SUU - Institutional Reasearch & Assessment: SUU Graduates

October 25, 2000 Office of Institutional Research

[The 2000 graduating class was the last class to be surveyed using a locally developed instrument. Beginning with the 2001 graduating class, the ACT College Outcomes Survey will be used.]

Of 1,069 graduates in 1999-2000, 330 (31%) completed the survey of graduates. Of graduates responding, 55.5% were female, 69.7% were between the ages of 22 and 30, 44.8% were married at the time of graduation, and 41.5% had been at SUU for three or four years. Over 60% of respondents had attended another school before graduating from SUU.

The majority (89.1%) were graduating with bachelors degrees, 8.1% were graduating with masters degrees. About one-fourth of the respondents (25.4%) completed requirements for a teaching license in 1999-2000.

Among bachelors degree graduates responding, the dominant major fields were: elementary education (14.8%), Psychology (7.3%), Physical Education (5.8%), Zoology (5.5%), and Communication (5.2%).

Principal Strengths and Weaknesses of an SUU Education

Given 13 attributes, respondents were asked to select one as a principal strength of the institution. The highest responses were: faculty/student ratio (90.3%), size of the university (61.5%), faculty and staff (60.6%), location (54.2%), and cost (49.4%).

Given the same 13 areas or attributes, respondents were asked to select one as a principle weakness of the institution. The highest responses were: course availability (48.8%), inadequate funding (28.2%), library (24.2%), advisers (23.%) and facilities/labs (23.0%).

Reasons for attending SUU

The survey listed seven reasons for attending the university, and respondents were asked to select one. The top four responses were: close to home (43.6%), major program (32.1%), lower costs (29.2%) and scholarship (26.7%).

Questions in the survey explored attitudes toward what skills are important, what activities in the educational process were used and with what frequency, and what general attitudes or circumstances were most satisfying while students were enrolled at SUU. The summary that follows is similarly organized.

Important Skills

This section of the survey describes seven skills and asks how SUU succeeded in providing education in the skill area. The table which follows details the responses. The responses "very important" and "important" were combined to derive the percentage in the Important column. The responses "very well" and "well" were combined to derive the SUU Success column.

Skill Area	Important	SUU Success
Interpersonal skills	89.1%	63.3%
Speaking skills	83.4%	59.4%
Problem-solving skills	83.1%	60.6%
Writing skills	81.2%	63.1%
Computer skills	72.7%	49.1%
Research skills	63.3%	56.4%
Quantitative skills	61.2%	51.8%

Activities Used and Frequency of Use

Seeking advice and engaging faculty were the focus of five questions in this area. Respondents indicated they met with faculty during office hours often or occasionally (65.7%). Only 2.1% indicated they never met with faculty. The majority of respondents also reported they talked informally with faculty out of class (56.1%) but seldom or never discussed personal matters with them (65.8%). Advice from faculty was sought by 64.8% of respondents and never or seldom (79.7%) from a deans office.

Statements of Satisfaction/Dissatisfaction

General attitude questions dominated the survey. In the summary that follows the responses "very satisfied" and "somewhat satisfied" are combined, as are the responses "dissatisfied" and "somewhat dissatisfied".

In areas of general academics, 72.7% of respondents were satisfied with the general quality of instruction at SUU; 77.6% of respondents were satisfied with the course content in major fields of instruction, and 79.7% were satisfied with the out-of class availability of instructors. Further, 77.0% indicated satisfaction with the attitude of faculty toward students, and 51.6% were satisfied with advisement. Among areas of general academics, only advisement drew a dissatisfied response greater than 10% among respondents: 21.5% registered a dissatisfied response.

Among 34 more specific areas of university programs or services the top 15 responses in each category (satisfied or dissatisfied) are listed below:

Satisfied: class size ( 84.5%), availability of faculty for office appointments (77.6%), quality of my program of study (73.3%), opportunities for involvement in campus activities (64.8%), concern for me as an individual (62.5%), assess to computing services (60.9%), financial aid services (59.4%), library services (58.2%), flexible degree requirements (58.1%), college response to students with special needs (56.9%), my sense of belonging on this campus (56.7%), informal contact with faculty in non-academic settings (55.5%), personal security/safety on campus (55.2%), quality of academic advising (53.6%), and variety of courses offered (53.0%). The areas of lowest satisfaction were: veterans services (23.9%), campus AIDS education program (25.2%), English as a Second Language services (27.3%), job placement services (30.0%).

Dissatisfied: practical work experiences offered in areas related to the major (20.9%), quality of academic advising (20.3%), job placement services (20.3%), variety of courses offered (18.5%), campus atmosphere of ethnic, political and religious understanding (17.9%), library services (17.3%), my sense of belonging on this campus (15.8%), personal counseling services (15.8%), flexible degree requirements (14.9%), career planning services (14.2%), resident hall services and program (13.0%), transfer of course credits from other colleges to this university (12.4%), new student orientation services (11.3%), services for victims of crime and harassment (11.3%), and student health/wellness services (10.7%).

Concluding the survey are comments on university strengths and weaknesses by graduating major and minor, and a general comment sections. Copies of the survey are available from the Provost's office.

Institutional Research & Assessment

How Satisfied are Graduates of Southern Utah University?