IAR Insights - Spring 2018
In this issue:
Alumni Feedback: Undergraduate and Graduate Alumni Experience Studies
- What were the Alumni Experience Studies?
- What were the response rates for the surveys?
- How satisfied were alumni with CSUMB overall?
- How satisfied were alumni with their CSUMB major programs?
- How satisfied were alumni with CSUMB academic goals?
- What were alumni's experiences with internships while at CSUMB?
- What further educational experiences did alumni have after graduating from CSUMB?
- How did alumni's experiences at CSUMB impact their employment and career?
- How do you access the full reports and find data on your college or program?
What were the Alumni Experience Studies?
The CSUMB Undergraduate and Graduate Alumni Experience Studies were conducted in support of academic program review. In Fall 2017, recent—graduating in the last 5 years—CSUMB alumni, comprised of 5,377 CSUMB undergraduate alumni and 850 graduate alumni were invited to participate in a survey to assess their experience with CSUMB. The studies examined alumni's satisfaction with CSUMB in general, and in particular, satisfaction with major programs, satisfaction with academic goals, experience with internship, experience with further education after leaving CSUMB, and impact on employment and career experience since leaving CSUMB.
The three primary undergraduate and graduate student admission basis groups that were surveyed and that are included in this issue of IAR Insights were: First Time Freshmen (FTF), Upper Division Transfers (UDT), and Graduate (Grad). The full Alumni Experience Study Reports include additional admission basis groups.
What were the response rates for the surveys?
- Twenty-five percent (1,337) of the invited undergraduate alumni participated in the survey.
- Forty-two percent (359) of the invited graduate alumni participated in the survey.
How satisfied were alumni with CSUMB overall?
Overall, both undergraduate and graduate alumni were generally satisfied with their experience in their major at CSUMB. Eighty-seven percent (87%) of FTF alumni, 88% of UDT alumni, and 85% of Grad student alumni were satisfied or very satisfied with their overall education experience in their major while at CSUMB.
Overall CSUMB Alumni Satisfaction:
- 87% of first-time freshmen alumni, 88% of upper division transfer alumni, and 85% of graduate student alumni were satisfied or very satisfied with their overall education experience in their major at CSUMB.
- 73% of first-time freshmen alumni, 73% of upper division transfer alumni, and 77% of graduate student alumni probably or definitely would choose to attend CSUMB if they could start college or graduate school over again.
- 83% of first-time freshmen alumni, 82% of upper division transfer alumni, and 79% of graduate student alumni probably or definitely would recommend their CSUMB major to prospective students.
- 82% of first-time freshmen alumni, 83% of upper division transfer alumni, and 79% of graduate student alumni said that CSUMB probably or definitely met their expectations.
- 69% of first-time freshmen alumni, 70% of upper division transfer alumni, and 84% of graduate student alumni probably or definitely would choose the same major if they were to start their studies at CSUMB over again.
- 68% of first-time freshmen alumni, 62% of upper division transfer alumni, and 74% of graduate student alumni said that beyond any financial benefits, their CSUMB education improved the quality of their life considerably or a great deal.
How satisfied were alumni with their CSUMB major programs?
Alumni were most satisfied with quality of teaching and overall program quality. Eighty-eight percent (88%) of FTF alumni, 88% of UDT alumni, and 83% of Grad alumni were satisfied or very satisfied with the quality of teaching in their CSUMB major program. Meanwhile, 83% of FTF alumni, 82% of UDT alumni, and 81% of Grad alumni were satisfied or very satisfied with the overall program quality.
A smaller percentage of alumni across all three admission basis groups responded satisfied or very satisfied to opportunity to engage in research outside of class assignments, even after taking into consideration that 8% of FTF alumni, 8% of UDT alumni, and 9% of Grad alumni responded “Not applicable/No basis to judge.” Fifty-two percent (52%) of FTF alumni, 54% of UDT alumni, and 60% of Grad alumni were satisfied or very satisfied with the opportunity to engage in research outside of class assignments in their CSUMB major program.
Responses regarding laboratory facilities should be interpreted with caution as 10% of FTF, 19% of UDTs, and 34% of Grad alumni responded “Not applicable/No basis to judge.”
Alumni satisfaction with their CSUMB major:
- 88% of first-time freshmen alumni, 88% of upper division transfer alumni, and 83% of graduate alumni were satisfied or very satisfied with the quality of teaching in their CSUMB major.
- 68% of first-time freshmen alumni, 72% of upper division transfer alumni, and 81% of graduate alumni were satisfied or very satisfied with the variety of course offerings in their CSUMB major.
- 79% of first-time freshmen alumni, 82% of upper division transfer alumni, and 83% of graduate alumni were satisfied or very satisfied with the course content (curriculum) of their CSUMB major.
- 83% of first-time freshmen alumni, 82% of upper division transfer alumni, and 81% of graduate alumni were satisfied or very satisfied with the overall program quality in their CSUMB major.
- 75% of first-time freshmen alumni, 79% of upper division transfer alumni, and 73% of graduate alumni were satisfied or very satisfied with faculty mentors in their CSUMB major.
- 70% of first-time freshmen alumni, 73% of upper division transfer alumni, and 81% of graduate alumni were satisfied or very satisfied with team work / collaboration in their CSUMB major.
- 61% of first-time freshmen alumni, 54% of upper division transfer alumni, and 47% of graduate alumni were satisfied or very satisfied with laboratory facilities in their CSUMB major. Note that 10% of first-time freshmen alumni, 19% of upper division transfer alumni, and 34% of graduate alumni responded “Not applicable/No basis to judge” regarding laboratory facilities.
- 52% of first-time freshmen alumni, 54% of upper division transfer alumni, and 60% of graduate alumni were satisfied or very satisfied with the opportunity to engage in research outside of class assignments in their CSUMB major. Note that 8% of first-time freshmen, 8% of upper division transfers, and 9% of graduate alumni responded “Not applicable/No basis to judge” regarding opportunity to engage in research outside of class assignments.
- 72% of first-time freshmen alumni and 75% of upper division transfer alumni were satisfied or very satisfied with the capstone in their CSUMB major.
- 62% of first-time freshmen alumni and 70% of upper division transfer alumni were satisfied or very satisfied with service learning in their CSUMB major.
How satisfied were alumni with CSUMB academic goals?
Alumni across all three admission basis groups tended to rate CSUMB education’s contribution to their abilities in similar patterns. All three groups agreed or strongly agreed that CSUMB education contributed substantially to their ability to evaluate information critically (FTF: 89%; UDTs: 86%; Grads: 82%), learn effectively on their own (FTF: 88%; UDTs: 83%; Grads: 82%), and search for and find reliable information (FTF: 88%; UDTs: 85%; Grads: 86%).
All three groups had less agreement that CSUMB education contributed substantially to their ability to apply quantitative skills to problems (FTF: 62%; UDTs: 60%; Grads: 55%) than they had for other CSUMB academic goals.
Graduate alumni agreed less than their FTF and UDT alumni counterparts that their CSUMB education contributed substantially to their ability to give oral presentations (64%); to understand people of different cultural, racial, and ethnic backgrounds (58%); and to write effectively (70%).
Alumni satisfaction with CSUMB academic goals:
- 62% of first-time freshmen alumni, 60% of upper division transfer alumni, and 55% of graduate alumni agree or strongly agree that their CSUMB education contributed substantially to their ability to apply quantitative skills to problems.
- 89% of first-time freshmen alumni, 86% of upper division transfer alumni, and 82% of graduate alumni agree or strongly agree that their CSUMB education contributed substantially to their ability to evaluate information critically.
- 82% of first-time freshmen alumni, 82% of upper division transfer alumni, and 64% of graduate alumni agree or strongly agree that their CSUMB education contributed substantially to their ability to give oral presentations.
- 88% of first-time freshmen alumni, 83% of upper division transfer alumni, and 82% of graduate alumni agree or strongly agree that their CSUMB education contributed substantially to their ability to learn effectively on their own.
- 88% of first-time freshmen alumni, 85% of upper division transfer alumni, and 86% of graduate alumni agree or strongly agree that their CSUMB education contributed substantially to their ability to search for and find reliable information.
- 77% of first-time freshmen alumni, 73% of upper division transfer alumni, and 75% of graduate alumni agree or strongly agree that their CSUMB education contributed substantially to their ability to solve complex real-world problems.
- 87% of first-time freshmen alumni, 81% of upper division transfer alumni, and 58% of graduate alumni agree or strongly agree that their CSUMB education contributed substantially to their ability to understand people of different cultural, racial, and ethnic backgrounds.
- 87% of first-time freshmen alumni, 86% of upper division transfer alumni, and 81% of graduate alumni agree or strongly agree that their CSUMB education contributed substantially to their ability to work effectively with others.
- 79% of first-time freshmen alumni, 80% of upper division transfer alumni, and 70% of graduate alumni agree or strongly agree that their CSUMB education contributed substantially to their ability to write effectively.
What were alumni's experiences with internships while at CSUMB?
Undergraduate alumni participated in internships while at CSUMB at a rate of 35%. Meanwhile, 50% of graduate alumni reported having participated in an internship while at CSUMB.
Of those alumni that had participated in an internship while at CSUMB, the majority said that the internship led to further employment or helped with other employment opportunities.
76% of graduate alumni, 70% of first-time freshmen alumni, and 68% of upper division transfer alumni said that the internship they participated in while at CSUMB led to further employment or helped with other employment opportunities.
What further educational experiences did alumni have after graduating from CSUMB?
Seventy-six percent (76%) of undergraduate alumni indicated they plan to complete or have completed another degree, credential, or certificate program since graduating from CSUMB. FTF alumni (36%) were more likely to go on to enroll in an additional graduate, credential, or professional degree program than were UDT (27%) or Grad alumni (15%).
Graduate alumni were more likely to agree or strongly agree their CSUMB education helped prepare them well for additional educational pursuits (73%). Additionally, 59% of FTF alumni and 63% of UDT alumni agreed or strongly agreed that their CSUMB education helped prepare them well for additional educational pursuits.
Of undergraduate alumni that did not go on to attend graduate school, not being able to afford to attend graduate school (21%) and pressure to work instead of furthering education (18%) were the most frequent reasons provided.
36% of full-time freshmen alumni, 27% of upper division transfer alumni, and 15% of graduate alumni went on to enroll in an additional graduate, credential, or professional degree program after completing studies at CSUMB.
59% of full-time freshmen alumni, 63% of upper division transfer alumni, and 73% of graduate alumni agree or strongly agree that their CSUMB education helped prepare them well for additional educational pursuits.
How did alumni's experience at CSUMB impact their employment and career?
The majority of alumni responded that they had obtained full-time paid employment following graduation. A lower percentage of UDT alumni (67%) had obtained full-time paid employment than Grad or FTF alumni. Twelve percent (12%) of UDT alumni, 9% of FTF alumni, and 6% of Grad alumni were either not employed or were looking for employment.
The majority of alumni across all three groups also said that their CSUMB education probably or definitely prepared them well for employment opportunities.
74% of first-time freshmen alumni, 67% of upper division transfer alumni, and 77% of graduate alumni had obtained full-time paid employment following their graduation from CSUMB.
83% of first-time freshmen alumni, 82% of upper division transfer alumni, and 91% of graduate alumni said their CSUMB education probably or definitely prepared them well for employment opportunities.
How do you access the full reports and find data on your college or program?
You can access interactive versions of the undergraduate and graduate alumni studies that allow you to filter results by college, department, major, admission basis, and graduation year in Tableau Public. Accessible versions that are screen reader friendly are also available.
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