Volume 2, Issue 2 Winter, 1999
‘97-98 ENTERING STUDENT SURVEY
This issue reports findings from the 1997-98 Entering Student Survey, conducted at Portland State University (PSU) by the Office of Institutional Research and Planning. This survey sheds light on entering students’ personal and academic experiences at PSU, including reasons for choosing PSU, perceptions of their general education courses, educational support they received, and levels of satisfaction with PSU programs and services. For further information regarding the survey, contact Dr. Kathi A. Ketcheson, Director, Office of Institutional Research and Planning at ketchek@oirp.pdx.edu or at (503) 725-3425.
The survey was mailed to students who enrolled at PSU for the first time, Fall Term 1997. Of the respondents, 199 (36%) were new freshmen and 347 (64%) were transfer students. PSU was the first choice for admission of 75% of respondents. In fact, 72% applied only to PSU. Two thirds reported that PSU offered the courses or programs they needed to achieve their long-rang career plans (68%), and almost half indicated that their top concern was academic performance (48%). The immediate educational plan for most was earning a bachelor’s degree at PSU (80%). Most new freshmen (91%) expected to earn their bachelor’s degrees in 3 to 5 years, whereas most transfer students (71%) planned to complete their degrees in 1 to 2 years. Nearly all respondents (96%) planned to be full-time students (taking 12 or more credits per term during the ‘97-98 school year) and to work at least part-time (77%). The majority of the respondents (82%) attended PSU Orientation prior to the start of classes.
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Respondents ranked the importance of their reasons for attending PSU. The top five reasons for attending PSU were to receive a college degree (92.5%), prepare for a career (92.3%), enrich their lives (81.2%), increase potential income (78.5%), and prepare for graduate or professional degrees (71.9%). Chart 1 shows the results. Chart 2 compares new freshmen’s and transfer students’ reasons for attending PSU. Both groups responded similarly to this question, however, the rankings of "preparing for a career" were slightly lower for transfer students than new freshmen. In contrast, the rankings of the other four reasons were slightly higher for transfer students than freshmen.
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What Attracts Students to PSU?
Portland State University appeals to students for several reasons. Respondents rated the importance of 12 factors to their decision to attend PSU. As shown in Chart 3, transfer students and new freshman were similar in their ratings. The top five factors included ability to stay in Portland area, program offerings, cost, reputation of programs, and financial aid package. "Ability to stay in Portland area" was more important to transfer students than freshmen, whereas "cost" was more important to freshmen than transfer students.
| Chart 3 Important/Very Important Factors in Decisions to Attend PSU | ||||
| Factors | Freshman (n=194) |
Transfer (n=338) |
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| % | Rank | % | Rank | |
| Ability to stay in Portland area | 70.3 | 2 | 77.2 | 1 |
| Program offerings | 61.3 | 3 | 72.2 | 2 |
| Cost | 75.0 | 1 | 71.5 | 3 |
| Reputation of programs | 45.8 | 4 | 51.5 | 4 |
| Financial aid package offered by PSU | 40.9 | 5 | 46.7 | 5 |
| Reputation of the University | 36.6 | 7 | 44.1 | 6 |
| Desire to move to Portland | 33.9 | 8 | 30.8 | 7 |
| Recommendation of friends | 26.6 | 9 | 23.5 | 8 |
| Friends currently attending PSU | 22.3 | 11 | 21.3 | 9 |
| Recommendation of family | 37.8 | 6 | 20.5 | 10 |
| Recommendation of school counselor | 23.1 | 10 | 12.1 | 11 |
| Recommendation of employer | 9.5 | 12 | 7.1 | 12 |
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Note. The number of respondents varies slightly for each factor. |
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Overall, entering students were positive about the general education courses they would take at PSU. They agreed or strongly agreed that general education courses would help them in their higher education and throughout their lives. See Chart 4 for a comparison of new freshmen’s and transfer students’ perceptions.
| Chart 4 Perceptions of General Education Courses | ||
| Perceptions | Freshman (n=199) |
Transfer (n=347) |
| The general education courses at PSU will… | ||
| help me broaden my view of life beyond the scope of my major. | 53.6% | 59.1% |
| provide me with an opportunity to integrate ideas and explore many points of views. | 64.9% | 60.3% |
| help me develop problems solving skills and the ability to use information I have learned. | 55.0% | 54.2% |
| help me apply information gained in class work to community/world issues outside the classroom. | 52.6% | 55.1% |
| help me develop general skills and knowledge in English, math, sciences, and the arts. | 54.9% | 56.5% |
| help me acquire information from
many content areas outside of my major. |
60.8% | 56.1% |
| probably be a valuable part of my college program. | 51.8% | 48.9% |
| probably vary in values, but most will be worthwhile to me. | 55.4% | 59.5% |
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Note. The number of respondents varies slightly for each item. |
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Respondents indicated that their experiences at PSU during the first term were positive. There were slight differences in responses between new freshmen and transfer students. As shown in Chart 5, more transfer students (54.8%) than freshmen (49.2%) felt PSU was meeting their expectations. Both groups reported that they were enrolled in classes they wanted to take (64.6% of freshmen; 69.7% of transfers) and in at least one intellectually stimulating class (85.6% of freshmen; 86.5% of transfers). More transfer students (75.6%) than new freshmen (66.2%) reported feeling comfortable coming onto the campus and going to classes. Also, more transfer students (54.4%) than freshmen (48.7%) knew how to get help with questions and concerns. More freshmen than transfer students, however, reported that they expected to meet other students who might become friends (69.2% of freshmen, 67.4% of transfers) and a faculty member to whom they can talk (58.2% of freshmen, 52.5% of transfers).
As shown in Chart 6, respondents indicated that they were very satisfied with the Admissions Office and its services. The top three areas of satisfaction were office hours (86.6% for freshman; 91.5% for transfers), service from office staff (89.9% for freshman; 87.8% for transfers), and courteous responses to phone inquiries (87.1% for freshmen; 85.2% for transfers).
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Educational Support
Respondents answered several questions about sources of support for their education. Chart 7 illustrates that over half of the respondents in each group felt that parents, friends, fellow students, and PSU faculty were supportive of their education.
Entering students rated their satisfaction with services they received at PSU. Services that received "high/very high" satisfaction ratings included: application procedures (53.8% of freshman, 50.6% of transfers); orientation (53.8% of freshman, 50.5% of transfers); information received through the Orientation Program (52.6% of freshman, 41.9% of transfers); PSU admissions and recruiting publications (47.6% of freshman, 42.7% of transfers); registration procedures (48.7% of freshman, 36.0% of transfers); and PSU financial aid publications (35.3% of freshman; 45.1% of transfers). Chart 8 shows that freshmen were more satisfied than transfer students with all of these aspects except financial aid publications.
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The following section provides more detail about entering students’ satisfaction with student services. In particular, findings related to application procedures, financial aid services, advising, and other services (e.g., orientation, Freshmen Inquiry, and University Studies) are summarized.
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Application Procedures
Overall, more freshmen than transfer students were satisfied with the application process. Chart 9 shows that freshmen had higher ratings of admission publications, application procedures, and information about Freshman Inquiry. Contrary to this pattern were the ratings of satisfaction with off-campus recruiting; more transfer students than freshmen were satisfied with meeting recruiters.
Financial Aid Services
Chart 10 shows that more transfer students than freshmen were satisfied with all aspects of financial aid services. Freshman and transfer students’ ratings of the service from office staff were especially divergent; 44.5% of transfer students compared to 31.8% of freshman were satisfied.
Advising
As shown in Chart 11, transfer students, more than freshmen, were satisfied with:
Other Services
Chart 12 illustrates entering student satisfaction with a variety of services.More freshmen than transfer students reported satisfaction with the orientation program (53.8% compared to 50.5%), information from orientation (52.6% compared to 41.9%), and registration procedures (48.7% compared to 36%). In contrast, more transfer students (33.5%)than freshmen (30.7%) reported satisfaction with University Studies staff.
This report of the Portland State University Research Update was created by Dr. Kathi A. Ketcheson, Director; Juliette Stoering, Research Assistant; Lina Lu, Research Assistant, the Office of Institutional Research and Planning.