Respondents rated the extent to which their college education
contributed to their knowledge, skills, and personal development on a 4-point
scale (1 = very little, 2 = some, 3 = quite a bit, &
4 = very much). Figure 6 summarizes senior responses for SUU, master’s
peer and NSSE institutions. SUU students indicated that their college education
contributed the most to their ability to vote in local, state, or national elections
(M = 2.18), and acquire job or work-related knowledge and skills (M= 3.16).
They indicated that their college education contributed least to acquiring a
broad, general education; thinking critically and analytically, and understanding
people of other rational and ethnic backgrounds. Freshman ratings were similar
to seniors with additional weaknesses in analyzing quantitative problems and
learning effectively on their own.
