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This is the nineteenth annual report of the survey of recent graduates of the University of Connecticut. This survey, a continuing effort to evaluate the University's effectiveness, has been conducted every year by the Office of Institutional Research since 1977. While the questionnaire focuses primarily on the academic experiences of graduates, it also allows them to report their current activities. During the past nineteen years, the survey results have yielded much valuable information pertinent to both graduates' experience at the University of Connecticut and their post graduate activities.
The responses from the 1995 survey have been tabulated
and summarized in four sets of attached tables. Part I displays
respondents' demographic and general information. Part II contains
evaluations of the graduates' academic experiences. Part III summarizes
their post graduate activities. Part IV measures the opinions
of graduates regarding the importance of separate academic skills
and student learning outcomes, and their assessment of the University
of Connecticut's delivery of those skills.
In September 1995, graduates who received bachelor's degrees in May 1995 were sent a questionnaire concerning their experience at the University of Connecticut and their post graduate activities. Follow-up mailings were also mailed to non-responding graduates. Because of the extra mailing, 1995 graduates had more than five months to respond.
In 1995, a total of 2942 bachelor's degrees were
awarded to 2914 students (38 dual degrees). The initial request
for information was by means of a survey form. A follow-up letter
was sent to those who did not respond by two months from the initial
survey mailing. As a result, 1291 of the adjusted survey population
returned a completed questionnaire, for a total response rate
of 44%. Although the response rate has been consistently low,
the stability of trends in the responses across the last eighteen
years gives some reassurance that any response bias has been consistent
across the years.
Tables in Part I and figures on the following page provide data on the respondents' demographics and general perceptions of the University. Of the 1291 respondents to the survey, 61% were female (782), as compared to 53% of all respondents. This tendency for higher female response is consistent with previous Recent Alumni Surveys.
With regard to ethnicity, the overwhelming majority of respondents to the survey were white (90%), as were the majority of all graduates of the 1995 class (86%). As for other ethnic groups, each group comprised the same percent in the respondent sample as they did in the graduating class: 5% Asian-Pacific, 2% Black, and 2% Hispanic.
The respondents differed by age from the graduating class. The majority of respondents (79%) were under 25 years of age, compared with 64% of graduates. While almost a third (29%) of graduates were 25 to 35, only 15% of respondents were. About 6% percent of all respondents were 35 years or older if the General Studies Program is included. In other words there appears to be a high rate of response from younger graduates (54%), than from the older graduates (23%). Of the oldest graduates, those above 35, 40% responded.
The percentage of respondents that reported initially entering the University at a regional campus was 25%, roughly the same as in previous years. Similar to prior year's surveys, a large majority of General Studies respondents entered from regional campuses (83%). Conversely, for all other schools, the majority entered at the Storrs campus. The average percentage of respondents entering at Storrs for these schools was 79%.
Three of four (76%) respondents entered the University as freshmen, compared with 70% of the graduating class; the rest transferred at some time after their freshmen year. Consistent with previous surveys and with University admission policy, only one in ten General Studies graduates began as freshmen. Among the transfers, the majority (74%) came from institutions in Connecticut or other New England states. The greatest numbers of respondents from areas other than Connecticut or New England states were found in Allied Health (19%), and General Studies (16%).
In summary, this sample is generally representative
of the graduating class except in that it over-represents women
and younger students. These two sample biases necessitate further
analysis since there are significant differences between the genders
and the age groups in their expectations of the collegiate experience,
and their satisfaction with various elements of the UConn education.
In order to obtain some indication of the reasons for attending the University, the graduates were given a list of nine factors from which they could designate the primary reason for attending UConn. When asked to recall why they originally selected the University of Connecticut, the Level of Tuition and Fees (28%) was again reported as the primary selection criteria by the 1995 survey respondents. While the level of tuition and fees has always been reported as the top reason for attending the University, the percentage of respondents identifying this factor as the major reason for attending has declined consistently since 1989, when 36.1 percent of respondents identified this factor. Location (19.9%), Quality of Programs (12.7%) and Specific Program (10.6%) were the next most frequently selected choices overall.
The trend over the last ten years has been for location, broadly defined, to increase in importance, while tuition and the variety/quality of educational programs have been declining in importance.
Reasons for attending vary importantly by school. Graduates of the Allied Health, Nursing, Pharmacy, and General Studies programs all chose "Specific Program" as their original reason for attendance. Tuition was most important to Liberal Arts, Business, Engineering and Family Studies. Variety and quality of programs is the most important reason only for engineering students. Location is most important reason for continuing education students.
The survey also asked graduates about the importance
of a range of potential benefits of collegiate education, and
whether they believed that UConn provided these benefits for them.
Although the two questions are not exactly the same, the results
reveal that students would have liked their collegiate experience
to provide more of all the mentioned types of benefits. That said,
UConn met students' expectations better in some areas than others.
| Priorities Fulfilled, Relative to Importance | Priorities Least Well Met, Relative to Importance |
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| Goal | Score | Rank | Score | Rank | Score | Rank |
| Understanding of literature, art, music, drama | ||||||
| Understand science and experimentation | ||||||
| Awareness of different philosophies, cultures | ||||||
| Think in quantitative terms | ||||||
| See importance of history | ||||||
| Awareness of consequences of science, technology | ||||||
| Understand scientific, technical developments | ||||||
| Think analytically and logically | ||||||
| Understand others, and ability to get along | ||||||
| Learn on own, pursue ideas, find information | ||||||
| Preparation for graduate education | ||||||
| Public speaking, group participation, teamwork | ||||||
| Write clearly and effectively | ||||||
| Understand self, abilities, interests, personality | ||||||
| Gain information relevant to a career | ||||||
| Leadership and supervision of others | ||||||
| Formulate creative and original ideas | ||||||
| Develop own ethical standards | ||||||
| Career training, knowledge, skills applicable to a specific job or type of work | ||||||
| Acquire familiarity in the use of computers | ||||||
Most graduates would recommend the University of
Connecticut to others planning to attend college (88%). Recommending
UConn also varied from school to school, as did the percent of
graduates who believed in retrospect that they should have attended
UConn because of the educational programs. Less than third of
students remember attending UConn initially because of the variety
(8%) or quality (11%) of the general educational program, or because
of a particular program (12%). In retrospect, however, two of
three graduates say they should have attended UConn because of
the variety (14%) or quality (37%) of the general program, or
because of a specific program (14%).
School | % of Grads Who Believe Educational Programs Should Have Been Reason for Attending | Would Recommend UConn |
| Allied Health | ||
| Business | ||
| Cont. Ed./Gen. Studies | ||
| Liberal Arts and Sciences | ||
| Family Studies | ||
| Agriculture | ||
| Pharmacy | ||
| Education | ||
| Fine Arts | ||
| Nursing |
Enthusiasm about referring friends to UConn declined
slightly in the 80s, and has been increasing again with the 1994
and 1995 survey respondents. This may reflect trends in graduates'
experiences of the labor market, cultural trends among young people,
or trends at the University itself.
Tables in Part II reflect how the graduates of 1994 evaluated their academic experience at the University of Connecticut. Students responded with answers from 1 (Extremely Dissatisfied) to 7 (Extremely Satisfied).
Graduates are generally highly satisfied with their academic experiences, in particular with the department and school within which they majored; their highest marks go to the quality of instruction, range of courses, and access to instructors in their major. On the other hand, as has been true since the beginning of this survey eighteen years ago, students expressed their greatest dissatisfaction with the quality of freshmen advising. Graduates were also relatively dissatisfied with the quality of upperclass advising, though not as dramatically. Another source of dissatisfaction is the number of required courses, both in and outside of their majors.
The graduates' assessment of their program in terms
of preparation for finding a position appropriate to their major
field was satisfactory. However, mean scores varied substantially
by school. Respondents in the health related fields, Allied Health,
Pharmacy and Nursing, reported the highest levels of satisfaction
with their ability to find positions in their fields. In fact,
all but one of the employed graduates of these three schools were
employed in their fields. Liberal Arts and Fine Arts reported
the lowest satisfaction with career preparation.
The 1995 Recent Alumni Survey was conducted in Fall 1995 following the graduation. Therefore, while Part III tables focuses on employment and graduate school, the survey may be too soon after graduation for some students to gauge success or intentions in these areas.
The percent of graduates who reported full-time employment
was down 1% from 1994, to 65%. Of those who were unemployed, half
were in graduate school full-time. Only 8% of recent graduates
were neither employed nor in full-time graduate school.
| Employed Full-time | |||
| Employed Part-time | |||
| Not employed | |||
| Total | |||
As the chart below shows, the percent of graduates who were not in graduate school at all, and were fully unemployed (the white area) has been declining in the 90s, at the same time that there has been a decline in full-time employment. Part-time employment, and full or part-time graduate school have been growing as immediate post-graduation choices.
The full-time employment rate varied greatly among
schools. The health related schools such as Pharmacy (90%), Allied
Health (86%) and Nursing (87%) had the highest rates of immediate
employment, followed by Business (82%) and Engineering (83%).
The lowest rates of full-time employment occurred in Education,
Fine Arts, Liberal Arts, and Agriculture (59%).
| Education | 37% |
| Nursing | 51% |
| Agriculture and Natural Resources | 53% |
| Family Studies | 54% |
| Fine Arts | 58% |
| Liberal Arts and Sciences | 60% |
| Continuing Education | 67% |
| Engineering | 75% |
| Allied Health | 79% |
| Business | 86% |
| Pharmacy | 93% |
Full-time enrollment in graduate or professional school was 17%, and another 7% of graduates reported part-time enrollment. Fully 78% of those who were not enrolled in graduate or professional school intend to continue their education at some time; only 17% have not, and have no intention of continuing their education.
The School of Education reported, by far, the highest percent of full-time graduate students (49% of their respondents) among their graduates. The next highest percentages were found in Agriculture (25%), and Liberal Arts (21%).
Table Part III (2) presents how full-time employed graduates perceived their UConn degrees and their current employment. In keeping with the positive evaluations of their academic experience at the University, over three quarters of the graduates (79%) considered UConn degrees helpful when applying for jobs. About 74% of them were satisfied with their current positions, and 75% said their positions were career-related. These responses consistent with the last couple of years of surveys which have asked these questions.
While these figures are generally positive indicators, the influence of the health- related schools is again a prime factor. For example, all respondents from the schools of Allied Health, Nursing and Pharmacy who reported working full-time, reported working within their field. By excluding these graduates from the responding total, the percentage of graduates working in their field or satisfied with their current position drops.
The type of employer where graduates found jobs followed
previous survey patterns. Business (47%) again was the number
one employer in 1995, followed by hospital or other health related
fields (17%).
| Military Service | 1% |
| Agriculture | 1% |
| Self-Employed | 2% |
| Federal Government | 2% |
| Media | 3% |
| State/Local Government | 4% |
| Factory/Industry | 4% |
| Education | 6% |
| Non-Profit | 6% |
| Other | 7% |
| Health Industry | 17% |
| Business | 47% |
"Business" has been declining slightly as an employer over the last fifteen years, while non-profits and other categories have increased.
As in all prior studies, the majority of 1995 graduates
chose jobs within Connecticut's boundaries (72%). Massachusetts
(8%) and New York (6%) were the second and third most popular
work locations reported by responding graduates.
Recent Alumni Survey data are a good resource of information about UConn's graduates and their opinions on various aspects of the University. Besides completing the questionnaire, many respondents commented on various aspects of the University life. Due to the variety of the topics covered, the comments are not summarized here. They are filed in the Office of Institutional Research. Appropriate departments and offices are welcome to look at these comments.
A brief summary of the survey was mailed to all respondents.
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