Alumni Survey

Alumni Survey Shows Broad Satisfaction, continued

Overall, alumni rated their education very highly. Ninety-two percent said they were adequately or very well prepared for their first job, while 93 percent said they were adequately or very well prepared for their current job. Ninety-five percent said they were very satisfied or reasonably satisfied with their education at CU-Boulder.

Asked what one area they would have increased their preparation in if they had the opportunity, 40 percent said management skills and 27 percent said technical knowledge. Other answers in order of magnitude were communication skills (14 percent), problem-solving skills (11 percent), foreign language (7 percent) and humanities/social sciences (7 percent).

In the technical courses they took at CU-Boulder, 52 percent said laboratory and practical experience were more important for their work, while 48 percent said theoretical and conceptual learning were more important.

Respondents rated problem-solving skills highest in importance in the their careers, with 98 percent saying these skills were important or very important. Communication skills were ranked next highest with 96 percent saying they were important or very important, followed by technical knowledge (90 percent) and management skills (82 percent).

When hiring new employees, respondents again ranked problem- solving skills as most important (98 percent), followed by communication skills (96 percent), technical knowledge (92 percent), and management skills (59 percent).

The vast majority of respondents said CU-Boulder prepared or well prepared them in the areas of technical knowledge (89 percent) and problem-solving skills (81 percent). However, 47 percent said they were only somewhat prepared in the areas of management and communication skills.

Twenty-eight percent of respondents have gone on to earn an advanced degree since leaving CU-Boulder, while the average respondent has had three professional development experiences in the last five years—the majority of these were short, in-house training or certificate programs. Eighty-three percent have attended at least one professional or technical society conference or meeting since graduation. Thirty-six percent passed the Engineering Fundamentals Exam; 29 percent are licensed professional engineers.

Eighty-four percent consider CU-Boulder to be among the Top 25 engineering colleges in quality, including 24 percent who ranked CU-Boulder in the Top 10. — By Carol Rowe.