• Executive Summary
  
• Section I: Purpose and Description of Sample
• Section II: Report Findings:
  
  • Student Goal Achievement
    • Academic
    • Value to students
  • Campus Climate
  • Student Personal Development
    
  • Student Satisfaction
    
  • Outcomes of General Education
    
  • Time to Degree Completion
    
  • Plans After Graduation
    
  • Employment and Internships at NC State
    
  • Post-Graduation Employment
    
  • Campus Diversity Issues
    
  • Emerging Issues
    
• Section III: Summary
  

Overview

This report presents the findings of a survey of graduating seniors at North Carolina State University conducted in April of 1995. The obtained sample represents 52.1% of the spring 1995 graduating senior class. No significant differences by gender, ethnicity, or college were observed between the sample obtained and the population of spring 1995 graduating seniors. However, significant differences in response by gender and by ethnicity were found for many of the questions.

In addition to answering a series of specific questions, students gave general comments about their experiences at NC State and suggested steps that could be taken to improve the quality of the undergraduate experience at NC State. Over 94 pages of commentary were received and have been integrated into this report to the extent feasible.

Summary

The following summary is organized to reflect the contextual relevancy of the findings to NC State's recently adopted strategic plan. Therefore, survey findings are clustered under relevant goals.

Strategic Plan Goal #1: NC State will improve success and satisfaction of undergraduate and graduate students, faculty, and staff.

Student Satisfaction with Academic Experiences

Respondents reported differential rates of satisfaction with many aspects of the NC State educational experience, as follows:

• Quality of instruction in major field/program was rated at least moderately satisfactory by 94.2% of all respondents.
• Quality of overall instruction was also rated highly, with 94.1% of all respondents reporting at least moderate satisfaction.
• Diversity of courses overall was rated at least moderately satisfactory by 90.1% of all respondents.
• Availability of courses overall was rated at least moderately satisfactory by 87.1% of all respondents.
• Opportunity for interaction with faculty outside of the classroom was at least moderately satisfactory to 77.7% of all respondents. On the other hand, 22.3% of respondents indicated at least moderate dissatisfaction in this area.
• Quality of academic advising was at least moderately satisfactory to 68.0% of all respondents. Conversely, 32.0% of respondents were at least moderately dissatisfied with academic advising. In open-ended comments, 65 respondents expressed negative comments regarding the quality of academic advising. To the extent comparison with results from the 1993 Self-Study survey is warranted, student dissatisfaction with advising has increased by 6.7% over the past two years.

Student Satisfaction with Activities and Services

As part of the survey, respondents rated their satisfaction with the quality of NC State student services and campus related activities. At least two thirds of all graduating seniors reported at least moderate satisfaction with all services and activities, with the exception of financial aid services and food service on campus.

• Most respondents (93.7%) reported being at least moderately satisfied with opportunities to join campus clubs and organizations.
• Another area of high satisfaction was with campus-sponsored recreational activities, where 89.4% of respondents indicated at least moderate satisfaction.
• The office of Registration and Records received the highest reported satisfaction rating, with 87.6% of respondents indicating at least moderate satisfaction.
• Of those respondents who used the Counseling Center, 80.0% reported being at least moderately satisfied with the quality of the experience.
• Of those respondents who indicated using career services/employment assistance, 68.7% stated at least moderate satisfaction with the quality of these services. On the other hand, 31.3% expressed at least moderate dissatisfaction with the quality of these services. In open-ended comments, respondents from some colleges felt relatively less well served by this office; foremost among these were students in the College of Humanities and Social Sciences.
• Respondents reported fairly low satisfaction with financial aid services, with only 60.8% off those who reported using these services expressing at least moderate satisfaction and 39.2% reporting at least moderate dissatisfaction.
• Food service on campus had the lowest reported satisfaction rating, with 56.9% of respondents who reported using this service indicating at least moderate satisfaction and 43.1% expressing at least moderate dissatisfaction.
• In open-ended comments, respondents reported reasons for lower satisfaction ratings with such offices or units as Financial Aid, Career Planning and Placement, food service on campus, and transportation services. The most common reason given for lower satisfaction with these offices or units was what respondents perceived as the lack of quality customer service on the part of the staff.

Outcomes of General Education

Respondents reported that NC State contributed highly through the collegiate experience in areas of technical skills development such as enhancing analytic skills. Lower levels of collegiate educational contribution were perceived in development of attitudes and values, with the lowest being advancing appreciation of the arts.

• Most respondents reported that their coursework at NC State taught them to find and access the information they need, with 88.6% indicating at least partial agreement with this statement.
• Graduating seniors also reported that their coursework at NC State increased their ability to develop creative solutions in solving problems, with 88.9% indicating at least partial agreement with this statement.
• Many respondents answered favorably to the statement that they had made new friends with people from different countries or different cultural backgrounds; 75.8% indicated at least partial agreement with this statement.
• Approximately half (50.3%) of all respondents reported taking foreign language classes while at NC State. Of that number, 63.0% stated that those classes were helpful in gaining an appreciation of other cultures.
• Regarding literacy measures, 88.2% of respondents reported reading newspapers and news magazines at least 3 times per month, and 64.1% of respondents indicated reading for leisure at least 3 times per month.
• At least somewhat of an educational contribution from NC State to enhancing analytic skills was reported by 94.6% of respondents, and similar educational contribution to applying scientific methods of inquiry was reported by 88.8% of respondents.
• Lower levels of perceived gains through the NC State experience were indicated in exercising public responsibility and community service, with 62.2% of respondents reporting at least somewhat of an educational contribution. Similarly, at least somewhat of an educational contribution from NC State to advancing appreciation for the arts was reported by only 49.8% of all respondents.
• Concerning global measures of growth experienced, 93.8% of all respondents felt that their intellectual growth needs were met through their experience at NC State; 71.2% felt that their career training growth needs were met; and 83.8% felt that their personal growth needs were met.

Student Goal Achievement

• Respondents indicated a primary goal of obtaining a bachelor's degree as preparation for a new career or profession with a frequency of 55.0%, while 28.0% listed obtaining a bachelor's degree as preparation for graduate or professional school as their primary objective.
• Most respondents indicated at least partial accomplishment of their primary goal, with 77.7% fully and 21.8% partially accomplishing their goal.

Student Personal Development

Most respondents reported high or very high current developmental levels on personal characteristics, but reported a relatively lower rating for the educational contribution through the NC State experience to their current developmental level on personal characteristics.

• Current level of development for self-confidence was given as high to very high by 77% of all respondents, while 49.8% of respondents felt that the University experience had made a measurable contribution to that current level of self-confidence.
• Current level of development for independence and self-reliance was given as high to very high by 90.6% of all respondents, while 60.4% of respondents felt that the University had made a measurable contribution to that current level of independence and self-reliance.
• Current level of development on potential for success was given as high to very high by 88.6% of all respondents, while 69.5% felt that the University had made a measurable contribution to that currently perceived potential.

Time to Degree Completion

Most respondents reported entering NC State as freshmen, and more than half of all respondents (56.4%) indicated that they were able to obtain their degree in 8 semesters.

• The majority of graduating seniors spent their entire college career at NC State, with 74.6% of respondents reporting freshman entry and 25.4% reporting entry as a transfer student.
• Respondents who indicated taking more than eight semesters to complete their degree program were also asked to indicate the primary reason for this occurrence. The most frequently cited responses were as follows:
  • 21.1% reported changing their major field of study.
  • 14.1% reported that their program included an internship, practicum, etc.
  • 14.1% reported that it was due to having a double major, second major, or co-major.
  • 13.1% reported that it was due to having to work while enrolled in school.

Plans After Graduation

The majority (85.0%) of all respondents reported that, as of April, 1995, they were either already employed, still looking for employment, or were planning on continuing their education at the graduate level.

• Many respondents were planning to embark on a career, with 23.2% indicating that they had already accepted a position, 5.5% indicating continuation in a current position, and 35.8% indicating that they were still seeking employment.
• Plans to attend graduate or professional school either full- or part-time were reported by 20.5% of all respondents.

Employment/Internships while at NC State

Almost three-quarters (74.2%) of all respondents indicated that they had worked during the academic year at NC State.

• Respondents who transferred to NC State were much more likely to have worked full-time during the school year than respondents who entered as freshmen, with 16.1% of transfer entries indicating full-time work and 5.4% of freshmen entries indicating full-time work.
• While still in school, 56.8% of respondents who had a job reported that it was at least somewhat related to their academic major.
• Respondents were moderately active in the Co-Op program, with 17.6% reporting participation. Male participation was reported at 22.2%, which was significantly higher than the reported rate of female participation (11.0%).
• Of those who participated in the Co-Op program, 57.5% indicated that the experience had helped them secure a position of employment.

Employment Following Graduation

The majority of respondents who reported having accepted a position were able to find full-time work, and in most cases reported a close connection between the major in which they graduated and their employment following graduation.

• Of all respondents to the survey, 27.1% reported placement in a position as of April, 1995.
• Of those respondents who reported having secured a position by graduation, most were able to find work in their field, with 87.1% stating that their employment following graduation was at least somewhat related to their degree.
• The majority of respondents who reported already having secured a position were able to find full-time work, with 93.6% accepting either permanent or temporary full-time positions.
• Of those respondents who had obtained a position by graduation, most (84.1%) indicated that a bachelor's degree was the minimum educational requirement for their position.

• More than half (54.2%) of respondents who reported a salary range for employment following graduation indicated earning $30,000 or more per year.

Environment for Learning

A number of respondents commented on the aesthetic quality of the NC State campus, the cleanliness of campus buildings, the quality of facilities, and the upkeep of older buildings.

• Nearly a dozen respondents noted the relative lack of attractive landscaping at NC State. Some students wanted to feel greater pride in how the campus looks.
• The cleanliness and upkeep of both older buildings and residence halls was a frequent target for student criticism in open-ended commentary.
• Old buildings with out-of-date classrooms and labs as well as aging residence halls were mentioned as frequent concerns by respondents. The lack of climate control and lack of adequate computer facilities in residence halls also surfaced in open-ended commentary.

Personal Safety

Relatively low ratings were indicated by respondents for personal safety on campus; numerous comments were received on this issue, especially from female respondents.

• 27.2% of respondents indicated at least moderate dissatisfaction with personal safety on campus.
• Female respondents were significantly less satisfied with campus safety than male respondents.
• The majority of comments received relative to this issue requested improved campus lighting as a way to heighten personal safety on campus.

Choice of Major

A prevalent theme in open-ended comments was the request that students be given more time before having to choose a major and more information on the majors available.

• Respondents expressed concern that students who change majors are automatically behind as far as on-time graduation.
• Many respondents felt that the choice of major should be postponed until the sophomore year, with the freshman year being devoted to general education courses.
• Some respondents requested that information regarding specific requirements and potential career choices be provided for all majors.

Strategic Plan Goal #6: NC State will expand multicultural and global awareness among the members of the university community, in its curricula, and through international partnerships.

Strategic Plan Goal #7: NC State will achieve a diverse student body, faculty and staff that better reflect contemporary society.

Campus Climate

The campus climate was generally seen as being supportive towards diverse subgroups of students, but significant differences were observed by gender in the perception of campus climate for men and by ethnicity in perception of campus climate for African Americans.

• Less than 10.0% of all respondents saw the campus climate as being discriminatory towards men, women, African Americans, other ethnic minorities and international students.
• 38.1% of African American respondents perceived the campus climate as being mildly to strongly discriminatory toward African Americans.
• Two groups were perceived as having low levels of support on campus. Gay and lesbian students were rated as the least supported group, with 37.3% of all respondents perceiving mild to strong discrimination on campus towards this group. Disabled students were rated by 14.3% of all respondents as being at least mildly discriminated against.

Campus Diversity Issues

Many significant differences in response were found by race and gender in the sections for Campus Climate, Student Goal Achievement, Student Personal Development, Plans After Graduation, and Employment and Internships while at NC State.

• African American respondents would choose to attend NC State again with significantly less frequency than white respondents (70.7% and 89.3%, respectively). No significant differences were observed by ethnicity with regard to whether or not respondents would choose the same major again.
• In general, African American respondents report a lesser contribution from their education at NC State to current developmental level of personal characteristics than white respondents or respondents from other ethnic minorities.
• 29.4% of African American respondents reported having to work while in school as being the primary reason for taking more than 8 semesters to graduate, while only 12.6% of white respondents and 7.1% of respondents from other ethnic minorities responded similarly.
• The percentage of African American respondents who reported working 21-39 hours per week (42.9%) was notably greater than either the percentage of respondents from other ethnic minorities (18.0%) or white respondents (28.6%) who reported working 21-39 hours per week.
• A large difference was found between African American respondents who reported finding employment directly related to the subject of their degree from NC State (50.0%) and white respondents indicating the same response (70.4%).
• In the area of student satisfaction, seven items had significantly different responses by gender. Female respondents reported a higher level of satisfaction on six of the seven items (overall instruction, diversity of courses overall, availability of courses overall, academic support services, opportunities to participate in co-curricular activities, internships, co-ops, and field experiences or practica).
• Male respondents reported a significantly higher educational contribution in the area of technical skills gain (using mathematics skills, applying scientific methods of inquiry) than did female respondents.
• Overall, female respondents reported a significantly higher educational contribution from NC State to development of personal characteristics and to development of attitudes and values than did male respondents (developing a tolerance for divergent views, understanding of diverse cultures and values, exercising public responsibility and community service, appreciating racial and sexual equality, advancing your appreciation for the arts, understanding issues and problems facing the world, appreciating learning as a lifelong process, educational contribution to sense of personal identity, intellectual growth needs met, and personal growth needs met).
• In relation to male respondents, female respondents reported lower participation in cooperative educational programs, lower perceived growth in self-confidence and ability to handle stress (two critical attributes in preparing to enter the workforce), higher rates of part-time work following graduation, a lesser likelihood of gaining employment related to the academic major, a substantially lower average salary, and lower minimum educational requirement for jobs currently held or to be assumed following graduation.

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Purpose

The purpose of the 1995 Graduating Senior Survey was to gather current information of all seniors graduating in the spring of 1995 at NC State. The UNC Board of Governors requested that the University of North Carolina - General Administration obtain information from these students in order to more accurately to portray the experiences of undergraduates at NC State.

At NC State, individual academic departments as well as schools or colleges were given the opportunity to insert discipline-specific items such that distinct information about unit-level institutional effectiveness information could be provided. The inclusion of these inserts offered academic units the chance to collect valuable information on student outcomes and student opinions.

Description of Sample

This report presents a profile of the Spring 1995 graduating seniors at NC State. It is based on responses to a survey given during the final semester prior to spring 1995 graduation. A copy of the survey instrument appears in the Appendix.

The total number of students registered to graduate in the spring of 1995 was 2,098. Completed surveys were received from 1,138. Of those returned, 44 students did not graduate. A total of 1,094 usable surveys were analyzed, representing 52.1% of the spring 1995 graduating senior class. Results of Chi-square tests revealed no significant differences from the total population of graduating seniors in the areas of gender, ethnicity, or college at the 0.05 significance level. Thus, the results may be regarded as broadly representative of the graduating class. An outline of the report is presented below.

Outline of Report

Student Goal Achievement
- Academic
Presents responses to questions dealing with students primary goal or objective for attending NC State and to what extent that goal was realized (questions 3-4).
- Value to student
Presents responses to questions dealing with choosing to attend NC State and the major field of study (questions 30-31).

Campus Climate
Provides responses to assess the perceived campus climate for different subpopulations of students (question 12).

Student Personal Development
These questions provide information on students' current level of development of personal characteristics, as well as the extent to which they feel their college education has contributed to this level (question 14).

Student Satisfaction
Presents overall responses to level of satisfaction with the quality of the NC State educational experience in areas such as field/program, curriculum, facilities, opportunities, and services (question 11).

Outcomes of General Education
These questions provide information on how the University has contributed to student's growth in the areas of skills and knowledge, as well as information on student goals and goal achievement. (questions 2, 5-10, 13).

Time to Degree Completion
Presents responses to the question of time spent to acquire a degree and, if applicable, reasons for taking more than 8 semesters (questions 15-17).

Plans After Graduation
Presents responses dealing with plans following graduation, including graduate or professional programs (questions 18-21).

Employment and Internships at NC State
Describes information relating to work during the academic year while at NC State, including participation in the Co-Op program (questions 22-25).

Post-Graduation Employment
Reports the nature of employment following graduation, including information on educational requirements, relationship to academic major and salary range (questions 26-29).

Campus Diversity Issues
A broad-based discussion of survey results as they pertain to campus diversity.

Emerging Issues
A summary of themes that emerged through open-ended respondent commentary.

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STUDENT GOAL ACHIEVEMENT

This section presents responses to questions dealing with achievement of student goals and objectives, as well as their perceptions of the overall value of their NC State experience. The breakdown of student goals is as follows: 55.0% of graduating senior respondents indicated a primary goal of obtaining a bachelor's degree as preparation for a new career or profession; 28.0% listed obtaining a bachelor's degree as preparation for graduate or professional school as their primary objective; and 14% gave obtaining a bachelor's degree or certificate only as their primary goal (see Table 1). A larger percentage of males (59.0%) than females (50.0%) attended NC State to obtain a bachelor's degree as preparation for a new career or profession.

In Table 1, as in all subsequent tables, the percentages given are the percent of category response for each column, with each column summing to 100.0% (plus or minus 0.1 % due to rounding error).

The graduating seniors were asked to what extent they accomplished their primary goal or objective for attending NC State; responses are reported in Table 2.

In addition to academic goal achievement, graduating seniors were asked two global questions regarding a retrospective evaluation of their choice of school and major field of study. Most senior respondents (88.0%) indicated they would choose NC State again, but the percentage of seniors indicating they would choose their major again was noticeably lower (78.4%). There were no significant differences by gender in either response area, but there were significant differences by race (p = 0.001) in respondent's choice of attending NC State again. See Tables 3 and 4.

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CAMPUS CLIMATE

This section reports graduating senior ratings of the perceived campus climate for different subpopulations of students. A broader discussion of campus diversity issues is included later in this report.

Most respondents indicated the perception of campus climate for women as being mildly to strongly supportive (76.2%). No significant differences were observed between male and female responses to this question. See Table 5.

Table 6 indicates that the perceived campus climate for men was seen as being mildly to strongly supportive by 72.6% graduating senior respondents. Females indicated a significantly stronger perception of support for men on campus than did males at the p = 0.001 significance level.

The campus climate for African Americans (Table 7) was perceived by 70.8% of all respondents as being mildly or strongly supportive. Significant differences were observed between respondents of different races (p = 0.001), as follows: The greatest amount of support for African Americans was seen by white respondents, with 72.8% seeing a mildly to strongly supportive campus environment; 54.8% of other ethnic minorities saw a mildly to strongly supportive environment for African Americans at NC State; only 45.2% of African American respondents saw the campus climate for African Americans as being mildly to strongly supportive. 38.1% of African American respondents perceived the climate at NC State as being mildly to strongly discriminatory.

In general, respondents felt that other ethnic minorities are neither supported nor discriminated against. A similar distribution was reported across ethnic categories. See Table 8.

Similar to the campus climate for other ethnic minorities, the graduating senior respondents felt that international students are neither supported not discriminated against. This holds for both genders and all ethnicities. See Table 9.

Responses regarding the campus climate at NC State for disabled students are displayed in Table 10. In general, the climate was perceived as neutral to mildly supportive across gender and ethnicity. Notably, however, 14.3% of respondents perceived the campus climate for disabled students as being mildly to strongly discriminatory.

Respondents' assessment of the campus climate for gay and lesbian students is presented in Table 11. Overall, the graduating seniors indicated a neutral orientation on this issue or perceived mild discrimination. African Americans indicated the highest perception of discrimination against gay and lesbian students at NC State, with 51.2% seeing mild to strong discrimination.

In Table 12 contains mean ratings of support for the different groups of students, with mean scores ranked from highest to lowest for the total group. The responses were on a scale of 1 to 5, where 5 = strong support, 4 = mild support, 3 = neutral, 2 = mild discrimination, and 1 = strong discrimination. Graduating seniors felt strongly that gay and lesbian students received notably less support as a group than any other group assessed.

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STUDENT PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT

This section provides ratings of graduating seniors' estimates of their growth and development on personal characteristics, as well as their estimates of the extent to which the NC State experience contributed to their current level of development in these areas.

The area that the graduating seniors felt that they achieved the highest current level of personal development was in their independence and self-reliance; their lowest perceived area of development was in their ability to handle stress. The area in which graduating seniors reported the highest level of educational contribution to personal characteristics was their potential for success; their lowest perceived area of educational contribution to personal characteristics was their sense of personal identity.

Respondents were asked to rate their current level of development on six personal characteristics. The scale used was: 5 = very high, 4 = high, 3 = average, 2 = low, and 1 = very low. The means and standard deviations for each characteristic, ranked from high to low means for the total group, are listed in Table 13. Significant differences at the p = 0.01 level were found between African American students and the other ethnic categories in the area of current developmental level of personal characteristics, with African American respondents consistently rating themselves higher than either white students or students of other ethnic minorities. There were also significant differences by gender at the p = 0.001 significance level, with men reporting consistently higher levels of development than women.

Respondents were also asked to rate the level of contribution to current developmental levels that they would attribute to their education at NC State. The scale used was: 5 = very greatly, 4 = greatly, 3 = moderately, 2 = little, and 1 = very little. The means and standard deviations for each characteristic, ranked from high to low for the total group, are displayed in Table 14. A significant difference was found by gender, with female respondents reporting a higher level of educational contribution to their sense of personal identity than male respondents (p = 0.0005). No significant differences by ethnicity were observed.

Table 15 displays the gap scores, which are defined as the difference between the mean score for students' perception of growth and development on personal characteristics and the mean score for the extent to which respondents attributed a contribution through the NC State experience to their development on personal characteristics. The values for the gap scores can be interpreted in the following manner: Larger positive gap scores indicate perceived shortcomings in the level of educational contribution to development of personal characteristics, and indicate what areas may be priority targets for improvement. Negative gap scores indicate areas in which goals were exceeded Of particular note is the large gap score for African American respondents with regard to sense of personal identity.

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STUDENT SATISFACTION

This section provides ratings on reported levels of satisfaction students felt with the quality of 29 university experiences, student facilities, offices, or activities.

The areas with which graduating seniors reported the highest satisfaction were instruction in major field/program, opportunity to join campus clubs and organizations, diversity of courses overall, registration processes, and internships, co-ops, and practica; the areas in which they reported the least satisfaction were academic advising, personal safety on campus, career planning and placement services, residence halls, services for commuter students, financial aid services, and food service on campus.

A considerable amount of valuable information was also gained from the open-ended questions (questions 32 and 33) which asked for general comments on the respondents' experiences at NC State and areas of particular satisfaction/dissatisfaction. In relation to satisfaction with NC State, most respondents who expressed an opinion reported that they were satisfied with their experiences overall while at NC State. These respondents did, however, express concern for specific areas of academic life and student services that they felt needed to be improved. These suggestions are presented along with the tables and analysis for each individual question.

Differences in response between gender and ethnic categories that were found to be significant at the p = 0.001 level are reported for each question. In cases where the response to "don't know/did not use" is greater than 5.0%, an auxiliary table is presented to provide the percentage of respondents who reported not being aware of the service or not utilizing it.

Instruction

Table 16 illustrates that most respondents (94.3%) were at least moderately satisfied with the instruction they received in their major field or program. One graduate in Accounting wrote "I was particularly satisfied with the faculty in the Accounting Department. The faculty was enthusiastic and extremely knowledgeable on the subjects they were teaching." There were many positive comments relating to specific instructors, but there were also concerns expressed in open-ended comments from students in Physical and Mathematical Sciences, Agriculture and Life Sciences, Engineering, and other research-oriented disciplines that too much of a focus on research was occurring at the expense of emphasizing quality teaching.

Overall instruction at NC State was also rated highly by graduating seniors, with 94.1% reporting at least moderate satisfaction. One graduate in Communication who had a prior undergraduate degree from UNC-CH commented "I feel that my education at NCSU has been far superior to the one I received at UNC. The professors genuinely care about whether or not their students succeed. At Carolina I was just a number. At NCSU, I have a name and that does a lot for a person's self-confidence." Women rated overall instruction significantly higher than men (p = 0.0008), with 96.1% of women moderately to very satisfied and 92.8% of men moderately to very satisfied. See Table 17.

Diversity of Courses

The majority of respondents (86.6%) indicated at least moderate satisfaction with the diversity of courses in their major field of study. Individual comments on course diversity were many, but two themes were most prevalent. First was the issue of increasing the diversity of major requirements. Respondents from non-humanities and technical curricula repeatedly requested a more diverse curriculum that included more humanities and social science requirements. For example, a graduating senior in Biochemistry stated "I do wish more, in fact, many more general courses were required for people in the sciences so we [become] a little more diverse in our skills..." Of concern to respondents from humanities and social sciences curricula was the need for more courses specifically related to their major (e.g., more writing and less literature courses for a journalism major). Second was the issue of curriculum focus. Respondents from many different curricula requested inclusion of additional coursework in their major field of study. In addition, many respondents expressed a desire for courses that involved applying skills that they would need to work in their field.

Satisfaction with the overall diversity of courses experienced by graduating seniors while at NC State was high, with 90.1% reporting at least moderate satisfaction. There were significant differences by gender (p = 0.0001), with a greater percentage of women (92.0%) than men (88.7%) at least moderately satisfied. A wide range of comments were received on this issue, ranging from requests for a less diverse overall curriculum to increasing the number of free electives. Most comments, however, did favor some kind of increase in diversity of classes overall. A graduating senior in Zoology commented "I feel the new 'General Education' requirement is a great idea for improving the quality of education at NCSU. Please continue to offer more programs [that] will make NCSU graduates more well rounded."

Availability of Courses

Most respondents (79.3%) reported at least moderate satisfaction with the availability of courses in their major field of study. The main phenomenon with which respondents reported dissatisfaction in the area of major course availability was the fact that for some majors, course requirements for the major were only offered once per year. This was reported by some respondents as being the reason that they did not participate in any outside internship or cooperative education. A graduating senior in Chemical Engineering wrote "Unfortunately, the majority of core classes in CHE are only offered once a year, turning many potential Co-Op students away..."

Satisfaction with availability of courses overall at NC State was also high, with 87.1% of graduating seniors reporting at least moderate satisfaction. A significant difference was found by gender (p = 0.0008), with 89.6% of female respondents moderately to very satisfied vs. 85.4% of male respondents moderately to very satisfied. Dissatisfaction with course availability appeared to be mainly from those respondents who were not able to attend classes during the day. Complaints from those respondents pertained to the overall scarcity of available classes, with physical education classes in particular being mentioned repeatedly. For example, a Business Management student commented "I have worked full-time and taken classes at night to get my degree. I had a difficult time finding PEs to fit [into] my schedule..."

Adequacy of Classroom and Laboratory Facilities

According to graduating senior respondents, 79.5% were at least moderately satisfied with classroom facilities at NC State. Primary reasons mentioned by respondents for dissatisfaction with classroom facilities were these: lack of cleanliness, lack of prompt and proper maintenance, age of furnishings, size of facilities, and lack of adequate climate control.

In regard to the adequacy of the laboratory facilities, 74.5% of graduating senior respondents reported at least moderate satisfaction with those at NC State. Reasons given by respondents for being dissatisfied with laboratory facilities at NC State were as follows: worn out/out of date equipment, lack of funding for materials, and lack of availability. Many respondents did not give specific reasons for dissatisfaction, but did indicate that an overall improvement in the quality of laboratory facilities was needed.

Academic Advising

When asked about academic advising, approximately two-thirds (68.0%) of the respondents reported that they were at least moderately satisfied with the quality of academic advising. On the other hand, fully 32.0% reported being moderately or very dissatisfied. See Table 24 for a breakdown of these percentages.

A surprising number of comments were received on this issue (71 total, with 6 positive and 65 negative). Those respondents who commented positively on academic advising reported having an advisor who took a personal interest in them or otherwise went out of the way to provide them with some type of academic or personal assistance.

Respondents who had negative comments on academic advising fell into four specific categories. There were respondents who were dissatisfied with their advisor's lack of knowledge of rules, regulations, policies, and procedures and who reported academic setbacks due to this lack of knowledge. One student said "I would be graduating in May with a double degree if it had not been for my advisors' mistakes. They told me that certain classes would count that didn't for specific requirements..." There were respondents who reported feeling a lack of interest, caring, or involvement on the part of their advisor with the advising process and with specific student concerns. A College of Engineering graduate stated "Academic advising was not personal enough - with so many students, it was hard to build a relationship and feel that the advisor was familiar with my particular needs, strengths, and weaknesses as a student..." Then there were those respondents who indicated feeling that the quality of advising for entering freshmen needed to be improved. An area of particular concern was advising in the University Undesignated curriculum as regards selection of an academic major. Finally, there were those respondents who did not have any significant complaints but were dissatisfied with the overall quality of academic advising (e.g., "improve advising", "better advising").

Prior information was obtained on the subject of student satisfaction with academic advising as a part of the 1993 Self-Study Survey of undergraduates. Table 24A displays the percentage response for satisfaction with the quality of academic advising from the Self-Study Survey side by side with the corresponding percentages for the Graduating Senior Survey (both calculated with no opinion responses omitted). For the two middle categories, the first (non-italicized) response is the response category as given for the Self-Study Survey, while the second (italicized) response is the response category as given for the Graduating Senior Survey. 74.7% of Self-Study Survey respondents reported being satisfied or very satisfied. Only 68.0% of Graduating Senior Survey respondents reported being moderately or very satisfied with the quality of academic advising. While these two rating scales are not an exact match and while the Self-Study Survey of undergraduates was a cross-sectional survey by class level, it is still meaningful to note a general decrease in the satisfaction rating for academic advising based on the two most recent and most comprehensive indices of student satisfaction available.

Interaction with Faculty

At least moderate satisfaction with opportunities for interaction with faculty outside of the classroom was reported by 77.7% of respondents. One graduate from the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences wrote "I felt the education was excellent as well as the teacher - student interaction having it be such a big school..." However, concern was expressed by some respondents that faculty seemed to be unavailable for interaction outside the classroom due to time constraints imposed by research obligations. An Electrical Engineering graduate commented "Some of the courses in my major were disappointing because the instructor was doing research and could not help with outside questions because he/she was unavailable..."

Academic Support Services

Of those spring 1995 respondents (n = 660) who reported utilizing academic support services at NC State, 82.3% indicated at least moderate satisfaction with the quality of service they received (Table 26). Significant differences were found by gender (p = 0.0009), with 86.3% of female respondents moderately to very satisfied and 78.9% of male respondents moderately to very satisfied. It is important to note that of the 1,081 seniors responding to this question, 38.9% (n = 421) indicated that they didn't know about or did not use these services (Table 26A).

Career Planning and Placement

Of those respondents who reported using career services/employment assistance (n = 869), 68.7% stated at least moderate satisfaction with the quality of these services at NC State (see Table 27). Of the 1,087 graduating seniors who answered this question, 20.1% (n = 218) reported that they did not know about or did not use career services/employment assistance. See Table 27A. The comments on this issue reflected strongly held opinions. Graduates from programs with specific employment outcomes (e.g., College of Textiles, College of Engineering, College of Management, and College of Forest Resources) were particularly satisfied with placement services. One respondent from the College of Textiles wrote "Career Planning and Placement is the one department I believe works very hard and does an excellent job for all those willing to work and seek employment..." Respondents from the programs that did not have specific employment outcomes (e.g., College of Humanities and Social Sciences and College of Education and Psychology) reported less satisfaction with placement services. Respondents from these programs commented that they perceived a preference towards assisting students from the technical curricula while their needs were not as well attended to. A graduate from the College of Humanities and Social Sciences wrote "Humanities students get very little direction for [their] careers and the career and planning center concentrates on engineers..."

Financial Aid Services

Table 28 shows that of those graduating seniors who reported utilizing financial aid services (n = 594), 60.8% were at least moderately satisfied; of the 1,074 respondents answering this question, 44.7% (n = 480) indicated they didn't know about or did not use financial aid services. See Table 28A. 39.2% of respondents reported being either moderately or very dissatisfied with financial aid services, and while some of this may be attributed to respondents receiving low awards or no aid at all, there were some specific reasons given as part of the commentary. One repeatedly stated reason was the perceived lack of adequate customer service training for financial aid staff. One College of Textiles graduate stated "[In] many organizations such as Financial Aid and the Textile Library workers should be trained in customer services... They should be informed that their ability to meet students' needs [is] necessary for continuing employment with the University."

Residence Halls

Of those respondents who indicated living in residence halls while at NC State (n = 746), 71.8% were at least moderately satisfied with the quality of their living experience (see Table 29); of the 1,077 graduating seniors who answered this question, 30.7% (n = 331) reported they either didn't know about or did not use the residence halls (see Table 29A). Respondents had varied comments on this subject. Some respondents focused on physical plant and maintenance issues such as lack of air conditioning, age and disrepair of some buildings, lack of adequate computer facilities, lack of adequate residence hall parking, and perceived inadequacies in the performance of cleaning staff. Others were more concerned with social issues such as increased social activities, improved selection processes for Resident Assistants, and stricter enforcement of campus alcohol policies.

Services for Commuter Students

When asked about the quality of services for commuter students, 66.4% of respondents who commuted (n = 643) indicated at least moderate satisfaction. These results are presented in Table 30. Of the 1,072 respondents who answered this question 40.0% (n = 429) either did not know about or did not utilize these services. See Table 30A. Many commuter respondents stated that cost of parking stickers and lack of consistent availability of parking spaces were the two greatest sources of dissatisfaction with these services. A graduating senior in Philosophy and Religion commented "Provide parking for commuters - this experience was so miserable for me that I will never contribute a dime to the University..."

Food Service on Campus

Respondents who used food service on campus (n = 849) expressed somewhat more satisfaction than dissatisfaction with food service on campus, with 56.9% moderately to very satisfied and 43.1% moderately to very dissatisfied. Of the 1,074 graduating seniors who responded to this question, 20.9% (n = 225) didn't know about or did not use campus food service. Respondents who commented on this question expressed a desire for a greater variety of food service options on campus. They also requested food items that were both nutritious and moderately priced. Representative comments on the subject included: "The food is getting better, but prices are outrageous for college students to pay..." "I think the food selections at NCSU are terrible. What on campus is good for you?"

Library Services

The majority of graduating seniors were pleased with the quality of NC State library services, with 80.0% of respondents reporting at least moderate satisfaction. See Table 32. There were two prevalent themes in the comments about library services. First, respondents indicated concern about the age and outdated nature of some of the library materials. A respondent from Agricultural Education suggested "Try to update many of the book and articles in the library. As an Agricultural Education major, I found lots of books in D.H. Hill [that] date back to 1920 - 1950. This is not good reference material for our classroom assignments..." Reduction of subscriptions to journals and research periodicals was the other main area of concern. Respondents repeatedly mentioned having to utilize libraries at other local institutions of higher learning such as Duke University and UNC-Chapel Hill. An Electrical Engineering graduate said "Improve the library. I've had to go to UNC-CH to do research several times..."

Computer Labs

Satisfaction with the quality of computer lab/center services was also high, with 73.6% of respondents who reported using them (n = 1,013) moderately to very satisfied. These results are presented in Table 33 . Of the 1,086 graduating seniors who answered this question, only 6.7% (n = 73) indicated that the did not know about or did not use computer lab/center services. See Table 33A (see page 20). The comments on computer facilities focused on having more computer labs (both on campus and in the residence halls) and increasing the hours of operation for those labs that are currently available to students.

Other Student Services

The majority of respondents (77.2%) were at least moderately satisfied with bookstore services and products. Responses were found to be significantly different by gender (p = 0.0001), with 80.7% of women moderately to very satisfied and 74.7% of men moderately to very satisfied.

Satisfaction with the registration process at NC State was high, with 88.5% of respondents reporting at least moderate satisfaction.

Table 36 shows that satisfaction with the business office and cashier was high, with 82.3% of respondents who reported using those services (n = 842) stating at least moderate satisfaction; of the 1,072 respondents to this question, 21.5% (n = 230) either didn't know about or did not use the business office and cashier. See Table 36A.

Of those graduating seniors who reported using the Counseling Center (n = 326), 80.0% were at least moderately satisfied. See table 37. It should be noted, however, that of the 1,072 graduating seniors who answered this question, 69.6% (n = 746) indicated that they didn't know about or did not use the Counseling Center. See table 37A.

Satisfaction with the quality of service from the office of Registration and Records at NC State was quite high, with 87.6% of respondents (n = 1,023) stating that they were moderately to very satisfied. See Table 38. Of the 1,080 respondents to this question, only 5.3% (n = 57) reported that they did not know about or did not use the services of this office. See Table 38A.

When asked about the quality of student health services at NC State, 81.3% of respondents who used them (n = 910) indicated that they were moderately to very satisfied with the quality of these services. The percentages are displayed in Table 39. Of the 1,078 respondents answering this question, 15.6% (n = 168) reported that they did not know about or did not use these services.

Student Activities

The majority of respondents (89.4%) who participated in campus-sponsored recreational activities were at least moderately satisfied (n = 742). See Table 40. It should be noted that of the 1,078 respondents to this question, 31.2% (n = 336) didn't know about or did not participate in these activities. See Table 40A.

The opportunity to participate in co-curricular activities while at NC State was reported as being at least moderately satisfactory by 82.3% of graduating seniors (n = 797). Women reported a significantly higher level of satisfaction than men (p = 0.0001), with 86.3% of female respondents moderately to very satisfied and 78.9% of male respondents moderately to very satisfied. See Table 41. Approximately one fourth (26.3%) of the 1,081 respondents to this question reported that they did not know about or did not participate in co-curricular activities (n = 284) . See table 41A. Most comments on this issue focused on publicizing activities better or on having more activities available at varied times to allow greater participation.

Table 42 shows that of those graduating seniors who indicated participation in internships, co-ops, and field experiences or practica (n = 607), 83.7% were at least moderately satisfied with the experience. Female participants rated the experience significantly higher than male participants (p = 0.0001), with 90.5% of women moderately to very satisfied and 79.4% of men moderately to very satisfied. Of the 1,076 seniors who answered this question, 43.6% (n = 469) stated that they did not know about or did not participate in these activities. See Table 42A.

Of the respondents who reported participation (n = 884), 93.7% reported being moderately to very satisfied with the opportunities to join campus clubs and organizations at NC State; 18.1% (n = 196) of the 1,080 respondents to this question indicated that they did not know about or did not participate in these activities.

Personal Safety on Campus

When asked about their feelings towards personal safety on campus, 72.8% of all respondents (n = 1,010) stated that they were at least moderately satisfied. On the other hand, 27.2% were moderately to very dissatisfied. Responses were found to be significantly different by gender (p = 0.0001), with 78.8% of men moderately to very satisfied and only 64.9% of women moderately to very satisfied. Of the 1,078 respondents answering this question, only 6.3% (n = 68) indicated a response of don't know/did not use to this question. The suggestion most mentioned by respondents as a means for improving personal safety was to improve campus lighting.

Means and Standard Deviations

The means and standard deviations for questions related to student satisfaction, ranked from highest to lowest for the total group, are displayed in Table 45. The scale used was: 4 = very satisfied, 3 = moderately satisfied, 2 = moderately dissatisfied, and 1 = very dissatisfied. Important to note is that don't know/did not use responses were omitted in calculating the means.

Summary Charts

To enable the reader to gain an overview of student satisfaction in academic areas, percentage rankings of respondents who reported at least moderate satisfaction with the quality of NC State academic areas are displayed in Chart 1. Important to note is that these percentages were calculated excluding "don't know/did not use" responses.

The percentage of respondents who reported at least moderate satisfaction with the quality of NC State student services are ranked from greatest to least in Chart 2. These percentages were also calculated excluding "don't know/did not use" responses.

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OUTCOMES OF GENERAL EDUCATION

This section provides ratings of how much respondents felt their education at NC State contributed to areas of growth, personal development, and gain in skills. Responses are also provided for questions on goals established for undergraduate education at NC State, and on the extent to which these goals were realized. Respondents reported high levels of collegiate educational contribution in areas of technical skills development such as enhancing analytic skills and applying scientific methods of inquiry. Lower levels of collegiate educational contribution were indicated in development of attitudes and values, with the lowest being exercising public responsibility and advancing appreciation of the arts. Differences in response between gender and ethnic categories found to be significant at the p = 0.001 level are reported for each question.

In the area of intellectual growth, 93.9% of respondents felt that NC State at least adequately met their needs. Responses were found to be significantly different by gender (p = 0.0002), with 96.7% of female respondents reporting intellectual growth needs met at least adequately and 91.9% of male respondents reporting intellectual growth needs met at least adequately. See Table 46.

Respondents were also positive in the area of career training, with 71.2% reporting that NC State was at least adequate in meeting their career training growth needs.

NC State was seen as at least adequately meeting personal growth needs by 83.9% of all respondents. 87.6% of female respondents reported that their personal growth needs were at least adequately met, which was significantly higher (p = 0.0001) than the comparable male response of 81.2%. These results are displayed in Table 48.

Most graduating seniors indicated that their coursework at NC State taught them how to find and access needed information, with 88.6% of respondents reporting agreement with this statement.

Seniors also reported that their coursework at NC State has increased their ability to develop creative solutions in the process of problem solving, with 88.9% of respondents indicating agreement with this statement. See Table 50.

Approximately three fourths of respondents reported making new friends with people from different countries or different cultural backgrounds while at NC State, with 75.8% indicating agreement with this statement.

Of the 550 respondents who reported taking foreign language classes at NC State almost two thirds (63.0%) stated that those classes were helpful in gaining appreciation of other cultures (Table 52).

In the first of two literacy measures, most graduating seniors reported some interest in current events, with 88.2% of respondents indicating that they read newspapers or news magazines at least three times a month. See Table 53.

In the second of two literacy measures, respondents indicated that leisure reading was less common than reading for current events knowledge, with only 64.1% of respondents reporting doing leisure reading more than three times a month. This result is displayed in Table 54.

Most graduating seniors felt that their university education had an effect on the development of their writing skills, with 85.1% of respondents indicating that NC State had made at least somewhat of a contribution.

Speaking skills was another area respondents felt was influenced by their university education, with 85.1% stating that their education had contributed either somewhat or very much to the development of these skills. See Table 56.

The majority of respondents felt their comprehension skills had been developed through their experience at NC State, with 88.4% reporting at least somewhat of a contribution. This result is displayed in Table 57.

The percentage of graduating seniors who perceived an educational contribution through the NC State experience to their usage of mathematics skills was similarly high, with 86.8% reporting at least somewhat of a contribution from their NC State education. There was a significant difference in response by gender (p = 0.0001), with 89.8% of male respondents indicating at least somewhat of a contribution, and only 82.6% of female respondents indicating at least somewhat of a contribution. See Table 58.

NC State was also seen as having made a definite contribution to applying scientific methods of inquiry, with 88.8% of respondents reporting at least somewhat of a contribution. Responses were found to be significantly different by gender, with 90.1% of men indicating somewhat to very much of a contribution from their education, and only 86.8% of women indicating somewhat to very much of an educational contribution (see Table 59).

As displayed in Table 60, the strongest area of educational contribution to skills development was seen in the area of enhancing analytic skills. A great majority of respondents (94.6%) stated that their education at NC State made at least somewhat of a contribution to the development of these skills.

When asked about the contribution of their university education to the development of computer skills, 84.9% of respondents replied that they felt NC State had made at least somewhat of a contribution to the development of these skills.

NC State was seen as having at least somewhat of a contribution to developing a tolerance for divergent views by 78.4% of respondents. Significant differences in response were observed by gender (p = 0.0003), with 81.2% of female respondents indicating somewhat to very much of a contribution vs. 76.4% of male respondents with the same response.

The extent to which NC State contributed to respondents' understanding of diverse cultures and values is presented in Table 63. More than two thirds of all respondents (69.5%) reported at least somewhat of an educational contribution to their understanding of diverse cultures and values. Significant differences were observed by gender (p = 0.0001), with 75.3% of female respondents seeing somewhat to very much of a contribution and only 65.3% of male respondents seeing somewhat to very much of a contribution. These results are shown in Table 63.

Graduating seniors' ratings of how much their university education contributed to their appreciation of racial and sexual equality are presented in Table 66. 64.6% of all respondents reported that their education at NC State had at least somewhat of a positive effect in this area. Responses were found to be significantly different by gender (p = 0.0001), with 71.5% of female respondents indicating at least somewhat of an educational contribution, while only 59.6% of male respondents reported perceiving the same level of educational contribution.

When rating the extent to which their ability to work with people from diverse backgrounds 84.4% of graduating seniors reported that their university education had influenced their ability in this area at least somewhat.

In the area of recognizing and acting upon ethical principles, 72.4% of all respondents indicated that their education at NC State had contributed to this ability in the range between somewhat and very much.