Abstract
Background and Methodology
Results:
Enrollment Information
Academic, Social, and Financial Information
Perceptions of the Institution
Educational and Personal Gains
Satisfaction with BGSU
Emphasis
Further Education Plans
Comments and Suggestions
Summary and Conclusions

ABSTRACT

This report describes the results of the Summer 2002, Fall 2002, and Spring 2003 administrations of the BGSU Graduating Senior Questionnaire (BGSQ). The BGSQ is designed to collect data on graduating seniors' academic and social experiences at BGSU, their perceptions of the institution, their educational and personal gains, and their satisfaction with the programs and services provided by BGSU. Additional information such as graduates' college expenses, years of enrollment at BGSU, and their further education plans are also collected. The results of this report may be used to evaluate and improve the quality of BGSU's undergraduate education as well as the social and academic environment of the institution.

BACKGROUND AND METHODOLOGY

The need for information about graduating seniors' academic and social experiences at BGSU, their perceptions of the institution, educational and personal gains, satisfaction with programs and services, and their further education plans, prompted the development of the BGSU Graduating Senior Questionnaire (BGSQ) in Spring 2000. The literature on college student learning, development, and persistence clearly shows that these traits play a crucial role in student outcomes. Since no single commercially-available questionnaire would provide the data specifically needed by BGSU in a timely and cost effective manner, the BGSQ was developed by the Office of Institutional Research and reviewed by a wide audience. 

All seniors who registered for 2002-2003 graduation were asked to fill out the BGSQ on-line. Six hundred and fifty-six surveys were back, resulting in a 21% (656/3104) response rate. This rate is lower than the one in 2000-2001 (24%) and 2001-2002 (32%).

To examine how representative the survey respondents were of the entire graduating class, the demographic characteristics of the 656 survey respondents were compared to all Summer 2002, Fall 2002, and Spring 2003 graduating seniors. There was a high degree of race similarity between the respondents and the population. The largest difference was the under-representation of students who graduated from BGSU in more than 4 years. Fifty-six percent of the participants reported that they graduated from BGSU in four or fewer years. This rate is much higher than the average Baccalaureate degree four-year graduation rate at BGSU, which was 30.0% for 1998-2002, 33.3% for 1997-2001, and 29.3% for 1996-2000. The proportion of men respondents (33%) was also lower than in the population (40%). While respondents in College of Business Administration were over-represented (20% in survey vs. 16% in population), respondents in College of Arts and Science were under-represented(38% in survey vs. 41% in population). These limitations and the low response rate require that all results from this survey be interpreted with some caution.

BGSQ results were analyzed by noting the percentages of participants who provided various responses to each questionnaire item. Percentages may not always sum to 100 due to rounding. The following pages highlight these results. In addition, group differences (female vs. male, minority graduates vs. European-American graduates, and college vs. college) were investigated and significant differences are noted where they occurred.

ENROLLMENT INFORMATION

Like the respondents in 2000-2001 and 2001-2002, more than half of the respondents in 2002-2003 reported that they graduated from BGSU in four or less than four years. This rate is much higher than the average baccalaureate degree four-year graduation rate at BGSU, which is 33.0% for 1998-2002, 33.3% for 1997-2001, and 29.3% for 1996-2000. "I changed majors" and "I worked while enrolled" were the major reasons more often cited by those who took more than four years to graduate.

During the past three year more students have reported that "I transferred to BGSU and needed different courses", "my major takes more than four years to complete", "I dropped one or more classes because I was dissatisfied with the quality of instruction", "I had problems with the academic requirements for my major" were the major reasons for them to extend their undergraduate study. At the same time, fewer students have claimed "I was undecided about a major when I started" and "I had a double major" as the major factors for them to take more than four years to graduate.

Differences Between Groups in 2002-2003. Minority respondents were more likely than European-American respondents to cite "I received poor academic advising", "My major takes more than four yeas to complete",  "I wanted to maintain or improve my grades", and "I had a double major" as the major reasons to extend their undergraduate study. European-American respondents, on the other hand, were more likely than their counterparts to cite "I worked while enrolled" and  "I chose not to enroll for one or more semesters" as the major reasons for them to take more than four years to graduate. While males were more likely to declare "I worked while enrolled" as the main reason for extending their undergraduate study, females were more likely to claim "I changed majors" as the main reason to take more than four years to graduate.

Students in the College of Arts and Sciences were most likely to report that they get their bachelor's degree in four years or less among the students in six colleges. Students in the College of Education and Human Development, the College of Musical Arts, and the College of Technology were more likely than the students in the College of Arts and Sciences, the College of Business Administration, and the College of Health and Human Services to report "My major takes more than four years to complete" as the major reason for them to expend their undergraduate study. Students in the College of Health and Human Services and the College of Technology were more likely than the students in other colleges to claim "The classes that I needed were not offered when I needed to take them" as the main reason for them to take more than four years to graduate.

Students in the College of Technology were most likely to cite "I worked while enrolled", "I commuted while enrolled", "I attended part-time", and "I was involved in cooperative education/internships" as the major reasons for extending their study. Musical Arts graduates were most likely to cite "I had to take developmental classes" as the major reason for extending their undergraduate study. Respondents in the College of Health and Human Services were most likely to claim "I transferred to BGSU and needed different courses" and "I had problems with the academic requirements for my major" as the major reasons for them to take more than four years to graduate.

ACADEMIC, SOCIAL, AND FINANCIAL INFORMATION

The majority of the 2002-2003 survey respondents indicated that they were living on campus or near campus during their college years. Minority graduates, when compared with European-American graduates, were more likely to spend three or more years living on campus. Male graduates were more likely than female graduates to spent three or more years living in an apartment or house near campus. Among the graduates in six colleges, Technology graduates were most likely to live at least five miles away from BGSU and commute. 

Half of the 2002-2003 survey respondents changed their major at least once during their BGSU years. Females were more likely to change their majors than were males. Musical Arts graduates were least likely to change their majors among the graduates in six colleges.

Like the graduates in 2000-2001 and 2001-2002, most of the 2002-2003 graduates worked at a job either on or off campus while they studied at BGSU. They were more likely to be involved with volunteer/service work, an internship or co-op, and a social club/fraternity/sorority than to participate in varsity/intercollegiate athletics and in a professional or student government organization.

Differences Between Groups in 2002-2003. Female graduates were less likely to work at a job off campus than were male graduates. They were, however, more likely than males to serve as an officer in a social club, fraternity or sorority, participate in volunteer/service work and in a professional or student government organization. While European-American graduates were more likely to work at a job off campus, minority graduates were more likely to work on a job on campus. They were also more likely than European-American graduates to participate and serve as an officer in a social club, fraternity or sorority. 

Among the graduates in six colleges, Musical Arts graduates were most likely to participate and serve as a officer in a social club, fraternity or sorority. Technology graduates were most likely to participate in an internship or co-op. Graduates in the Colleges of Heath & Human Services and Musical Arts were more likely than the graduates in other colleges to participate in volunteer or service work. 

Family, other college loans/grants/scholarships, savings from summer work, and the Ford Direct Loan were the sources of financial support most often cited by BGSU graduates. Students got more support from all the sources listed on the survey except from family, savings from summer work, and the Ford Direct Loan for the past three years.

Differences Between Groups in 2002-2003. Female graduates were more likely than male graduates to have other college grants/scholarships and other loan to support themselves. Minority graduates were more likely than European-American graduates to get support from the Pell Grant, Ohio Instructional Grant, Perkins Loan, other private grants, and other college grants/scholarships. Among the students in six colleges, Technology graduates were least likely to get support from their parents, relatives, and friends.

Over sixty percent of the respondents owe some amount of student loans by the time they graduated from BGSU.

PERCEPTIONS OF THE INSTITUTION

The majority of the respondents over the past three years agreed or strongly agreed with most of the items listed in the survey.

Differences Between Groups in 2002-2003. Female respondents were more likely than male respondents to agree that most faculty at BGSU are good teachers. They were also more likely than males to be involved with student organizations, and attend cultural events/activities on campus.

Minority graduates were more likely than European-American graduates to participate in study groups, be involved with student organizations, cultural events and activities on campus. European-American graduates, on the other hand, were more likely than minority graduates to agree that "most students at BGSU have values similar to my own".

Among the graduates in six colleges, Musical Arts graduates tended to be most actively involved with student organizations, campus activities and cultural events. They were also most likely to agree that "I have developed a close personal relationship with at least one faculty or staff member at BGSU," and " I have talked about personal problems with a BGSU faculty or staff member." They were, however, least likely to agree that "most students at BGSU have values similar to my own." Graduates in the College of Health and Human Services were most likely to agree that most faculty at BGSU are good teachers and that most of their classes at BGSU seem relevant and applicable to their future.

EDUCATIONAL AND PERSONAL GAINS

Most of the respondents in past three years felt that they made gains towards various educational and personal goals. Compared with respondents in 2000-2001, 5% or more of the respondents between 2001 and 2003 have reported that they gained quite a bit or very much in understanding their own abilities/interests/values, making connections between the classes their have taken as well as things they have learned in class and other experiences in their life, making informed judgments, relating to others, speaking effectively, developing a better understanding of their career goals, and being prepared for further education. Compared with respondents in previous two years, respondents in 2002-2003 were more likely to claim that they gained quite a bit or very much in being open to new ideas as a result of their BGSU education.

Differences Between Groups in 2002-2003. European-American graduates were more likely than minority graduates to indicate that they gained very much or quite a bit in writing effectively, relating to others, and being open to new ideas.

Respondents in the College of Business Administration, the College of Technology, and the College of Education and Human Development were more likely than the respondents in other three colleges to report that they gained quit a bit or very much in using computers. Respondents in Education and Human Development were most likely to say that they gained a lot in speaking effectively. Respondents in the College of Health and Human Services were most likely to claim that they gained a lot in understanding cultural, racial, and gender differences, and being prepared for further education. While respondents in Musical Arts were most likely to report that they gained a lot in developing a better understanding of their career goals, they were least likely to say that they gained a lot in writing effectively, making connections between the classes they have taken as well as between things they have learned in class and other experiences in their life. Arts and Sciences respondents were least likely to report that they gained quit a bit or very much in developing knowledge and skills applicable to a career as a result of their BGSU education.

SATISFACTION WITH BGSU

The majority of BGSU graduates were satisfied or very satisfied with all of the aspects of their educational and social experiences listed in the survey. Although improvement occurred in the areas of career services and campus dining services between 2001-2002 and 2002-2003, the satisfaction scores of the two areas were still lower in 2002-2003 than were the scores in 2000-2001. Students' satisfaction with financial aid in 2002-2003 is also lower than in 2001-2002. Furthermore, students' satisfaction with "the availability of classes at times I needed them" and "helpfulness in preparing for employment" decreased from 67%/69% in 2000-2001 to 60% in 2002-2003.

Differences Between Groups in 2002-2003.  Female respondents were more satisfied than male respondents with campus dining services and career services. Minority graduates were more satisfied with career services than were European-American graduates, but less satisfied with the ease of access to instructors, helpfulness in preparing for further education, feedback on assignments, campus dining services, residence halls, services to commuters, and racial/ethnic diversity of BGSU

Among the graduates in six colleges, Health and Human Services graduates were most satisfied with the availability of classes at times they needed them. Technology graduates were most satisfied with the overall quality of academic advising and campus dining services. Arts and Sciences graduates were least satisfied with helpfulness in preparing for employment as well as racial and ethnic diversity of BGSU. Musical Arts graduates were least satisfied with feedback on assignments, residence halls, and helpfulness in preparing for further education.

Compared with graduates in other colleges, graduates in the College of Education and Human Development and the College of Health and Human Services were more satisfied with "concerning for me as an individual"; Musical Arts and Education and Human Development graduates were more satisfied with career services; and graduates in the College of Arts and Sciences as well as Musical Arts were less satisfied with places to study and financial aid.

EMPHASIS

Fifty percent or more of the respondents felt that BGSU had given the right emphasis in most of the survey items. Helping students to prepare for their career as well as their further education seem to be the areas BGSU could emphasize more in the future.

Differences Between Groups in 2002-2003. Female respondents were more likely than male respondents to indicate that BGSU should more heavily emphasize understanding cultural/racial/gender differences and how they relate to them, their field of study, and their future career. Male respondents, on the other hand, were more likely than females to indicate that BGSU should more heavily emphasize thinking critically and solving problems.  Minority graduates were more likely than European-American graduates to report that BGSU should more heavily emphasize speaking effectively, being open to new ideas, relating to others, and understanding cultural/racial/gender differences, and how they relate to them, their field of study, and their future career.

Compared with graduates in other colleges, Technology, Arts and Sciences, and Musical Arts graduates were more likely to cite "developing a better understanding of my career goals" as an area BGSU could emphasize more. Graduates in the College of Arts and Sciences, the College of Business Administration, and the College of Musical Arts were more likely to say BGSU should emphasize more thinking critically and making connections between things they have learned in class and other experiences in their life. Arts and Sciences and Musical Arts graduates were also more likely than the graduates in other colleges to report that BGSU should emphasize more being open to new ideas and developing knowledge and skills applicable to a career.

Musical Arts graduates were most likely to indicate that BGSU should emphasize more "solving problems", "making informed judgments", "making connections between the classes I have taken", "speaking effectively", "relating to others", "being prepared for further education", and "understanding cultural, racial, and gender differences and how they relate to me, my field of study, and my future career" among the graduates in six colleges.

FURTHER EDUCATION PLANS

More than sixty percent of the respondents planed to earn a higher degree other than a bachelors after they graduated from BGSU. Females and respondents in the College of Musical Arts and the College of Education and Human Development were more likely than males and respondents in other colleges to pursue a Master's or doctoral degree in the future. While minority respondents were more likely to plan to earn a medical, law, or other professional degree after they graduated from BGSU, European American respondents were more likely be unsure of their future education plans.

COMMENTS AND SUGGESTIONS