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CU-Boulder Entering Freshmen Survey, 1996

RESULTS OF FRESHMEN SURVEY

1. Own Ability
2. Comfort
3. Knowledge
4. Behaviors and Expectations
5. Services
6. Resource Use
7. Diversity Attitudes
8. Year in Review
9. Year in Review - Attributions
10. Year in Review- Comments
11. Future Plans

A. OWN ABILITY

• Of nine abilities, spring freshmen reported having the highest ability in interacting with students, making new friends, and clarifying their own values and the lowest ability in interacting with professors, studying effectively, and determining their career goals.
• Freshmen's self-reported ability increased from fall to spring for:
  • making new friends
  • developing a course plan
• Freshmen's self-reported ability decreased from fall to spring for several academic-related activities:
  • dealing with academic pressures
  • determining career goals
  • studying effectively
  • interacting with professors

Fall and Spring Question: How would you rate your ability to do each of the following?
1=Very poor 2=poor 3=ok 4=good 5=very good

Percent who answered "good" or "very good" ability

  Item                            Fall   Spring    
                                                 0                            50                            100
                                                 *------------------------------------------------------------*
  Interact with students             83    82    |                             |                  @           |
  Make new friends                   73    81    |                             |             F---S            |
  Clarify own values                 93    77    |                             |               S--------F     |
  Develop course plan                62    71    |                             |      F----S                  |
  Identify friends/others who help   66    62    |                             |      S-F                     |
  Deal with acad pressures           71    59    |                             |    S------F                  |
  Determine career goals             65    54    |                             | S------F                     |
  Study effectively                  59    51    |                             |S---F                         |
  Interact with professors           52    46    |                           S-|F                             |
                                                 *------------------------------------------------------------*

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B. COMFORT

• Although on average, freshmen report being comfortable in each of eight activities, spring freshmen reported greatest comfort in attending football/basketball games, shopping in Boulder, and studying with students from class and least comfort in interacting with faculty and getting advising on courses to take.
• Freshmen's comfort with interacting with faculty slightly decreased from fall to spring.

Fall and Spring Question: How comfortable do you think you would be in each of the following settings?
1=Very uncomfortable 2=uncomfortable 3=neither 4=comfortable 5=very uncomfortable

Percent who answered "comfortable" or "very comfortable"

  Item                             Fall   Spring     
                                                  0                                                         100
                                                 *------------------------------------------------------------*
  Attending football/basketball game 88    86    |                             |                    SF        |
  Shopping in Boulder                90    85    |                             |                    S--F      |
  Studying w/students from class     86    85    |                             |                    @         |
  Student parties, get-togethers     82    81    |                             |                 SF           |
  Living in residence halls          81    76    |                             |              S--F            |
  Spending time on the Hill          72    70    |                             |           SF                 |
  Getting advising on courses        69    67    |                             |         SF                   |
  Interacting with faculty           62    54    |                             | S----F                       |
                                                 *------------------------------------------------------------*

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C. KNOWLEDGE

• Of five general areas, spring freshmen reported having the most knowledge of their own strengths and weaknesses and the least knowledge of ethnic-related resources for CU-Boulder students.
• Freshmen's self-reported knowledge of academic-related resources slightly increased from fall to spring.

Fall and Spring Question: How much knowledge do you have about each of the following areas? 1=None 2=little 3=some 4=much 5=substantial

Percent who answered "much" or "substantial" ability

  Item                            Fall   Spring    
                                                  0                                                         100
                                                 *------------------------------------------------------------*
  Own strengths/weaknesses           90    92    |                             |                       FS     |
  Academic resources                 30    37    |                 F---S       |                              |
  UCB student clubs/orgs             26    30    |               F-S           |                              |
  Career-related resources           16    21    |         F--S                |                              |
  Ethnic-related resources           12    14    |       FS                    |                              |
                                                 *------------------------------------------------------------*

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D. BEHAVIORS AND EXPECTATIONS

• Of nine activities, spring freshmen reported that they most frequently socialized with others of their own race/ethnicity and least frequently had a negative experience because of their race/ethnicity and attended a campus activity sponsored by a racial/ethnic group.
• The frequency with which freshman contributed in class, received acknowledgment for their successes, participated in dorm activities, and attended a campus activity sponsored by a racial/ethnic group was considerably less than they had originally expected in the fall.

Fall Question: How often do you expect to have each of these experiences?
Spring Question: How often did you have each of the following experiences?
1=Never 2=seldom 3=sometimes 4=often 5=very often

Percent who answered "often" or "very often"

  Item                            Fall   Spring    
                                                 0                            50                           100
                                                 *------------------------------------------------------------*
  Socialize w/others of my race/eth   87    86   |                             |                    SF        |
  Contribute in class                 54    38   |                      S------|-F                            |
  Worry about financial situation     38    37   |                     SF      |                              |
  Attend meeting of student club      39    36   |                     S-F     |                              |
  Become discouraged during the year  25    27   |              FS             |                              |
  Receive acknowledgment for success  35    22   |            S-------F        |                              |
  Participate in dorm activities      33    14   |        S----------F         |                              |
  Attend r/e-sponsored activity       18     3   | S--------F                  |                              |
  Have neg exp because of race/eth     1     1   |@                            |                              |
                                                 *------------------------------------------------------------*

• The three behaviors relating to race/ethnicity were also analyzed by respondents' race/ethnicity.
  • Compared to white freshmen, freshmen of color are less likely to expect to socialize and actually to socialize with others of their own race/ethnicity. Further, the frequency with which freshmen of color interacted with others of their own race/ethnicity was less than they had originally expected in the fall.
  • For both freshmen of color and white freshmen, the frequency with which they attended a campus activity sponsored by a racial/ethnic group was less than they had originally expected in the fall.

Percent who answered "often" or "very often"

                                       Freshmen of Color     White Freshmen
  Item                                 Fall   Spring         Fall   Spring
                                     (Expect)  (Did)       (Expect)  (Did) 
                                                        
  Socialize w/others of my race/eth      53     32             93     94   
  Attend r/e-sponsored activity          19      8             18      2   
  Have neg exp because of race/eth        5      6              0      0

E. SERVICES

• On the spring questionnaire, students were asked about their awareness of, use of, and satisfaction with each of ten campus services. In the fall, students were asked only about the amount of knowledge they had about these services.
• Of the ten services, fall freshmen reported having the most knowledge of the Rec Center and UMC and the least about Cultural Unity Student Center, Undegraduate Academic Affairs, and Student Academic Services Center.
• Spring freshmen were most likely to use the University Libraries, UMC, and the Rec Center and least likely to use Cultural Unity Student Center, Counseling Services, Career Services, and Student Academic Services Center.
• Freshmen users were most satisfied with the Rec Center followed by Cultural Unity Student Center, UMC, and the University Libraries. Freshman users were least satisfied with Counseling Services, Undergraduate Academic Affairs, Wardenburg, and Student Academic Services Center.

Fall Question: Indicate how much knowledge you have about each of the following CU-Boulder services.
(1=None 2=little 3=some 4=much 5=substantial)
Spring Question: Below is a list of CU-Boulder services and programs. If you haven't used the service, circle a 1 or 2 to indicate your awareness of the service. If you have used the service, circle a 3, 4, or 5 to indicate your satisfaction with it.
(1=Wasn't aware 2=aware but haven't used 3=low satisfaction 4=medium satisfaction 5=high satisfaction)

Sorted by percent of respondents who used the service

                                -Fall 1996-   
                                 % who had    ---------------------------Spring 1997 Results---------------------
                                 at least     % Aware   % Who   Average      % of Users Who      % of Respondents
                                 "some"        of        Used    Satis-      Rated Service       Who Rated Service
  Item                           knowledge    Service   Service  faction      Low    High        Low    High
  ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

  University Libraries                 81       100        99      2.3           9      39          9      39
  UMC                                  93       100        98      2.3          12      43         12      42
  Recreation Center                    95        98        88      2.7           1      72          0      64
  College advising services            63        98        74      2.0          27      26         20      19
  Wardenburg                           62        97        66      1.8          43      23         28      15
  Undergraduate Academic Affairs       19        52        22      1.8          40      18          9       4
  Student Acad Service Center          27        66        18      1.9          37      23          7       4
  Career Services                      35        73        14      2.0          22      24          3       3
  Counseling Services                  38        64        12      1.7          43      14          5       2
  Cultural Unity Student Center        15        47         5      2.6          12      68          1       4

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F. RESOURCE USE

• Of seven resources, spring freshmen reported that when issues or problems arose, they most frequently relied on CU-Boulder friends, themselves, and parents and least frequently relied on CU-Boulder academic counselors, religious leaders, and CU-Boulder faculty.
• The frequency with which freshman relied on parents and friends from home was less than they had originally expected in the fall. This finding may be the result of students' not experiencing as many issues, concerns, or difficulties as they had expected or may be the result of freshmen's actually relying less on people from home as they make the transition from home to college.

How frequently did you use each of the following resources to deal with problems?
(compared to fall question of How frequently do you expect to use each of the following resources to deal with problems?)
1=Never 2=seldom 3=sometimes 4=often 5=very often

Percent who answered "often" or "very often"

  Item                            Fall   Spring    
                                                  0                                                         100
                                                 *------------------------------------------------------------*
  Friends at CU-Boulder              79    73    |                             |             S--F             |
  Rely on self                       68    69    |                             |          @                   |
  Parents or other relatives         83    69    |                             |          S-------F           |
  Friends from home/high school      71    56    |                             |   S-------F                  |
  CU-Boulder faculty/instructors     14    11    |      S-F                    |                              |
  Church, religious leaders          14    10    |     S--F                    |                              |
  Academic counselors at CU          14     8    |    S---F                    |                              |
                                                 *------------------------------------------------------------*

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G. DIVERSITY ATTITUDES

• Responses to six statements regarding racial/ethnic issues were analyzed by respondents' race/ethnicity. The first table below shows how freshmen of color responded to these statements, the second table indicates how white freshmen responded. The third table presents the differences in how freshmen of color and white freshmen responded in the spring.
• Freshmen of color agreed most strongly with "a person of color is the same as a white person but with a different colored skin" and least strongly with "too much emphasis is being placed on cultural diversity."
• White freshmen agreed most strongly with "a person of color is the same as a white person but with a different colored skin" and least strongly with "my racial/ethnic heritage is a central part of my sense of identity."
• The racial/ethnic-related attitudes of both freshmen of color and white freshmen changed very little from fall to spring.
• Compared to white freshmen, freshmen of color are more likely to state that a strong racial/ethnic identity is beneficial and their racial/ethnic heritage is central to their identity and are less likely to say that a person of color is the same as a white person and that there is too much emphasis on cultural diversity.

Fall and Spring Question:
To what extent do you agree with each of the following items re interracial issues?
1=Strongly disagree 2=disagree 3=neither 4=agree 5=strongly agree

Percent who answered "agree" or "strongly agree"


Attitudes Expressed by Freshmen of Color 

  Item                                 Fall   Spring
                                                     0                                                         100
                                                     *------------------------------------------------------------*
  Person of color same as whites         70    71    |                             |           @                  |
  Whites need to know about cultures     62    64    |                             |      FS                      |
  Strong r/e identity is beneficial      51    58    |                             |F---S                         |
  My race is central to my identity      56    58    |                             |   FS                         |
  Prefer to live w/diverse neighbors     62    51    |                             |S-----F                       |
  Too much emph on cultural diversity    31    26    |               S--F          |                              |
                                                     *------------------------------------------------------------*


Attitudes Expressed by White Freshmen          

  Item                                 Fall   Spring
                                                     0                                                         100
                                                     *------------------------------------------------------------*
  Person of color same as whites          80    86   |                             |                 F--S         |
  Whites need to know about cultures      64    65   |                             |       FS                     |
  Prefer to live w/diverse neighbors      45    46   |                          FS |                              |
  Too much emph on cultural diversity     35    42   |                    F---S    |                              |
  Strong r/e identity is beneficial       27    32   |               F--S          |                              |
  My race is central to my identity       18    15   |        S-F                  |                              |
                                                     *------------------------------------------------------------*


Comparison of Attitudes Expressed in Spring by Freshmen of Color and White Freshmen

  Item                               White    Frosh
                                     Frosh    of color
                                      (W)      (C )  0                                                         100
                                                     *------------------------------------------------------------*
  My race is central to my identity     15      58   |        W--------------------|----C                         |
  Strong r/e identity is beneficial     32      58   |                  W----------|----C                         |
  Prefer to live w/diverse neighbors    46      51   |                           W-|C                             |
  Whites need to know about cultures    65      64   |                             |       CW                     |
  Person of color same as whites        86      71   |                             |           C--------W         |
  Too much emph on cultural diversity   42      26   |               C--------W    |                              |
                                                     *------------------------------------------------------------*

H. YEAR IN REVIEW

• 85% of spring freshmen reported having had an active social life at CU-Boulder during their freshman year.
  • 25% of freshmen reported that they had joined a fraternity or sorority and 46% said they had joined a CU-Boulder student club or organization during their freshman year.
• 59% of spring freshmen reported having done well academically at CU-Boulder during their freshman year.
  • The next page describes freshmen's self-reported reasons for doing well.
  • Freshmen's self-reports of how well they did academically are related to their GPAs.

Mean cumulative CU GPA of freshmen who:
Agreed with statement that they did well academically     3.38
Were neutral toward statement                             2.70
Disagreed with statement that they did well academically  2.38

Fall Question: Do you expect to
1=Definitely not 2=probably not 3=maybe 4=probably 5=definitely yes
spring Question: Rate your level of agreement with each of the following statements about your freshman year
1=Strongly Disagree 2=disagree 3=neither 4=agree 5=strongly agree

Percent who answered "agree" or "strongly agree"

  Item                             Fall   Spring     
                                                  0                                                         100
                                                 *------------------------------------------------------------*
  Had an active social life at CU    89    85    |                             |                    S-F       |
  Did well academically at CU        86    59    |                             |    S---------------F         |
                                                 *------------------------------------------------------------*

• In general, freshmen expected to have an active social life and they did. However, freshmen did less well academically than they had expected in the fall. In all, 35% of freshmen reported doing less well than they had originally expected.

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I. YEAR IN REVIEW--ATTRIBUTIONS

• 80% of spring freshmen said they considered their freshman year a success, 6% a failure, and 14% neither a success or failure.
• Freshmen who considered their year a success were most likely to attribute their success to the effort they put into school and the help and support they got from others and were least likely to attribute their success to being lucky and their gender.
• When comparing the attributions freshmen made about their being admitted to CU-Boulder to the attributions students made to their successful year at CU-Boulder, freshmen were more likely to cite help from others and their race/ethnicity when describing their successful year than when describing why they got admitted and were less likely to cite their effort and personal level of ability.

Fall Question: To what extent do you believe each of the following factors played a role in your being admitted to CU-Boulder?
Spring Question: To what extent do you believe each of the following factors played a role in your successful year at CU-Boulder?
1=No role 2=very minor role 3=somewhat of a role 4=fairly large role 5=large role

Percent who answered "fairly large role" or "large role"

  Item                            Fall   Spring      
                                                 0                                                         100
                                                *------------------------------------------------------------*
  The effort I put into school      87    81    |                             |                 S---F        |
  Help/support from others          14    79    |        F--------------------|----------------S             |
  My personal level of ability      87    59    |                             |    S----------------F        |
  My race/ethnicity                  5    15    |  F-----S                    |                              |
  My gender                          2     3    | @                           |                              |
  Being lucky                        6     3    | S-F                         |                              |
                                                *------------------------------------------------------------*

• The item about race/ethnicity was also analyzed by respondents' race/ethnicity.
  • Compared to white freshmen, freshmen of color are more likely to attribute their being admitted to CU-Boulder to their race/ethnicity but are not more likely to attribute their success at CU-Boulder to their race/ethnicity.
  • White freshmen are more likely to cite their race/ethnicity as a reason for their successful year than as a reason for their being admitted; the responses of freshmen of color show the opposite pattern. However, caution must be exercised in interpreting this due to the low number of white freshmen this percentage is based upon (45 out of 53 white respondents said their year was a success; of the 45, 7 (16%) attributed their success, at least in part, to race/ethnicity. Of these 7, 6 had a CU cumulative GPA above 2.90.)

Percent who answered "fairly large role" or "large role"

                                      Freshmen of Color     White Freshmen
  Item                                Fall   Spring         Fall   Spring
                                    (Admit) (Success)      (Admit) (Success)                                        
                                                                     
  My race/ethnicity                      28     13              0     16

J. YEAR IN REVIEW--COMMENTS

• On the spring questionnaire, freshmen were asked to write about the one best thing about their freshmen year and the one thing they wish they could change about their freshmen year at CU-Boulder.
• Social activities were more likely to be mentioned as "best things" and academic activities were more likely to be mentioned as things in need of changing.
  • 69% of freshmen mentioned a social activity (e.g., making friends, having fun) as the one best thing, whereas 20% mentioned an academic-related activity (e.g., having good classes, getting good grades).
  • Conversely, when writing about the one thing needing to be changed, 16% mentioned a social-related aspect (e.g., a lack of friends), whereas 52% mentioned an academic-related activity (e.g., wishing for better study habits, better grades, more academic help).
• In commenting about the best things, spring freshmen most frequently mentioned making friends, growing personally, being involved in extracurricular activities, and having good classes.
• In commenting about things in need of change, spring freshmen most frequently mentioned their study habits/motivation, residence hall life, and academic resources.

       
    What was the best thing?
    Percent who mentioned each theme
    
     Made lots of friends                        53
     Grew personally (became a better person)    28
     Involved in extracurricular activities      14
     Had good classes                            14
     Other                                       13
     Had fun, partied                             8
     Was involved in outdoors/recreation          7
     Got good grades                              6
     There was no best thing                      5
     Balanced academic & social activities        2
    
        
    What would you like to change?
    Percent who mentioned each theme
    
    Study habits, my motivation                  28
    Other                                        18
    Residence hall life                          17
    Get more help, advising                      15
    Classes, work load                           11
    Lack of friends                               9
    Better grades                                 8
    I wouldn't change anything                    7
    Better balance between academic & social      5
    Personal issue (money, distractions, sleep)   4
    Lack of involvement                           3
    Lack of students of color on campus           2
    Being lost in the shuffle                     2

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K. FUTURE PLANS

• 93% of spring freshmen said that they plan to return to CU-Boulder next year.
• 75% of spring freshmen said that they plan on getting a bachelors degree at CU-Boulder.
• The percentage of freshmen who expected to return to CU-Boulder and who expect to get a CU-Boulder bachelors degree changed very little from fall to spring.
• Attitudes in the fall are related to attitudes in the spring and to actual enrollment.
  • Of the 170 freshmen who in the fall said they probably or definitely would return to CU-Boulder in the fall of 1997, 96% reported in the spring that they still planned on returning to CU in fall 1997, and 97% actually did return.
  • Of the 24 freshmen who said they were unsure of their returning to CU, 75% said in the spring that they planned to return in fall 1997, and 86% actually did return. Of the 25% who said in the spring that they didn't plan on returning in fall 1997, 14% did return.

Fall and Spring Question: Do you expect to
1=Definitely not 2=probably not 3=maybe 4=probably 5=definitely yes

Percent who answered "probably" or "definitely yes"

  Item                               Fall   Spring       
                                                    0                                                         100
                                                   *------------------------------------------------------------*
  Return to CU next year               87    93    |                             |                     F--S     |
  Complete a bachelors degree at CU    76    75    |                             |              @               |
                                                   *------------------------------------------------------------*

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Susan Adams - L:\IR\FR96\SPR97\WWW\RESULTS.htm, Last updated July 2, 1998

Last revision 06/26/03