PBA Home > Institutional Research & Analysis > Surveys > Senior Survey, Spring 2012 > Introduction

CU-Boulder Senior Survey, Spring 2012 -  Posted Feb. 12, 2013

7,646 seniors invited
2,890 responded
    38%  response rate
2,660 students made written comments about their majors

We regularly ask seniors about their satisfaction with their educational experiences at CU-Boulder and about their after-graduation plans and activities. We administer the survey to seniors in the spring and have conducted the survey, in various forms, 11 times since 1985. We administered the 2012 Senior Survey in March/April 2012. The next administration of the Senior Survey is scheduled for spring 2015. The goal of the Senior Survey is to provide systematic information for:

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

Questionnaire, Method, Population, and Respondents

A brief report (PDF) describes the 2012 Senior Survey web-based questionnaire, data collection, survey population, and response rates. Response rates by major ranged from 17% to 65%. Campus-wide response rate was 38%.

Highlights of the Results

Report (PDF) of campus-wide findings on selected items from the survey questionnaire.

Academic Unit Reports

Unit reports (PDF's) show tables and graphs of 2012 Senior Survey data on the great majority of survey items. These are available for the campus overall, for schools, colleges, and programs, for divisions within Arts and Sciences, and for individual departments with at least five students responding to the survey. If fewer than five students answered an item, data are not reported for that item. Student comments and data on student services are available in separate reports (see below).

Select one or more with control-click or Apple-click; reports will open in new window(s)

       

Catalog of Excel Detail Reports

This catalog (PDF) lists and describes available Excel data tables from the 2012 Senior Survey. Links to the Excels are also in the sidebar on this page. Some of the files include comparative data from earlier CU-Boulder senior surveys. The Excel files present no interpretations of the results. Tables with brief descriptions of each are below:

  • 2012 Data by Academic Units: Summary data for 130 quantitative (multiple-choice) survey items and item combinations. Data are presented for campus overall, for each school/college/program and Arts & Sciences division, and for each department within each division.
  • Seniors' Future Plans (2008-2012): Data are organized by year, school/college/program, A&S division, and academic department. All data were collected in the spring and are reported for seniors who expected to graduate by summer of that year.
  • Expected Occupational Field: data for survey respondents who reported that their most likely principal activity in fall 2012 was either full-time employment or military service.
  • Where Expect to Live Fall 2012: Percentages and numbers of students planning to live in their home states (based on permanent home address when they entered CU-Boulder) or elsewhere, and numbers of students expecting to live abroad and countries in which they plan to live.
  • Things Seniors Would Do Differently: 2012 seniors' responses to survey item that asked "If you were starting over at CU-Boulder, what thing(s) would you do differently? (Check all that apply)." Data are presented for campus overall, by college/school/program, by A&S division, and by academic department. Includes 268 students' written responses to the option "Other (please describe below)."
  • Student Services (1993-2012): Cross-time data on seniors' awareness of, use of, and satisfaction with CU-Boulder services and programs. Data are organized by year, school/college/program, and A&S division. Data are also available by year for male and female students and by year for six race/ethnicity groups, including international students.
  • Student Comments: See below.
  • Browsers/Devices respondents used to take the 2012 Senior Survey

Student Comments

The 2012 Senior Survey included three open-ended questions that solicited students' comments about their major program and one question that asked if students had "other comments." Students' verbatim written responses to these questions are available in a password-protected Excel file accessible upon submission of a nondisclosure agreement. The Excel file includes respondents' college/school/program, Arts & Sciences division, academic department, and major.

A great many students wrote thoughtful and extensive answers to these questions. An impressive total of 2,660 students (92% of survey respondents) answered at least one of the questions. The questions and the numbers of students who submitted comments in response to each are listed below:

  • What is the ONE BEST THING about your major program? (N=2,539)
  • If you could CHANGE ONE THING about your major program, what would it be? (N=2,529)
  • Please explain in what ways your program did or did not meet your educational goals. (N=1,995)
  • Other comments? (N=807)

Other Reports (coming soon)

We are preparing several short reports (PDFs) on various topics. See sidebar for list.

Last revision 02/14/13



PBA Home  |  Strategic Planning  |  Institutional Research & Analysis |  
Budget & Finances |  Questions? Comments? 
15 UCB, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO 80309-0015, (303)492-8631
 © 2001, The Regents of the University of Colorado