Portland State University Research Update
Office of Institutional Research and PlanningVolume 3, Issue 2

A special edition co-sponsored with the OAR

Fall 1999 OFFICE OF ADMISSIONS AND RECORDS
ORIENTATION SURVEY

The Office of Admissions and Records (OAR) collaborated with the Office of Institutional Research and Planning (OIRP) to design a survey for students who participated in the PSU Orientation Program. The purpose of the survey was to determine how helpful PSU publications and contacts were to prospective students in deciding to attend PSU. A total of 761 new freshman and transfer students responded to the survey during Orientation sessions in Summer 1999.

COLLEGE PLANS
Over half of respondents (56%) stated that PSU was their first choice university; 12% stated that PSU was their only choice. As shown in Figure 1, most respondents (70%) plan to earn a Bachelor’s degree at PSU; 12% plan to take courses to transfer to another institution. Only 5% were unsure what their educational plans were at the time of the survey.

PSU PUBLICATIONS
The PSU publications identified as most helpful to students in deciding to attend were the catalog and schedule of classes. Many students also rated the PSU Viewbook and brochure as helpful or very helpful, although more students rated the PSU Web page as very helpful. Students rated the PSU newsletter least helpful of PSU publications; nonetheless, almost two-thirds of the students indicated that the newsletter aided in their decision to attend. (See Figure 2).

PSU CONTACTS
Students indicated which PSU contacts aided in their decisions to attend PSU and the majority (58%) found Preview Day most helpful. In addition, over 80% of respondents identified campus tours, PSU Friday, phone contact, and meeting with an academic department as helpful factors in influencing their decision to attend. Less helpful were the PSU representative visits to students' schools and representation at the College Fair, although more than 70% of respondents found these contacts helpful. (See Figure 3.)

CONCLUSIONS
The findings provided evidence of which materials and contacts were most helpful to students in the admissions process. The survey indicates that over 50% of new students find OAR publications and contacts helpful. OAR will incorporate these results into a thorough review of its publications this academic year. In particular, the survey findings will help OAR develop questions for student focus groups about PSU admissions publications to be conducted later this year. For more information about the survey, please contact Juliette Stoering, Institutional Research Analyst, OIRP at stoerij@oirp.pdx.edu or at (503) 725-3432.