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Senior Survey, 1998

Seniors at a glance: General Characteristics

We regularly ask seniors about their satisfaction with their educational experiences at CU-Boulder (UCB) and about their after-graduation plans and activities. In spring 1998, we surveyed 1,610 seniors; 820 (51%) responded. A general description of 1998 seniors and highlights from the survey are presented below.

Overall, CU seniors are satisfied with their UCB experience. Seniors report high satisfaction with CU-Boulder overall, with general academics, with academics within the major, and with their social and recreational experiences. Nearly all would recommend UCB to a friend. 1998 satisfaction scores on these dimensions are among the highest ever.

Seniors are generally satisfied with most campus services. Services with both high use and high satisfaction include electronic mail and the CU Recreation Center. Services used by a smaller segment of the senior population, but also showing high satisfaction among users, include the Women’s Resource Center and the Study Abroad program. As in previous years, seniors are dissatisfied with advising and parking services.

Regardless of personal computer ownership, almost all seniors (90%) have used the PC/Macintosh labs on campus sometime during their academic career at UCB. However, more than one-third of users (37%) report low satisfaction with the PC/Mac labs on campus.

Seniors graduating from CU-Boulder expect to earn advanced degrees. Among seniors who expect to graduate by summer 1998, nearly all ultimately plan to earn an advanced degree. About half expect to earn a masters degree; smaller percentages expect to earn a doctorate or professional degree.

Among all seniors surveyed, nearly one in three said it is highly likely they will be enrolled full time in a graduate program within 18 months of graduation. However, most expect to be employed full time within 18 months of graduation. Twenty-five percent of those expecting to graduate by summer 1998 and who expect to be employed full time had already applied for a job and received an offer.

Managing time and tasks and interpersonal skills are important to seniors. Overall, skills are rated as more important to future success than is specific knowledge in academic areas (e.g. literature, world history). Seniors believe they need competencies in management, computing, and analysis, as well as the ability to relate to and work with people from diverse backgrounds.

Seniors would interact with faculty more if they could repeat their academic career at CU-Boulder. In addition, one in four seniors said they would take less time to graduate; 6% said they would take more time. The most common reason cited for taking more than four years to graduate is doing extra work while enrolled at CU-Boulder (e.g., pursuing a double major, taking courses in areas of interest, taking more hours than necessary). The most frequently cited reason for graduating "on time" in four years is working hard while enrolled (e.g., taking 15 or more hours per term).

Faculty interactions are important to seniors. Over half of 1998 seniors are satisfied with their opportunities for faculty interaction in their major department and nearly half are satisfied with the faculty’s level of concern for students. Nearly all seniors have sought out faculty or TA assistance for course help and course-related feedback. Still, though satisfied with opportunities for faculty interactions, most seniors said they would spend more time interacting with faculty if they could repeat their academic career at UCB.

Generally, seniors are not very satisfied with advising services, both in their major and in their college. Only one-third of seniors are satisfied with academic advising in their major; far fewer are satisfied with career advising available in their major program. While most seniors used advising services in their college, few are satisfied with the service they received. Interestingly, one in three seniors never discussed career-related issues with a faculty member or TA during their last full semester of college. Further, while 40% said they would spend more time/effort on career advising if they could repeat their time at CU, only 29% of seniors said they would spend more time/effort on academic advising.

Seniors participate in a variety of activities outside the classroom. Over three-quarters of seniors accessed the web 10 or more times during their last full semester. Nearly as many read at least one scientific journal article or read about national or international news in a paper or magazine.

Seniors use the knowledge they gain from the classroom. Two-thirds of seniors discussed class knowledge with friends ten or more times during their last full semester at UCB. Most seniors expressed their opinions in class at least once during the semester. Seniors also spent time integrating and using information they obtained in the classroom. Nearly all seniors worked on a small-group project at least once and 89% gave at least one oral presentation during their last full term at UCB.

Last revision 07/29/03