North Carolina State University
2003-2004 Graduating Senior Survey:
Frequency Distributions for Survey Item #20
(Knowledge, Skills, and Personal Development)

This document reports the frequency distributions by gender and race/ethnicity of survey item #20 of the 2003-2004 Graduating Senior Survey. A table comparing mean ratings is available on the web.

Exact wording of question: To what extent do you think your college education contributed to your knowledge, skills, and personal development in each of the following areas?

Respondents selecting "don't know/did not use" have been excluded from the figures reported in this document.

General Education Goals | Personal Development Goals | World View Goals


Q General Education Goals

  All Women Men AfAm White Other
Enhancing analytic skills 70.9 68.3 73.3 72.2 71.2 67.2
4: Very much (%)
3: Somewhat (%) 25.6 28.5 22.9 23.9 25.5 27.9
2: Very little (%) 3.1 3.0 3.2 3.4 3.1 3.4
1: Not at all (%) 0.4 0.2 0.6 0.6 0.3 1.5

  All Women Men AfAm White Other
Ability to plan/carry out projects indep 69.3 73.5 65.5 66.9 69.8 66.7
4: Very much (%)
3: Somewhat (%) 25.6 22.5 28.5 26.3 25.4 26.9
2: Very little (%) 3.9 3.3 4.5 6.3 3.7 4.0
1: Not at all (%) 1.1 0.6 1.6 0.6 1.0 2.5

  All Women Men AfAm White Other
Critical analysis of ideas/info 66.6 67.3 66.0 73.9 66.0 66.3
4: Very much (%)
3: Somewhat (%) 29.6 29.9 29.3 22.2 30.4 27.7
2: Very little (%) 3.1 2.5 3.6 2.8 3.0 4.5
1: Not at all (%) 0.7 0.3 1.1 1.1 0.6 1.5

  All Women Men AfAm White Other
Comprehension skills 62.0 65.1 59.1 67.0 61.3 64.0
4: Very much (%)
3: Somewhat (%) 31.6 30.0 33.0 26.8 32.4 28.1
2: Very little (%) 5.6 4.6 6.6 5.6 5.7 4.9
1: Not at all (%) 0.8 0.3 1.2 0.6 0.6 3.0

  All Women Men AfAm White Other
Developing computer skills 62.1 59.4 64.6 65.4 61.2 68.7
4: Very much (%)
3: Somewhat (%) 28.6 31.0 26.4 25.7 29.6 21.4
2: Very little (%) 7.7 8.1 7.3 8.4 7.6 7.5
1: Not at all (%) 1.5 1.4 1.6 0.6 1.5 2.5

  All Women Men AfAm White Other
Science/tech influence on everyday life 58.9 58.9 58.9 62.1 58.6 58.6
4: Very much (%)
3: Somewhat (%) 33.7 33.8 33.6 28.7 34.1 34.0
2: Very little (%) 5.9 6.1 5.7 6.3 6.0 4.9
1: Not at all (%) 1.5 1.3 1.8 2.9 1.3 2.5

  All Women Men AfAm White Other
Adapt to changing technologies 58.1 58.2 58.1 65.9 57.4 58.2
4: Very much (%)
3: Somewhat (%) 33.8 34.1 33.5 26.0 34.6 32.3
2: Very little (%) 6.6 6.5 6.6 6.9 6.5 7.5
1: Not at all (%) 1.5 1.2 1.8 1.2 1.5 2.0

  All Women Men AfAm White Other
Speaking skills 56.8 59.0 54.9 63.1 56.3 55.9
4: Very much (%)
3: Somewhat (%) 34.5 34.3 34.8 29.6 35.0 34.7
2: Very little (%) 7.5 6.1 8.7 6.7 7.6 6.9
1: Not at all (%) 1.2 0.6 1.6 0.6 1.1 2.5

  All Women Men AfAm White Other
Applying scientific methods 57.3 52.8 61.3 61.3 56.3 63.5
4: Very much (%)
3: Somewhat (%) 32.2 35.2 29.5 31.2 33.0 25.5
2: Very little (%) 8.9 10.5 7.4 5.8 9.2 8.0
1: Not at all (%) 1.7 1.5 1.8 1.7 1.5 3.0

  All Women Men AfAm White Other
Listening skills 53.4 57.5 49.6 57.9 52.7 55.9
4: Very much (%)
3: Somewhat (%) 37.7 36.0 39.2 33.1 38.3 35.6
2: Very little (%) 7.3 5.7 8.7 8.4 7.4 5.4
1: Not at all (%) 1.7 0.7 2.5 0.6 1.6 3.0

  All Women Men AfAm White Other
Writing skills 55.0 59.5 50.9 60.7 53.9 60.1
4: Very much (%)
3: Somewhat (%) 36.6 34.4 38.6 33.1 37.4 31.5
2: Very little (%) 7.3 5.6 8.9 5.6 7.7 5.4
1: Not at all (%) 1.1 0.5 1.6 0.6 1.0 3.0

  All Women Men AfAm White Other
Using math skills 50.6 41.0 59.2 52.5 49.4 59.7
4: Very much (%)
3: Somewhat (%) 34.5 40.3 29.3 33.3 35.1 30.3
2: Very little (%) 12.7 16.5 9.2 13.0 13.1 8.0
1: Not at all (%) 2.2 2.2 2.3 1.1 2.4 2.0

  All Women Men AfAm White Other
Understand diverse cultures/values 53.5 61.7 46.0 68.6 52.4 51.0
4: Very much (%)
3: Somewhat (%) 32.2 29.7 34.6 21.1 33.1 33.3
2: Very little (%) 10.7 7.4 13.8 6.3 11.1 11.1
1: Not at all (%) 3.5 1.2 5.6 4.0 3.4 4.5

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Q Personal Development Goals

  All Women Men AfAm White Other
Ability to function as part of a team 65.6 69.8 61.7 70.9 65.2 64.0
4: Very much (%)
3: Somewhat (%) 28.8 26.2 31.2 24.6 29.2 28.6
2: Very little (%) 4.2 3.2 5.2 4.6 4.2 4.4
1: Not at all (%) 1.4 0.8 2.0 0.0 1.4 3.0

  All Women Men AfAm White Other
Personal growth 67.9 74.5 61.8 71.8 67.5 67.5
4: Very much (%)
3: Somewhat (%) 26.1 21.5 30.2 21.3 26.7 24.0
2: Very little (%) 4.6 3.1 5.9 6.3 4.3 5.5
1: Not at all (%) 1.5 0.9 2.0 0.6 1.4 3.0

  All Women Men AfAm White Other
Value learning as a life-long process 67.4 72.7 62.6 71.3 66.9 69.3
4: Very much (%)
3: Somewhat (%) 26.1 22.7 29.1 21.3 26.8 22.8
2: Very little (%) 4.8 4.0 5.6 5.7 4.9 3.5
1: Not at all (%) 1.7 0.7 2.6 1.7 1.4 4.5

  All Women Men AfAm White Other
Independence and self-reliance 68.5 74.5 63.0 73.1 68.4 64.8
4: Very much (%)
3: Somewhat (%) 23.4 20.6 26.0 18.3 23.7 25.6
2: Very little (%) 5.6 3.3 7.7 5.7 5.7 5.0
1: Not at all (%) 2.5 1.5 3.3 2.9 2.2 4.5

  All Women Men AfAm White Other
Potential for success 67.7 72.3 63.5 73.0 67.5 64.5
4: Very much (%)
3: Somewhat (%) 25.8 23.4 28.0 20.1 26.1 28.0
2: Very little (%) 4.6 3.5 5.6 5.2 4.6 4.0
1: Not at all (%) 1.9 0.8 2.9 1.7 1.7 3.5

  All Women Men AfAm White Other
Self-discipline 62.8 67.8 58.3 67.0 62.4 62.9
4: Very much (%)
3: Somewhat (%) 29.8 27.1 32.2 26.7 30.1 29.7
2: Very little (%) 5.0 3.6 6.3 5.7 5.2 3.0
1: Not at all (%) 2.4 1.5 3.2 0.6 2.3 4.5

  All Women Men AfAm White Other
Time management 61.5 66.0 57.4 65.7 61.4 58.7
4: Very much (%)
3: Somewhat (%) 29.6 27.4 31.6 25.7 29.8 31.3
2: Very little (%) 6.7 5.7 7.5 8.6 6.6 5.5
1: Not at all (%) 2.2 0.9 3.4 0.0 2.2 4.5

  All Women Men AfAm White Other
Coping with change 59.9 65.7 54.7 66.3 59.5 58.8
4: Very much (%)
3: Somewhat (%) 30.4 27.3 33.3 22.3 31.0 32.2
2: Very little (%) 7.2 5.5 8.7 8.6 7.2 6.0
1: Not at all (%) 2.4 1.5 3.3 2.9 2.3 3.0

  All Women Men AfAm White Other
Taking responsibility for own behavior 61.7 68.0 55.9 68.6 60.8 63.8
4: Very much (%)
3: Somewhat (%) 27.2 24.1 30.0 23.4 27.5 27.1
2: Very little (%) 7.3 5.1 9.2 4.0 7.9 3.5
1: Not at all (%) 3.9 2.8 4.9 4.0 3.7 5.5

  All Women Men AfAm White Other
Ability to lead or guide others 55.7 59.6 52.1 66.9 55.1 51.8
4: Very much (%)
3: Somewhat (%) 34.7 33.5 35.7 25.7 35.1 38.2
2: Very little (%) 7.7 6.0 9.3 6.3 8.0 6.0
1: Not at all (%) 1.9 0.9 2.8 1.1 1.8 4.0

  All Women Men AfAm White Other
Sense of personal identity 56.9 62.7 51.7 62.5 56.4 57.8
4: Very much (%)
3: Somewhat (%) 30.4 28.6 32.0 23.3 31.1 29.6
2: Very little (%) 8.5 6.2 10.5 10.2 8.4 7.0
1: Not at all (%) 4.2 2.4 5.9 4.0 4.1 5.5

  All Women Men AfAm White Other
Self-confidence 54.5 57.1 52.2 62.9 53.5 57.7
4: Very much (%)
3: Somewhat (%) 33.4 33.1 33.7 24.0 34.5 30.8
2: Very little (%) 8.0 7.0 8.8 8.6 8.0 6.5
1: Not at all (%) 4.1 2.8 5.3 4.6 4.0 5.0

  All Women Men AfAm White Other
Ability to handle stress 56.3 58.9 53.9 59.1 56.5 52.0
4: Very much (%)
3: Somewhat (%) 30.8 30.0 31.5 27.3 30.8 34.0
2: Very little (%) 9.4 8.6 10.1 10.8 9.4 8.5
1: Not at all (%) 3.5 2.4 4.4 2.8 3.3 5.5

  All Women Men AfAm White Other
Recognize/act upon ethical principles 50.7 56.4 45.5 58.7 49.9 50.5
4: Very much (%)
3: Somewhat (%) 35.0 33.3 36.6 28.5 35.7 35.1
2: Very little (%) 10.4 8.1 12.4 8.4 10.6 9.3
1: Not at all (%) 3.9 2.2 5.5 4.5 3.8 5.2

  All Women Men AfAm White Other
Commitment to personal health/fitness 38.2 39.4 37.2 47.2 36.5 47.5
4: Very much (%)
3: Somewhat (%) 39.2 40.5 37.9 35.8 40.1 33.5
2: Very little (%) 17.6 16.4 18.8 12.5 18.4 14.0
1: Not at all (%) 5.0 3.8 6.1 4.5 5.0 5.0

  All Women Men AfAm White Other
Public responsibility/community svc 32.6 37.1 28.6 44.4 31.6 32.8
4: Very much (%)
3: Somewhat (%) 44.7 45.4 44.2 39.6 45.4 43.0
2: Very little (%) 16.3 13.7 18.7 11.8 17.1 12.9
1: Not at all (%) 6.3 3.8 8.6 4.1 6.0 11.3
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Q World View Goals
  All Women Men AfAm White Other
Ability to work with diverse people 58.3 64.8 52.3 68.2 57.4 57.7
4: Very much (%)
3: Somewhat (%) 32.2 28.2 35.8 22.7 33.1 31.3
2: Very little (%) 7.1 5.8 8.3 7.4 7.1 7.0
1: Not at all (%) 2.5 1.2 3.6 1.7 2.4 4.0

  All Women Men AfAm White Other
Developing tolerance for divergent views 54.3 61.2 48.0 66.5 52.8 57.7
4: Very much (%)
3: Somewhat (%) 33.8 31.0 36.3 24.4 35.0 30.1
2: Very little (%) 8.7 6.8 10.5 6.8 9.0 7.7
1: Not at all (%) 3.2 1.0 5.3 2.3 3.2 4.6

  All Women Men AfAm White Other
Understanding world issues/problems 45.5 50.0 41.4 52.5 44.9 45.5
4: Very much (%)
3: Somewhat (%) 38.1 38.4 37.8 36.2 38.2 39.0
2: Very little (%) 13.0 9.8 15.9 8.5 13.5 12.0
1: Not at all (%) 3.4 1.8 4.8 2.8 3.4 3.5

  All Women Men AfAm White Other
Present as it relates to history 42.9 43.6 42.2 49.4 42.5 40.8
4: Very much (%)
3: Somewhat (%) 39.7 40.8 38.7 36.2 39.5 44.8
2: Very little (%) 13.8 12.8 14.8 10.3 14.5 10.4
1: Not at all (%) 3.6 2.8 4.3 4.0 3.5 4.0

  All Women Men AfAm White Other
Appreciating gender equity 41.5 48.2 35.4 55.7 40.2 41.5
4: Very much (%)
3: Somewhat (%) 38.0 35.8 40.0 25.0 39.0 40.4
2: Very little (%) 14.0 11.8 16.1 14.2 14.3 11.4
1: Not at all (%) 6.4 4.2 8.5 5.1 6.5 6.7

  All Women Men AfAm White Other
Appreciating racial equity 40.1 45.8 35.0 54.8 38.6 41.7
4: Very much (%)
3: Somewhat (%) 39.0 37.6 40.2 24.9 40.3 39.1
2: Very little (%) 14.2 12.2 16.1 14.7 14.5 10.9
1: Not at all (%) 6.6 4.4 8.7 5.6 6.6 8.3

  All Women Men AfAm White Other
Appreciation of the arts 34.2 37.4 31.3 44.8 33.3 34.0
4: Very much (%)
3: Somewhat (%) 35.3 37.5 33.3 33.9 34.8 41.2
2: Very little (%) 21.4 19.3 23.2 13.8 22.6 15.5
1: Not at all (%) 9.1 5.8 12.2 7.5 9.3 9.3
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For more information on the 2003-2004 Graduating Senior Survey contact:
Dr. Nancy Whelchel, Associate Director for Survey Research
Office of Institutional Planning and Research
Box 7002
NCSU
Phone: (919) 515-4184
Email: Nancy_Whelchel@ncsu.edu

Posted: September, 2004

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