PBA Home > Institutional Research & Analysis > Surveys > Senior Survey 2004 > Introduction

Senior Survey, Spring 2004

Introduction

We regularly ask seniors about their satisfaction with their educational experiences at CU-Boulder and about their after-graduation plans and activities. Our goal is to provide systematic information for:

• academic and service units to use in planning and improvement
• the Boulder campus to use in meeting requirements for institutional accountability
• use by the state and by prospective and current students and their families.

In mid-March 2004, a randomly selected sample of currently enrolled seniors received an e-mail from the provost explaining the purpose of the Senior Survey and inviting them to participate by accessing a Web-based questionnaire via a link contained within the e-mail. Initially, we informed seniors that those who completed a questionnaire would be eligible to win one of two $500 awards. In an effort to increase response rates toward the end of the data collection period, we offered seniors additional financial incentives: Those who completed a questionnaire by midnight, April 7, had an additional opportunity to win one of five $100 awards.

A total of 3,955 seniors were invited to participate in the survey. Of these, 1,485 (38%) responded, completing all or part of the questionnaire. Sixty-eight percent of responding seniors entered CU-Boulder as freshmen; the remainder entered as transfer students, typically between fall 2000 and fall 2003. Most of the seniors who entered as freshmen did so in the fall of 2000 (62%). The remainder typically entered either in fall 1999 (16%) or in fall 2001 (14%).

The percentage of seniors who responded is somewhat lower than percentages we have observed previously; for example, 51% of seniors responded to the 2001 Senior Survey. The reason for this year's lower response rate is not entirely clear. In general, we have noticed gradual declines in response rates over time at CU-Boulder, and the 2004 Senior Survey may simply be one more example of this phenomenon. There is another possible explanation, however. In February 2004, we installed a new Web-based survey system. We discovered, after the administration of the Senior Survey, that during times of heavy system activity, the process of paging through and completing this Web-based questionnaire could be quite slow, which may have discouraged some seniors from completing the questionnaire or from even responding at all. We have subsequently taken steps to resolve this problem.

It is important to note that this year's response rate, although somewhat lower than those of previous Senior Surveys, is comparable to response rates of other recent surveys of CU-Boulder students. It therefore does not excessively affect the usability or interpretation of the current survey results.

Click here for additional information concerning the sample and response rates.

When reviewing the results, it is important to consider that although some questionnaire items had higher average ratings in 2004 than in previous years (1993-1996, 1998, and 2001), the differences from year to year are typically small, generally not statistically reliable, and may not necessarily be meaningful in a practical sense. In addition, the 2001 results seem somewhat anomalous; they are sometimes higher and sometimes lower than results for either 1998 or 2004. When considering change over time in seniors' responses, it therefore is best to draw conclusions from long-term trends consisting of several years of survey results, rather than from only a couple consecutive years.

Seniors are satisfied with CU-Boulder and rate the overall quality of the institution high. A majority of seniors reported that they were satisfied or very satisfied with their overall experience at CU-Boulder (79%) and with the academic experience in their major (71%). A substantial percentage of seniors (82%) reported that they would recommend CU-Boulder to a friend with either some (55%) or no (27%) reservations. For the first time this year, seniors were asked whether their program of study met their educational goals; 96% responded "yes."

Satisfaction with advising is comparable to 2001 levels and higher in some instances. Seniors' ratings of advising on course selection and careers are higher than those of any previous Senior Survey, with the exception of the 2001 survey. Their ratings of satisfaction with the clarity of degree requirements in their majors are higher than they ever have been, with 65% of seniors reporting that they are either satisfied or very satisfied.

Seniors reported the highest satisfaction ever with opportunities for interaction with faculty. Fifty-eight percent of seniors reported that they were either satisfied or very satisfied with such opportunities.

Seniors' satisfaction with several important services was higher in 2004 than in previous years. The table below shows each of these services and the percentages of seniors who reported either medium or high satisfaction.

Not all services had higher ratings; the Recreation Center received its lowest satisfaction rating ever. Note, however, that the majority of seniors are satisfied with this service, with 91% reporting either medium or high satisfaction. Although Parking services received a higher rating this year than in the past, 73% of seniors reported low satisfaction with this service.

Several services evaluated for the first time in 2004 received relatively high satisfaction ratings. These included CUConnect-the student web portal (89% of seniors indicating medium or high satisfaction), the Cultural Unity Center (80%--now called the Center for Multicultural Affairs), Victim Assistance (80%), Disability Services (74%), and Off-Campus Student Services (79%).

Satisfaction with course availability is lower than in previous years. Thirty-eight percent of seniors reported being either satisfied or very satisfied with desired course availability, and 51% reported these levels of satisfaction for required courses other than the core. In comparison, the percentage of seniors who reported being either satisfied or very satisfied with desired course availability ranged from 44% to 57% in previous Senior Surveys (conducted in 1995, 1996, 1998, and 2001). Similarly, the percentage who were satisfied or very satisfied with required course availability ranged from 57% to 66% over this same period.

Several skill/knowledge areas received lower importance ratings than in previous years. Writing, dealing with people from diverse backgrounds and cultures, mathematics and quantitative reasoning, and foreign language all received somewhat lower ratings of importance to success after graduation. This is not to say, however, that seniors do not perceive these areas as important. In fact, 78% of seniors reported that writing has either much or critical importance to their success, and 73% reported these levels of importance for dealing with people from diverse backgrounds and cultures. For foreign language and mathematics/quantitative reasoning, the percentages of seniors rating these as having much or critical importance is 38% and 43%, respectively.

Seniors' ratings on several aspects of their undergraduate majors were virtually unchanged in 2004. These included difficulty of courses, amount of structure, orientation of course work (scale endpoints of "too theoretical" and "too practical"), and program emphasis in major (scale endpoints of "too broad" and "too specialized"). The percentage of seniors reporting that these aspects are "about right" ranged from 51% (difficulty of courses) to 60% (orientation of course work).

Most seniors believe that they have adequate opportunity and time for oral presentations and small-group projects. The two questionnaire items that collected this information were new in 2004. The percentages of seniors reporting that they have too little time in small-group projects or that there are too few oral presentation opportunities in class were 9% and 11%, respectively. Over half (52%) of seniors reported that oral presentation opportunities are "about right." For small-group projects, this percentage was somewhat smaller (45%). Ten percent of seniors reported that they spend too much time in small-group projects, and 2% reported that they have too many oral presentation opportunities.

If seniors were starting over at CU-Boulder, the things that they would do differently include: interact more with faculty (56%); go on Study Abroad (45%); spend more time/effort on extracurricular clubs/activities (41%) and career advising (41%); participate more in campus-related research projects, internships, and applied experiences (40%); and spend more time on academics/studying (39%). It is interesting to note that 6% of seniors reported, in a separate question about what they would do differently, that they would spend less time on academics/studying.

After-graduation plans. The senior survey includes a section asking students to indicate their after-graduation plans. Fifty-nine percent of seniors reported that it is highly likely they will be working full time within a year after graduating from CU-Boulder. About 31% said it is highly likely they will be enrolled full time in a graduate program.

Highest degree. Fifty-nine percent of respondents reported that they expect to graduate from CU-Boulder by summer 2004. Of these, 43% plan eventually to earn a master's degree. Somewhat fewer seniors plan to earn a doctoral (24%) or a professional degree (15%). However, of those seniors who said that they plan to be full-time students in a graduate program within one year of leaving CU-Boulder, higher percentages expect to earn doctoral or professional degrees (30% and 37%, respectively).

Graduate school applications. Among seniors who expect to graduate by summer 2004 and who expect to be full-time graduate students within a year, 50% had applied for graduate school. Of these, 70% had already received an offer, and 68% of those receiving an offer (or offers) had accepted one. Note that these percentages are higher than those reported for the 2001 Senior Survey. This finding may be related to the Colorado economy and job market.

Seniors were asked to indicate the schools to which they had applied for graduate admission. Schools most often listed by seniors include CU-Boulder, CU Health Sciences, CU-Denver, University of Denver, University of Washington, and American University.

Employment applications. Among seniors who expect to graduate by summer 2004 and who expect to be employed full time by the end of 2005, 64% had applied for a job. About half (54%) of those who had applied for a job already had an offer. Of those with an offer (or offers) in hand already, 73% had accepted one. Among all graduating seniors expecting to be employed full time, 35% already had a job offer by April of their senior year.

Seniors applied for jobs with a variety of employers. Employers listed most often were the military (especially the United States Navy), Deloitte & Touche, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Lockheed Martin, and the Peace Corps.

Changes over time in after-graduation plans. There was a decrease in 2004 in the percentage of seniors who reported that they would likely be employed full-time within a year and a half of graduating from CU-Boulder (59% versus 64% in 2001). In addition, the percentage of seniors who indicated that they would likely be graduate students remained about the same.

Additional Results

In addition to results for the entire campus, this report provides results illustrating seniors' responses over time (from 1993 through 2004) to survey questions. Results are also provided by college, for large majors in Arts and Sciences, Business, and Engineering, and by academic major. Any of these results may be accessed by clicking on the links to the left.

Last revision 05/14/08