Portland State University Research Update

Office of Institutional Research and Planning

Executive Summary - Survey of ’00-’01 Graduates

The Office of Institutional Research and Planning collaborated with the Career Center at Portland State University to conduct a survey of ’01-’02 graduates during Fall 2003. This survey is conducted every two years. Below is a brief summary of survey results.

The Respondents

The survey was sent to 2957 of the 2995 2001-2002 Portland State University bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degree recipients for whom the Alumni Office had current addresses. A total of 616 (20.8%) graduates responded. Of those, 298 (48.4%) had earned master’s or doctoral degrees and 316 (51.6%) had earned bachelor’s degrees.

Employment Status and Salary

Most graduates (86.9%) were employed and working in the Portland metropolitan region (61.9%). Graduate degree recipients reported higher rates of employment for pay (88.1%) than did bachelor’s degree recipients (68.9%). Bachelor’s degree recipients were more likely to be enrolled in further education (24%) than were graduate degree recipients (7.1%).

A majority of both bachelor’s degree recipients and graduate degree recipients who were employed (52.2 % and 51.4%, respectively) had found employment following graduation. A large minority of both groups (19.1% and 24.9%, respectively) remained employed in the job they had while attending PSU. Bachelor’s degree recipients were also likely to be employed but looking for work more closely related to their degree (18.3%).

Graduate degree recipients earned more than bachelor’s degree recipients overall, with 78% of graduate degree recipients reporting salaries above $30,000 and 20% of those reporting salaries above $60,000. Bachelor’s degree recipients were more likely to report earning less than $39,000, with 72% falling into that category.

Community Service

A majority of bachelor’s degree recipients reported that they had participated in community service as part of a PSU course (66%) or had volunteered outside of PSU (52.1%). Students also participated in internships (31%) and faculty research (11.3%) (See Figure 1). While 38% of students reported spending no time on community service outside of class, 37% of students spent between 1 and 6 hours per week in community service or volunteer work.

Preparation for Employment and Life

Respondents rated the extent to which their PSU experience prepared them for a number of post-education experiences on a scale of 1 ( Not at all) to 4 ( A lot). Bachelor’s degree recipients felt that their PSU experience most contributed to their preparation for Life-long learning ( M = 3.49), Graduate school ( M = 3.33), and Contributing to society ( M = 3.24). Graduate degree recipients felt that their PSU experience most contributed to their preparation for their Current or most recent job ( M = 3.45), Graduate school ( M = 3.44) and Life-long learning ( M = 3.39) (see Figure 1).

Using the same scale, respondents who were employed rated the extent to which their PSU degree prepared them for their current jobs. Graduate degree recipients felt more strongly that their degrees had prepared them for their jobs with 82.9% of them saying that their degree had prepared them “Some” (32.7%) or “A lot” (50.2%). Undergraduate degree recipients saw less direct connection between their degree and their current jobs. A majority still reported that their degree had prepared them “Some” (30.6%) or “A lot” (30.2%). But, 23% felt that their degree had prepared them “Only a little”.

PSU Impact and Student Satisfaction

Respondents were asked to rate the impact of their PSU experience on a variety of academic skills (ratings were made on a scale of 1 = No contribution to 4 = Major Contribution) as well as their level of satisfaction with that contribution (ratings were made on a scale of 1 = Very Dissatisfied to 4 = Very Satisfied). With just one exception, students’ levels of satisfaction with PSU’s impact met or exceeded their assessment of PSU’s impact on their skills. This indicates that even when students felt that PSU had a small impact on their skill development, they were satisfied that impact.

Overall bachelor’s degree recipients were “satisfied” with PSUs influence on all of the academic skills they were asked to rate. Bachelor’s degree recipients felt PSU had the greatest impact on their ability to Use the Knowledge from their Majors ( M = 3.27), their ability to Critically Analyze Written Information ( M = 3.16), their Understanding and Appreciating of Diverse Philosophies and Cultures ( M = 3.23) and their ability to Write Effectively ( M = 3.08). They were most satisfied with PSU’s impact on their Understanding and Appreciation of Diverse Philosophies and Cultures ( M = 3.23) and their ability to Use a broad Range of Knowledge from their Majors ( M = 3.22) (See Figure 3).

Recipients of graduate degrees felt that PSU had made a “moderate contribution” to their development of important academic skills. Following the same trend as the undergraduate degree recipients, those who had received graduate degrees were generally “satisfied” with the contribution PSU had made to the development of their academic skills. Graduate degree recipients felt PSU had made the greatest impact on their ability to Define and Solve problems in their Fields ( M = 3.07), Critically Analyze Research Literature ( M = 3.06), and Apply Research to Problems in their Fields ( M = 3.0). Interestingly, graduate degree recipients reported the greatest satisfaction in areas where they perceived PSU to have a smaller impact. They were most satisfied with PSU’s impact on their ability to Learn Independently ( M = 3.18), Work Cooperatively in Groups ( M = 3.17) and Recognize the Responsibilities, Rights and Privileges of Professionals ( M = 3.14) (See Figure 4).

Exposure to Educational Opportunities

Bachelor’s degree recipients were asked about the frequency with which they encountered a variety of learning opportunities (rated on a scale of 1 = Never to 5 = Nearly Always). They most frequently found opportunities to engage in Writing, ( M = 4.18), Critical Thinking ( M = 4.00), and Group Discussions ( M = 4.01) during their coursework at PSU. They were also asked to rate whether PSU had provided the amount of exposure they needed using a scale of 1 ( None) to 5 ( Superior). Respondents felt they had “adequate” exposure to Writing opportunities ( M = 3.97), opportunities for Critical Thinking ( M = 3.98), Group or Team projects ( M = 3.98) and Group Discussions ( M = 3.98). Students found the fewest opportunities to work with a professor on a research project ( M = 1.64) and they found that there were “not enough” of those opportunities to meet their needs ( M = 2.39).

Overall Satisfaction

When students were asked whether they agreed that they would choose to attend PSU again if given the choice, a majority of both bachelor’s degree and graduate degree recipients reported that they either “agreed” or “strongly agreed” (68% and 69%, respectively.

Summary