About half of the graduates in each cohort reported that the highest degree they held one year after graduating was the bachelor's degree. More than a third of graduates in each cohort reported that the master's degree was the highest they earned. Slightly more graduates in recent cohorts (i.e., 40.5% in '99-'00) than in earlier ones (i.e., in '94-'95) reported obtaining master's degrees.

The proportion of graduates who reported receiving financial aid while attending PSU has changed across cohorts. This change represents not only an increase in the number of financial aid recipients over time (i.e., 15 percentage points between the '94-'95 and the'99-'00 cohorts), but also a shift in the types of financial aid received. As shown in Figure 1, PSU graduates in recent cohorts were recipients of more grants and fewer student loans than were graduates from earlier cohorts.

The percentage of graduates obtaining their first full-time jobs within a month of graduation increased across cohorts (i.e., 26.6% in the ’94-’95 cohort compared to 30.4% in the ’99-’00 cohort). Of those employed at the time of the survey, most were working full-time. This percentage increased across cohorts (i.e., 78.8% to 84.2% between the ’94-’95 and ’99-’00 cohorts). More graduates in recent cohorts than in past cohorts reported that what they learned at PSU was "helpful" or "very helpful" in performing their jobs (see Figure 2).

The percentage of employed graduates working in Oregon has decreased across cohorts (see Figure 3). More specifically, the percentage working in the Portland Metropolitan Area has decreased from 84.23% in the '94-'95 cohort to 77.5% in the '99-'00 cohort.

The percentage of respondents who continued their education since graduation from PSU increased from 29.6% in the ’94-’95 cohort to 33.6% in the ’99-’00 cohort. Although the majority of graduates in each cohort found their PSU education helpful or very helpful in pursuing further education, the percentage decreased from 94.6% in the ’95-’96 cohort to 77.7% in the ’99-’00 cohort. Across the cohorts, slightly fewer graduates have continued their education inthe same field of study (69.7% in ’94-’95 compared to 64.6% in ’99-’00).

Respondents rated the importance of various factors in deciding to attend PSU on a 5-point scale (1=not important at all to 5 =very important). Prior to the '97-'98 cohort, respondents used a 4-point scale that did not include a "neutral" response option. The "neutral" response captured 15% to 50% of respondents' ratings of the factors. As a result, only the responses of the '97-'98 and '99-'00 cohorts are compared here.

The relative importance of various reasons for attending PSU was consistent across the two cohorts. Ability to stay in Portland, program offerings, and cost continued to be the most important consideration in the decision to attend PSU (see Figure 5).

Graduates indicated whether PSU was their first choice at the time of their admission. Prior to the '97-'98 cohort, the response choices excluded the option of "PSU was my only choice". Therefore, only the responses of the '97-'98 and '99-'00 cohorts are compared here. Slightly more graduates in the '99-'00 cohort than the earlier one indicated that PSU was their first choice when applying for admission. Only a few graduates in the '99-'00 cohort indicated that PSU was their only choice as compared to '97-'98 when nearly 15% said it was their only choice. A more striking difference appears between cohorts when considering the proportion of graduates who reported that PSU was their second choice or lower. Fewer students ranked PSU their second choice and more students ranked PSU their third choice or lower in the '99-'00 cohort than in the '97-'98 cohort (see Figure 6).

Most PSU graduates in each cohort (86.1% to 90.1%) were satisfied or very satisfied with their overall experience at PSU. In addition, most graduates (84.2% to 92.4%) rated the education they received at PSU as good, very good, or excellent; however, the mean rating decreased somewhat in recent cohorts (see Figure 7). When asked what they would do if they could start over, more graduates in the recent cohorts (51.6% to 55.6%) said they would attend PSU again compared to 43% of the '95-'96 cohort. (This item was not included on the survey for the '94-'95 cohort.)

Satisfaction with PSU services and facilities was generally similar between the '97-'98 and '99-'00 cohorts. (Previous cohorts are not comparable because they rated satisfaction on a different scale). Satisfaction with the registration process and computing facilities was slightly greater in the most recent cohort (see Figure 8).

Graduates from the '97-'98 and '99-'00 cohorts also rated their satisfaction with experiences in University Studies. In both cohorts, the largest proportion of graduates (41.4% to 84.5%) was neutral in rating each level of the University Studies program. Satisfaction with all levels, except Transfer Transitions, increased between the '97-'98 and '99-'00 cohorts (see Figure 9).