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2010 one-year alumni survey university report office of assessment july 2011

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2010 one-year alumni survey university summary report prepared by steven hawks assistant director jenna rycek graduate research assistant sarah murdoch student assistant office of assessment kansas state university june 2011

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2010 one-year alumni survey executive summary the alumni survey is designed to give undergraduate graduates the opportunity to reflect upon their k-state experiences this information is used to improve the college experience for future students by identifying strengths in our programs as well as areas that need further development of the 1,606 one-year alumni who received the survey 605 participated for an overall response rate of 38 up from 30 last year 96 of respondents felt k-state prepared them fairly well well or excellently for their present job top three employment areas for k-state s one-year alumni are education 15 engineering 10 and agriculture 7 currently attending graduate/professional school of the respondents currently attending graduate/professional school 41 plan to achieve a master s degree while 31 plan to achieve a doctorate as their highest level of education nearly 82 of respondents who are currently attending graduate/professional school are attending their first school of choice 99 of respondents who are currently attending graduate/professional school rated the quality of their k-state undergraduate preparation for graduate/professional education as fair good or excellent demographics of respondents 59 of respondents were female approximately 90 of respondents were white non-hispanic 86 of respondents were twenty-five years of age or younger nearly 100 99.2 of respondents are u.s citizens 54 of respondents graduated with an undergraduate certificate and/or minor 77 of respondents transferred credits to k-state 65 of one-year alumni remain living in the state of kansas additional information 99 of respondents indicated that they would recommend k-state to a potential student significant comparisons by gender male respondents were more likely to report that they are in the first job after graduating from k-state 76 compared to 62 male respondents were more likely than female respondents to report a higher preparation for their current job from k-state 74 compared to 62 male respondents were more likely than female respondents to describe their current position as long-term 83 compared to 71 selection of kansas state university 96 of respondents if given the choice would attend k-state if he or she could start over 86 of respondents noted that k-state was their first college/university of choice approximately 97 of respondents indicated that their quality of life has been somewhat or very much enhanced by their undergraduate experience at kstate significant comparisons by year employment experiences 77 of respondents are currently employed selfemployed or both employed and continuing their education approximately 62 of alumni believe that their certificate and/or minor gave them an advantage when applying for jobs 2010 respondents were less likely than 2009 respondents to be in their first job after graduation 68 compared to 78 2010 respondents were more likely than 2009 respondents to have difficulty finding employment 50 compared to 33 i

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about the 2010 one-year alumni survey the alumni survey is designed to give undergraduate graduates the opportunity to reflect upon their k-state experiences this information is used to improve the college experience for future students by identifying strengths in our programs as well as areas that need further development surveys were sent electronically to alumni who graduated in december 2008 may 2009 and august 2009 for whom e-mail addresses were provided by the alumni association the office of assessment obtained e-mail addresses for 1,865 graduates 259 were undeliverable the overall response rate for the university was 38 605 out of 1,606 for comparison the overall response rate in 2009 and 2008 were 30 479 out of 1,619 and 47 724 out of 1,542 respectively this report consists of frequencies on each question and statistically significant differences by gender and survey year from the 2010 one-year alumni survey ii

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table of contents page introduction 1 selection of kansas state university 3 employment experiences 10 currently attending graduate/professional school 18 additional information 20 significant differences by gender 21 significant differences by year 26 iii

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list of tables page table 1 table 2 table 3 table 4 table 5 table 6 table 7 table 8 table 9 table 10 table 11 table 12 table 13 table 14 table 15 table 16 table 17 table 18 table 19 table 20 table 21 table 22 table 23 table 24 table 25 table 26 table 27 table 28 table 29 table 30 demographic information 1 alumni s majors 2 alumni who transferred credits 2 type of institution transferred from number of credits transferred 2 graduated with an undergraduate certificate and/or minors 2 satisfaction with k-state 3 choice of applying to k-state 3 features of advising 4 contribution to growth from experiences at k-state 4 more or less emphasis 7 quality of life enhancement 9 present residence 9 current activities 10 primary reason not employed 10 seeking employment and seriousness of unemployment 11 alumni who benefited from a certificate and/or minors 11 alumni fields of employment 12 job skill requirements 12 first job after graduation 13 sources of finding job 13 job relationship to major 13 job not related to major 14 job search 14 preparation for job 15 current employment 16 satisfaction with present position 16 requirements for position 17 degree seeking 18 relationship to graduate major 18 first choice for graduate school 19 iv

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list of tables cont page table 31 table 32 table 33 table 34 table 35 table 36 table 37 table 38 table 39 table 40 table 41 table 42 table 43 table 44 financial assistance 19 preparation for graduate school 19 university information 20 recommendation of k-state 20 significant differences in demographics by gender 21 significant differences in satisfaction with k-state by gender 21 significant differences in growth at k-state by gender 21 significant differences in emphasis at k-state by gender 22 significant differences in first job by gender 22 significant differences in job search by gender 23 significant differences in salary by gender 23 significant differences in describing current position by gender 24 significant differences about satisfaction with job by gender 24 significant differences in type of institution transferred from number of credits transferred by year 26 table 45 table 46 table 47 significant differences in satisfaction with k-state by year 26 significant differences in growth at k-state by year 27 significant differences in seeking employment seriousness of unemployment by year 27 table 48 table 49 table 50 table 51 appendix a significant differences in first job after graduation by year 27 significant differences in job search by year 28 significant differences in preparation for job by year 28 significant differences in describing current position by year 28 2010 one-year alumni survey 29 v

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introduction table 1 demographic information n gender male female total 249 353 602 percentage 41.4 58.6 100.0 are you a u.s citizen yes no total ethnicity/race american indian/alaskan native asian or pacific islander black non-hispanic hispanic/spanish/latin american mexican/mexican american white non-hispanic multiracial other no response total age under 24 24 25 26-30 over 30 total 597 5 602 99.2 0.8 100.0 8 7 9 12 4 542 5 4 11 602 1.3 1.2 1.5 2.0 0.7 90.0 0.8 0.7 1.8 100.0 203 231 86 56 26 602 33.7 38.4 14.3 9.3 4.3 100.0 1

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table 2 alumni s majors what was your undergraduate major college of agriculture college of architecture planning design college of arts sciences college of business administration college of education college of engineering college of human ecology college of technology aviation total n 90 4 170 101 55 100 78 7 605 percentage 14.9 0.7 28.1 16.7 9.1 16.5 12.9 1.2 100.0 table 3 alumni who transferred credits did you transfer credit to k-state from another college or university yes no total n 441 161 602 percentage 77.3 26.7 100.0 table 4 type of institution transferred from number of credits transferred 1-20 a two year college another kansas 4 year public university an out-of-state 4 year public university a private 4 year college or university other total 220 69 37 41 45 412 21-30 55 7 9 5 2 78 31-40 n 25 3 1 4 1 34 41-60 24 4 1 6 0 35 61 31 0 6 2 1 40 total 355 87 54 58 49 603 table 5 graduated with an undergraduate certificate and/or minors did you graduate with an undergraduate certificate or minors yes no total n 329 276 605 percentage 54.4 45.6 100.0 2

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selection of kansas state university table 6 satisfaction with k-state if you could start over would you still choose to attend k-state definitely no probably no uncertain probably yes definitely yes total graduate with same first major definitely no probably no uncertain probably yes definitely yes total graduate with same second major definitely no probably no uncertain probably yes definitely yes does not apply total n 1 8 14 133 443 599 percentage 0.2 1.3 2.3 22.2 74.0 100.0 25 102 69 187 216 599 4.2 17.0 11.5 31.2 36.1 100.0 17 19 89 59 74 341 599 2.8 3.2 14.9 9.8 12.4 56.9 100.0 table 7 choice of applying to k-state when you applied to k-state it was your first choice second choice third choice not one of top three choices total n 517 59 15 8 599 percentage 86.3 9.8 2.5 1.3 100.0 3

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table 8 features of advising after having a year to reflect how satisfied are you with the following features of advising provided to you at k-state access to academic advising very dissatisfied dissatisfied neutral satisfied very satisfied total assistance in course selection/developing a program of study very dissatisfied dissatisfied neutral satisfied very satisfied total information provided about career/graduate school opportunities very dissatisfied dissatisfied neutral satisfied very satisfied total n percentage 18 48 104 233 196 599 3.0 8.0 17.4 38.9 32.7 100.0 17 74 134 212 162 599 2.8 12.4 22.4 35.4 27.0 100.0 41 83 157 203 115 599 6.8 13.9 26.2 33.9 19.2 100.0 table 9 contribution to growth from experiences at k-state how much has your k-state college experience contributed to your growth in each of the following areas increasing knowledge and understanding in an academic field none little somewhat very much gaining knowledge technical skills and/or competence required for a job/career none little somewhat very much developing skills in leading or participating in groups or teams none little somewhat very much n percentage 1 13 170 367 0.2 2.4 30.9 66.6 3 33 202 313 0.5 6.0 36.7 56.8 3 34 204 310 0.5 6.2 37.0 56.3 4

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table 9 cont contribution to growth from experiences at k-state how much has your k-state college experience contributed to your growth in each of the following areas gaining knowledge that will enrich your daily life or make you a more complete person none little somewhat very much becoming independent self-reliant and responsible none little somewhat very much developing an understanding and awareness of yourself interests abilities values needs etc none little somewhat very much becoming a more satisfied responsible family member none little somewhat very much becoming more aware of world issues and pressing social political and economic problems none little somewhat very much thinking critically problem-solving none little somewhat very much identifying a sense of values and priorities in life none little somewhat very much n percentage 5 37 224 285 0.9 6.7 40.7 51.7 3 31 164 353 0.5 5.6 29.8 64.1 3 47 200 301 0.5 8.5 36.3 54.6 22 93 234 202 4.0 16.9 42.5 36.7 25 128 223 175 4.5 23.2 40.5 31.8 1 34 211 305 0.2 6.2 38.3 55.4 11 58 219 263 2.0 10.5 39.7 47.7 5

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table 9 cont contribution to growth from experiences at k-state how much has your k-state college experience contributed to your growth in each of the following areas developing lasting friendships and personal ties none little somewhat very much handling personal/family finances and consumer issues none little somewhat very much increasing your intellectual curiosity none little somewhat very much caring for your mental/physical health none little somewhat very much organizing time effectively none little somewhat very much increasing a commitment to public service none little somewhat very much developing satisfying leisure time activities none little somewhat very much n percentage 3 48 132 368 0.5 8.7 24.0 66.8 31 110 234 176 5.6 20.0 42.5 31.9 5 38 223 285 0.9 6.9 40.5 51.7 26 102 257 166 4.7 18.5 46.6 30.1 9 61 222 259 1.6 11.1 40.3 47.0 43 157 203 148 7.8 28.5 36.8 26.9 24 99 219 209 4.4 18.0 39.7 37.9 6

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table 9 cont contribution to growth from experiences at k-state how much has your k-state college experience contributed to your growth in each of the following areas becoming more willing to consider opposing points of view none little somewhat very much interacting and working effectively with people from different racial/ethnic backgrounds none little somewhat very much locating and evaluating information sources none little somewhat very much n percentage 12 83 236 220 2.2 15.1 42.8 39.9 21 66 225 239 3.8 12.0 40.8 43.4 8 54 229 260 1.5 9.8 41.6 47.2 table 10 more or less emphasis looking back on your college experience do you believe less the same or more emphasis should have been placed on written communications skills less same more oral communications skills less same more mathematical skills less same more computer skills less same more n percentage 9 364 174 1.6 66.5 31.8 6 273 268 1.1 49.9 49.0 33 407 107 6.0 74.4 19.6 7 299 241 1.3 54.7 44.1 7

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table 10 cont more or less emphasis looking back on your college experience do you believe less the same or more emphasis should have been placed on problem-solving skills less same more learning to think and reason less same more understanding and relating to people less same more background in natural sciences e.g chemistry biology physics less same more background in social sciences e.g economics sociology psychology less same more background in humanities and fine arts e.g art music history less same more theory courses related to my major less same more application courses related to my majors less same more n percentage 1 338 208 0.2 61.8 38.0 0 315 232 0.0 57.6 42.4 8 316 223 1.5 57.8 40.8 87 378 82 15.9 69.1 15.0 35 394 118 6.4 72.0 21.6 97 349 101 12.7 63.8 18.5 64 358 125 11.7 65.4 22.9 9 223 315 1.6 40.8 57.6 8

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