

48

Union activities board, student media

3.9%

37

Student government

3.3%

32

Student judicial board

1.5%

14



Endnotes:
1. Eleven of the 383 students who did not receive financial aid also responded to this question. Four were "least satisfied" with the application process, four with the award package, one with the reception staff, and two with the advisor staff. Assessment of satisfaction with financial aid in future Graduating Senior surveys will include all those who applied for financial aid, not just those to whom it was awarded. Analyses exploring differences in satisfaction between those who were and were not awarded financial aid will then be possible. (back)

For more information on the 1999 Graduating Senior Survey contact:
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: April 2000

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