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Senior Survey, 1998

Comparisons Across Colleges

• Method: All figures in Displays 1-11 are based on responses from the following unweighted numbers of seniors:

• 	1993	1994	1995	1996	1998
  A&P	34	30	40	35	32
  A&S	539	570	578	534	457
  BU	134	148	164	127	136
  EN	135	179	213	144	149
  JR	33	29	41	18	27
  MU	11	11	29	21	19

  
  1998 average scores presented in Displays 1-11 are weighted to adjust for oversampling within some majors and differential response rates across majors.
  
  
• Recommend UCB (Display 1): Between 74-93% of each college's seniors would recommend UCB to a friend with "some" or "no" reservations. Architecture and Planning seniors are least likely to recommend UCB "with no reservations."
  
  
• Major characteristics (Display 2)
  • While most seniors rate course difficulty as "about right," Engineering seniors are most likely (60%) and Journalism seniors least likely (7%) to say courses are "too difficult."
  • Average ratings of the amount of structure in the major vary widely, from Engineering (41% "too rigid") to Journalism and Architecture and Planning "too flexible" (37% and 34%, respectively).
  • Although a majority of seniors in every college say their major is "about right" rather than too theoretical or too practical, 34% of Architecture and Planning seniors say their major program is "too theoretical" and 22% of Journalism seniors say the major program is "too practical."
  • A majority of seniors in all colleges except Journalism think their program's emphasis is "about right" rather than too broad or too specialized. Journalism seniors are split almost equally across "too broad," "OK," and "too specialized." 47% of Architecture and Planning seniors say their program is "too broad."
  
  
• Importance after graduation and achievement now (Displays 3-4): Many items, especially those which seniors say have greater importance and achievement, are rated very similarly by seniors in all colleges.
  • Ratings by Engineering seniors are most different from A&S ratings, with higher achievement and importance for science and mathematics, and less for such areas as non-western culture/thought, history, literature, and working with people from different cultures.
  
  
• Satisfaction (Display 5): On these items, ratings are very similar for all colleges, although:
  • Architecture and Planning seniors are less satisfied than A&S seniors with upper division instruction, course quality for general education, and texts and instructional materials.
  • Music seniors are more satisfied than other seniors with faculty concern for students, availability of desired courses, and academic and career advising in the major.
  
  
• Activities (Display 6):
  • Compared to seniors in other colleges, seniors in A&S spend more time using the library to research papers, spend more time writing papers, and read scientific journal articles more frequently. They spend less time than seniors in the other colleges working on small group projects.
  • Business and Engineering seniors are more likely than seniors in the other colleges to access the World Wide Web, to work on small group projects, and to participate in career-planning activities.
  • Music seniors seem to have more frequent interaction with faculty than seniors in other colleges (faculty/TA interaction for: course feedback; career issues; and personal issues).
  
  
• Starting Over (Display 7):
  • A&S and Architecture and Planning seniors are more likely than other seniors to say they would spend more time on or put more effort toward faculty interaction, participation in research/internships opportunities, and academic advising if they could start over at UCB.
  • Music seniors are much less likely than other colleges’ seniors to say they would spend more time on these activities. Virtually none of the Music seniors said they would spend more time on academic advising.
  • Journalism seniors are more likely than other seniors to say they would spend more time on social activities if they could repeat their academic career at UCB, and
  • Architecture and Planning and Business seniors indicate an interest in spending more time on extracurricular clubs and activities.
  
  
• Campus Services (Display 8): Use of various campus services is quite similar across all colleges. However,
  • Business, Engineering, and Architecture and Planning seniors are more likely than A&S seniors to say they used CU listings on the World Wide Web.
  • Career services are also more frequently used by Business and Engineering seniors as compared to seniors in other colleges.
  • Architecture and Planning seniors are least likely to use career services.
  • Music seniors are more likely to use academic records and transcripts, Wardenburg Health Center, the Police Department, and Counseling Services (though note that these findings may result from surveying a small number of Music seniors).
  
  
• After Graduation Activities (Display 9):
  • Journalism, Engineering, and Business seniors are most likely to say it is "highly likely" they will be employed full-time in the year following graduation.
  • Over half (63%) of the Music seniors say it is "highly likely" they will go on to graduate school within a year following graduation from UCB.
  • A little over one-third of the A&S seniors (36%) and almost one-third of the Architecture and Planning seniors (30%) say it is "highly likely" they will be full time students within a year of graduation.
  
  
• One Best Thing About the Major Program (from Open-ended Comments) (Display 10):
  • Compared to other seniors, Journalism seniors are more likely to mention hands-on experiences as the one best thing about their major program; they are less likely than other seniors to mention the general academic experience or reputation of their major program.
  • The most frequently-mentioned "best aspect" of the major program for A&S, Music, and Business seniors is faculty. Seniors in these schools are more likely than other seniors to mention faculty as the best aspect of their major program
  • Engineering seniors are less likely than others to mention courses (e.g., availability, variety, size) as the one best thing, but are more likely than other seniors to mention career advising as "best."
  • Architecture and Planning seniors are least likely of all seniors to mention faculty as the best aspect, but are more likely than other seniors to mention course size as "best."
  
  
• One Thing You’d Like to See Changed About Major Program (Display 11): For the most part, comments regarding the one aspect of the major program in need of change are similar across colleges. Differences that exist are found mainly among Music and Architecture and Planning seniors.
  • Music seniors are more likely than other seniors to mention courses, both offerings (e.g., availability, variety, etc.) and curriculum (i.e., core or major requirements) as needing change. They are also more likely than other seniors to mention major program policies as in need of change. However, Music seniors are less likely than other seniors to mention hands-on experience and academic advising as aspects that need improvement.
  • Architecture and Planning seniors are also unlikely to mention academic advising as needing change, but are more likely than other seniors to mention on-campus resources/facilities and general academic experience/reputation of the program as needing improvement.

Last revision 07/30/03