Portland State University Research Update

Office of Institutional Research and Planning

Oregon University System 2004 Bachelor’s Graduate Survey Summary of Results

During the summer of 2004, the Oregon University System conducted a survey of students who had graduated from universities in Oregon between summer of 2002 and Spring of 2003. Respondents were asked about their employment situation as well as their satisfaction with educational experience. The following report summarizes the results for the Portland State University students who were surveyed.

Respondents

Respondents were 172 students who graduated from PSU between summer of 2002 and spring of 2003. More women (62%) than men (38%) completed the survey. Reflecting the general population at PSU, White students (74%) represented a larger group than ethnic minority students (26%) and students who had transferred to PSU (68%) represented a larger group than students who began as freshmen (8%) or who returned to PSU after a break (18%). Almost all of the respondents (91%) had attended PSU as full-time students and two-thirds reported working part- (46%) or full-time (17%) while attending PSU. Forty percent of respondents reported that they were the first in their family to graduate from college. Respondents represented a variety of majors, with the largest number coming from the social sciences (26%). Business (24%), humanities/fine arts (23%) and sciences were also well represented (19%).

Employment Status and Income

At the time of the survey, 78% of respondents reported that they were employed, with 12% of those employed while engaged in further education. Of those who were not employed, 11% were engaged in further education and 12% were neither employed nor enrolled in an educational program. A majority of graduates (77%) who pursued further education were enrolled in a graduate or professional program. Of the respondents who were employed, 75% worked full time. A majority (61%) of those employed were working in jobs they began after graduation. Employed graduates were most likely to be working in Multnomah (38%), Washington (9%), or Clackamas (8%) counties in Oregon and were more likely to be working in Oregon (87%) than in any other state (See Figure 1). Graduates were most likely to be employed in the private or government sectors (36% and 11%, respectively). Eighty percent of graduates reported earning less than $35,000.

Satisfaction with PSU Education

Respondents indicated their level of satisfaction with their PSU education by responding to a number of different items. Overall, using a 5-point scale (1 = Poor to 5 = Excellent), PSU graduates gave their education high marks with 78% of them giving a rating of 4 or 5 and 76.7% of them indicating they would choose PSU again if given a choice. PSU graduates felt PSU had prepared them “well” for graduate studies and to be contributing citizens (M = 4.0 and 3.7, respectively; ratings made on a scale of 1 = Not at all to 5 = Very well). Graduates were less satisfied that PSU had prepared them for their current job (M = 3.12). This may be related to the graduates’ perceptions that their current jobs were only “somewhat” related to their undergraduate major (M = 2.28; ratings made on a scale of 1 = Not at all to 4 = Very). If their job was unrelated to their studies, it is understandable that students did not feel that their studies had prepared them for their job.

Respondents were also asked to rate their level of satisfaction with the preparation they received at PSU related to a number of different academic outcomes and their level of satisfaction with a number of services offered by PSU (ratings made on a scale of 1 = Not at all satisfied to 5 = Very satisfied). Students were most satisfied with the impact PSU had on their ability to appreciate diverse perspectives with 81% of students reporting they were “mostly satisfied” or “very satisfied” (M = 4.4) They were also satisfied with PSU’s impact on their ability to work cooperatively in groups (M = 4.3), think critically (M = 4.2), and define and solve problems independently (M = 4.1). Given University Studies’ emphasis on diversity and critical thinking, it is important to note that students’ perceived these skills to have been enhanced the most in their PSU educational experience. None of the academic skills students were asked about received a mean rating below 3.7, indicating that students were “mostly satisfied “ with the impact their PSU education has had.

Student Finances

Respondents were asked about how they paid for their undergraduate education. Sixty-five percent of them took on debt in order to finish their degree, with the majority of those (96%) taking out student loans. Figure 4 indicates that students who took out loans most frequently borrowed between $5,000 and $20,000 in order to finish their degrees. Despite this debt load, only 14% of students reported that lack of finances had caused them to reduce their number of classes or stop taking classes for a period of time.

Conclusion

PSU ‘02- ’03 Bachelor’s degree recipients were likely to be employed and working in the Portland Metropolitan region a year after they received their degrees. They are generally satisfied with their educational experience at PSU, although they did not see a direct link between what they learned and their current job. A majority of students took out loans in order to finish their degrees, but finances did not hinder their progress toward a degree to the extent that they reduced their course load or stopped taking classes. Overall, degree recipients rated their education highly and would choose PSU again if given the option.