• Executive Summary
  
• Section I: Introduction and Methodology
  
• Section II: Demographics of 1996 Graduating Senior Class and Survey Respondents
  
• Section III: Report Findings:
  
  • Student Goal Achievement
    
  • Campus Climate
    
  • Student Personal Development
    
  • Student Satisfaction
    
  • Outcomes of General Education
    
  • Time to Degree Completion
    
  • Employment and Internships at NC State
    
  • Plans After Graduation
    
• Section IV: Summary of Findings
  
• Section V: Comparison of 1995 and 1996 Findings
  

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This report presents a profile of the Spring 1996 graduating seniors at NC State. It is based on responses to a survey administered in March 1996 to all students who were planning to graduate in the spring 1996 semester. The obtained sample represents 51.7% of the spring 1996 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. Thus, the results may be regarded as broadly representative of the 1996 graduating class. However, significant differences by gender or ethnicity were found for some of the questions.

This summary is organized to reflect the contextual relevancy of the findings to NC State's recently adopted strategic plan. Therefore, goals of that plan to which findings of the survey are relevant appear as headers to the findings in various areas. The Summary of Findings section of this report (Section IV) presents a more detailed summary of results presented here.

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

Plans After Graduation

• As of March, 1996, close to one half (44.8%) of respondents reported they were set after graduation in either employment or graduate school.
  • Many respondents were planning to embark on a career, with 17.7% indicating that they had already accepted a position, 4.7% indicating continuation in a current position, and 1.6% entering military service.
  • Plans to attend graduate or professional school either full- or part-time were reported by 20.8% of all respondents.
• 38.3% indicated that they were still seeking employment.
• The great majority of respondents who reported having accepted a position were able to find full-time, permanent work, and in most cases reported a close connection between the major in which they graduated and their employment following graduation. The minimum educational requirement for most of these positions was a bachelor's degree. More than half of the respondents with positions reported an expected annual salary of $30,000 or more.

Employment While Enrolled

• More than three-fourths of all respondents indicated that they had worked during the academic year at NC State.
  • Respondents who transferred to NC State were significantly more likely to have worked full-time during the school year (17.1%) than respondents who entered as freshmen (7.1%).
  • While still in school, over half of respondents who had a job reported that it was at least somewhat related to their academic major. Significantly more males than females had jobs somewhat related.
  • The primary reason for employment during the academic year was listed as being direct expenses (survival needs and academic expenses) by 59.0% of respondents; 41.0% listed personal expenses (lifestyle enhancement and/or personal needs and desires) as their prime motivation for working.

Satisfaction Ratings

Students were asked to rate their satisfaction with 34 university academic experiences, student services, and campus-related activities.

• At least two-thirds of senior respondents reported at least moderate satisfaction with all academic areas surveyed, with the exception of career advising.
  • Students seemed the least satisfied with their interactions with their advisors, including opportunities for discussion of and advising on academic and career matters.
  • To the extent comparison with results from the 1993 Self-Study survey and 1995 Graduating Senior Survey is warranted, student dissatisfaction with advising remained unchanged since last year but has increased by more than six percent since 1993.
• At least two thirds of the respondents reported at least moderate satisfaction with all services and activities, with the exception of financial aid services and food service on campus.
• At least two thirds of the respondents reported staff in fifteen university offices or units were at least moderately responsive, with the exception of financial aid and food service staff. In open-ended comments, 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.

Time to Degree Completion

• More than half of all respondents indicated that they were able to obtain their degree in eight semesters. Significantly more males and African-Americans than their counterparts reported taking more than eight semesters. The most frequently cited primary reasons were: changing their major field of study; having to work while enrolled in school; having a double major, second major, or co-major; and participation in an internship, practicum, student teaching, co-op, and/or international study.
• Most respondents reported taking fewer than 15 credit hours during at least one semester at NC State (significantly more males than females). The reasons chosen most often were: they needed to work, it was their final semester, and/or they needed to make better grades.

Goals and Development

• Almost all respondents indicated at least partial accomplishment of their primary goal or objective for attending NC State.
• Respondents reported positive experiences at NC State in terms of growth needs being met and courses helping them gain an appreciation of and make friends with students from different cultures. Seniors felt that NC State contributed highly to their collegiate experience in areas of technical skills development, while lower levels of contribution were perceived in development of attitudes and values.
• 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. There were significant differences found by gender for both current level and educational contribution.

Other Issues

• Many students commented that computer training should be stressed more or required in the first year.
• Relatively high ratings were indicated by respondents for personal safety on campus, but female respondents were significantly less satisfied with campus safety than male respondents.
• Respondents expressed concern that during their freshman and sophomore years they were not given enough guidance in regards to the appropriateness of their choice of major. Some respondents requested that information regarding specific requirements and potential career choices be provided for all majors.
• Students not able to attend classes during the day expressed dissatisfaction with course availability.

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 and Diversity Issues

• The campus climate was generally seen as being supportive towards these diverse subgroups of students: women, men, African-Americans, other ethnic minorities, international students, and disabled students.
  • However, gay and lesbian students were rated as the least supported group, with over one-third of all respondents perceiving mild to strong discrimination on campus towards this group.
  • Significant differences were observed by gender in the perception of campus climate for men and disabled students, and by ethnicity in perception of campus climate for African-Americans, men, other ethnic minorities, and international students.
• 40.4% of African-American respondents perceived the campus climate as being mildly to strongly discriminatory toward them. Also, African-Americans perceived low support for other ethnic minorities and international students.
• African-Americans perceived significantly more campus racial conflict and significantly less commitment by NC State to minority success, faculty sensitivity to minority issues, faculty interest in students' academic problems, and contact with faculty outside of office hours.
• 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), 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.

Comparison of 1995 and 1996 Findings

NC State graduating seniors in 1995 and 1996 responded very similarly to many questions asked in both years. Half of each class responded that their primary goal or objective for attending NC State was to obtain a bachelor's degree as preparation for a career, with three-fourths of respondents expecting to fully accomplish their goal. Seniors in each class rated themselves similarly on personal development and perceived NC State contribution to their technical skills development, development of attitudes and values, and goals for undergraduate education.

Satisfaction with the computer labs/center services, opportunities for participation in co-curricular activities, and personal safety on campus increased significantly in 1996. The 1996 cohort indicated that the NC State campus was significantly less supportive of African-Americans than the 1995 respondents reported.

Over one-third of seniors in each class worked 21 hours a week or more while at NC State, with more than half stating this employment was at least somewhat related to their degree. As of the time of the surveys, fewer 1996 than 1995 seniors had secured employment after graduation. Of those who had already found jobs, most respondents in both classes indicated they would be employed in full-time, permanent jobs directly related to their degree.

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Purpose

The purpose of the 1996 Graduating Senior Survey was to gather current information on all seniors graduating in the spring of 1996 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 portray the experiences of undergraduates at NC State. This report presents the results of this survey.

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 could be provided. The inclusion of these inserts offered academic units the chance to collect valuable information on student outcomes and student opinions. Results from the inserts are presented in separate reports to the specific colleges, schools, and/or departments.

Description of Sample

This report presents a profile of the Spring 1996 graduating seniors at NC State. The survey was administered in March 1996 to students who were planning to graduate (as of March) in the spring 1996 semester. Instruments were either mailed or handed out to each student by their department. In April, a follow-up was conducted by either a reminder memo to the departments or with a follow-up mailing.

Completed surveys were received from 1,087 of the 2,019 students registered to graduate. Of those who returned a survey, 44 students did not graduate. A total of 1,044 usable surveys were analyzed, representing 51.7% of the spring 1996 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 0.01 significance level (see Section II). Thus, the results may be regarded as broadly representative of the graduating class. A copy of the survey instrument appears in the Appendix.

Methodology

The data obtained from the 1996 Graduating Senior Survey were analyzed according to standard statistical methods and practices. Responses by students' gender and ethnicity were tested to determine if there were any significant differences in response according to gender or ethnic grouping. All questions with strictly categorical responses (questions 2 - 4, 9 - 10, and 19 - 41) were analyzed using Chi-Square tests, and all questions with numerically coded responses (questions 5 - 8 and 11 - 18) were analyzed using either T-tests or one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) with Duncan's multiple comparison procedure. For tests which report an exact p-value (Chi-Square, T-test), the exact p-value is specified in the body of the text preceding each table. Duncan's procedure does not report an exact p-value, so in this case the p-value is reported as less than or equal to the specified significance level of the test (in this case, alpha = 0.01). To make identification of significant results easier, the category of significant response as well as an approximate p-value (p < 0.01 or p < 0.001) will appear immediately below the corresponding table.

All frequency tables in this report were calculated omitting responses of "don't know/did not use" and "not applicable" (for appropriate questions) to portray the most accurate picture of students' attitudes and opinions. In the cases where more than 5.0% of all respondents were omitted, the text provides detailed information about the percentages for those questions. In all 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).

Outline of Report

Student Goal Achievement

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), and questions dealing with choosing to attend NC State and the major field of study (questions 40-41).

Campus Climate

This section reports graduating senior ratings of the perceived campus climate for different subpopulations of students, and also includes sections regarding campus atmosphere, course perspectives, faculty issues, and extracurricular activities (questions 13-15).

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 (questions 17-18).

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. For services requiring interaction with university offices or units, responsiveness of university staff was also rated (questions 11-12).

Outcomes of General Education

These questions provide information on how NC State has contributed to the areas of growth needs, general growth, and college contribution to knowledge, skills, and personal development. (questions 2, 5-10, 16).

Time to Degree Completion

Presents responses to the question of time spent to acquire a degree, reasons for taking less than 15 hours per semester and, if applicable, reasons for taking more than 8 semesters to graduate (questions 19-24).

Employment and Internships at NC State

Describes information relating to work during the academic year while at NC State, including reasons why students needed to work and participation in the co-op program (questions 29-34).

Plans After Graduation

Presents responses dealing with plans following graduation. Includes further education plans and questions on the nature of employment following graduation, including information on educational requirements, relationship to academic major and salary range (questions 25-28 and 35-39).

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This section presents the demographic breakdown of the 1996 Graduating Senior class, and of the survey respondents by gender, ethnicity, and academic unit. There were 2,065 seniors who graduated in May 1996. Of those 2,065, there were 2,019 seniors registered to graduate in March 1996, when the survey was first administered. The total number of usable surveys was 1,044. No significant differences by gender (Chi-square 0.18, df=1, p<0.01), ethnicity (Chi-square 0.74, df=2, p<0.01), or academic unit (Chi-square 4.59, df=8, p<0.01) were observed between the sample obtained (survey respondents) and the population of actual graduates.

Demographics by gender and ethnicity are listed in Table 1. The breakdown of the Graduating Senior class by gender was: 39.8% female and 60.2% male; and by ethnicity was: 88.0% white, 6.9% African American, and 5.0% other ethnic minorities. The breakdown of survey respondents by gender was: 41.9% female and 58.1% male; and by ethnicity was: 90.7% white, 5.9% African Americans, and 3.4% other ethnic minorities.

Classifications by academic unit are presented in Table 2. The nine academic units surveyed are as follows: College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, School of Design, College of Education and Psychology, College of Engineering, College of Forest Resources, College of Humanities and Social Sciences, College of Management, College of Physical and Mathematical Sciences, and College of Textiles.

The largest percentage of graduating seniors were in the College of Engineering (26.4%), followed by the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (18.3%).

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STUDENT GOAL ACHIEVEMENT

This section presents responses to questions dealing with achievement of student educational goals and objectives, as well as students' perceptions of the overall value of their NC State experience. The breakdown of student goals is as follows: 49.4% of graduating senior respondents indicated a primary goal of obtaining a bachelor's degree as preparation for a new career or profession; 29.9% listed obtaining a bachelor's degree as preparation for graduate or professional school as their primary objective; and 18.2% gave obtaining a bachelor's degree or certificate only as their primary goal (see Table 3). A larger percentage of males (52.5%) than females (45.1%) attended NC State to obtain a bachelor's degree as preparation for a new career or profession. Nearly three-fourths (74.2%) of graduating seniors felt they will have fully accomplished their primary goal or objective for attending NC State (see Table 4).

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 (87.7%) indicated they would choose NC State again, but the percentage of seniors indicating they would choose their major again was noticeably lower (78.3%). There were no significant differences by gender in either response area, but there were significant differences by ethnicity in respondent's choice of attending NC State again (p = 0.001) and choosing the same major again (p = 0.003). See Tables 5 and 6 for these frequencies.

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CAMPUS CLIMATE

This section reports graduating senior ratings of the perceived campus climate for different subpopulations of students, and also includes sections regarding campus atmosphere, course perspectives, faculty issues, and extracurricular activities.

For each question, significant differences in response by gender (T-tests) or ethnicity (ANOVA) are reported when found. At the end of each subsection, means and standard deviations are presented.

Subpopulations

Most respondents indicated the perception of campus climate for women as being mildly to strongly supportive (72.9%). No significant differences were observed for this question (see Table 7).

Table 8 indicates that the perceived campus climate for men was seen as being mildly to strongly supportive by 69.9% of the graduating senior respondents. Females indicated a significantly stronger perception of support for men on campus than did males, at the p = 0.0001 significance level. There were also significant differences by ethnicity, with African-American respondents reporting a significantly higher perception of support for men than did other ethnic minorities (p < 0.01).

The campus climate for African-Americans (Table 9) was perceived by 66.0% of all respondents as being mildly or strongly supportive. Significant differences were observed between respondents of different ethnicities (p < 0.01), as follows: The greatest amount of support for African-Americans was seen by white respondents and respondents from other ethnic minorities, with 68.4% and 48.6% respectively seeing a mildly to strongly supportive campus environment for African-Americans at NC State. Only 41.9% of African-Americans saw the campus climate for themselves as being mildly to strongly supportive, whereas 40.4% perceived the climate as being mildly to strongly discriminatory.

In general, respondents reported that the campus climate for other ethnic minorities was either neutral (37.2%) or mildly to strongly supportive (55.2%). Significant differences were observed by ethnicity (p < 0.01), with African-American respondents seeing a significantly lower level of mild to strong support (28.8%) than either white respondents (57.0%) or respondents from other ethnic minorities (50.0%). These percentages are displayed below in Table 10.

Similar to the campus climate for other ethnic minorities, Table 11 shows that graduating senior respondents perceived the campus climate for international students as either neutral (34.2%) or mildly to strongly supportive (60.6%). Significant differences were again observed by ethnicity (p < 0.01), with African-American respondents seeing a significantly lower level of mild to strong support (40.0%) than did white respondents (62.5%).

Responses regarding the campus climate at NC State for disabled students are displayed in Table 12. In general, the climate was perceived as neutral (33.8%) to supportive (53.6%) across gender and ethnicity. Notably, however, 12.5% of respondents perceived the campus climate for disabled students as being mildly to strongly discriminatory. Differences in response by gender were found to be significant (p = 0.0006) with more female respondents (17.6%) than male respondents (9.0%) indicating mild to strong discrimination against disabled students.

Respondents' assessment of the campus climate for gay and lesbian students is presented in Table 13. Overall, the climate was seen as either neutral (36.4%) or discriminatory (35.9%) for gay and lesbian students. No significant differences were observed for this question.

Table 14 contains mean ratings of support for the different subpopulations 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 than any other subgroup assessed.

Atmosphere

When asked to rate their level of agreement with the statement "People here don't treat each other with enough respect," more than half of all respondents (60.6%) reported disagreeing at least somewhat with this statement (see Table 15). No significant differences were found by gender or ethnicity.

Almost three quarters (72.3%) of all graduating senior respondents reported disagreeing at least somewhat with the statement "There is a lot of campus racial conflict here" (see Table 16). Significant differences were found by ethnicity (p < 0.01), with African-American respondents perceiving significantly more campus racial conflict than both white respondents and respondents from other ethnic minorities.

Table 17 contains ratings of respondents' perceived descriptiveness of the statement "NC State is genuinely committed to minority success." Only 10.8% of all respondents reported feeling that this statement was not descriptive of NC State. Significant differences were found by gender (p = 0.0009) and ethnicity (p < .01), with males and whites reporting the least agreement with this statement as compared to their counterparts.

Regarding the statement "Most students are treated like 'numbers in a book'," only 27.2% of all respondents felt that this statement was not descriptive of NC State (see Table 18). One graduating senior from the College of Management stated "I felt as if the school wasn't that big because everyone was always friendly and helpful. I never felt lost or like 'just a number'." However, it should be noted that 72.8% of all respondents felt that this statement was at least somewhat descriptive. Significant differences were observed by gender (p = 0.0009), with more male respondents (76.6%) than female respondents (67.6%) reporting this statement as at least somewhat descriptive.

Table 19A contains the means and standard deviations for the first two Atmosphere questions, with mean scores ranked from highest to lowest for the total group. The responses were on a scale of 1 to 4, where 4 = agree strongly, 3 = agree somewhat, 2 = disagree somewhat, and 1 = disagree strongly.

Table 19B displays the means and standard deviations for the second two Atmosphere questions, with mean scores ranked from highest to lowest for the total group. The responses for were on a scale of 1 to 3, where 3 = very descriptive, 2 = somewhat descriptive, and 1 = not descriptive.

Course Perspectives

Graduating senior respondents were asked to rate their level of agreement with the statement "Many courses include minority group perspectives." These ratings are shown in Table 20. Almost two thirds (62.4%) of all respondents reported agreeing at least somewhat with this statement. Significant differences in response were found by ethnicity (p < 0.01), with more white respondents and respondents from other ethnic minorities (65.9% and 45.7% respectively) reported agreeing at least somewhat, while only 21.3% of African-American respondents reported the same level of agreement.

Almost half (49.0%) of all respondents indicated agreeing at least somewhat with the statement "Many courses at NC State include feminist perspectives." This result is presented in Table 21. Male responses were significantly higher than female responses (p = 0.004), with 51.3% of males agreeing at least somewhat, and only 45.9% of females reporting the same level of agreement.

With regard to the statement "Many courses at NC State involve community service," 29.5% of all graduating senior respondents reported agreeing at least somewhat with this statement (see Table 22). On the other hand, the majority of respondents (70.5%) indicated disagreeing at least somewhat with this statement. No differences in response were significant either by gender or by ethnicity.

The means and standard deviations for the Course Perspectives questions are displayed in Table 23, with mean scores ranked from highest to lowest for the total group. The responses were on a scale of 1 to 4, where 4 = agree strongly, 3 = agree somewhat, 2 = disagree somewhat, and 1 = disagree strongly.

Faculty Issues

Respondents were asked to rate their level of agreement with the statement "Faculty are interested in students' personal problems." Results are displayed in Table 24. Almost two thirds of all respondents (60.2%) indicated agreeing at least somewhat. No significant differences in response were found by either gender or ethnicity. There were several comments on this question, mostly stressing the need for good teachers who are genuinely interested in their students. A graduating senior from the College of Education and Psychology commented "Teachers who took the time to get to know me as a person made all the difference. In my opinion, teachers who are truly dedicated to their students don't receive enough recognition."

The ratings of student agreement with the statement "Most faculty are sensitive to minority issues" are presented in Table 25. Most graduating senior respondents (82.4%) reported agreeing at least somewhat with this statement. Significant differences (p < 0.01) were found by ethnicity: Significantly more white respondents (86.3%) and respondents from other ethnic minorities (68.6%) agreed at least somewhat than did African-American respondents (33.9%).

When asked to report their agreement with the statement "Faculty are strongly interested in students' academic problems," 64.7% of all respondents indicated agreeing at least somewhat (see Table 26). Significantly (p < 0.01) more other minorities (74.3%) than African-Americans (46.8%) agreed at least somewhat with the statement.

There were many comments received relating to this question, several of which spoke very positively of the quality of teaching at NC State. One student noted that "For the most part my teachers were outstanding. The courses and the assignments made by the professors were usually extremely challenging and became a good lesson in time and stress management." Many other comments focused on what students perceived as a lack of caring or lack of interest on the part of some teachers. One student from the College of Engineering stated "Many of [NC State's] professors are concerned less with students' welfare than their own research credentials. Much more time and money should be invested in making sure professors teach well."

The ratings of how descriptive the statement "Students easily see faculty outside of office hours" is of NC State are shown in Table 27. The majority of all graduating seniors (82.6%) indicated that this statement was at least somewhat descriptive. Significantly (p < 0.01) more whites (83.6%) than African-Americans (67.8%) agreed at least somewhat with the statement. One student from the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences commented that one of the most important things NC State could do to improve the quality of undergraduate experience would be to "Have more teacher availability outside of class."

When asked the statement "There is little or no contact between students and faculty," slightly more than half (51.9%) of all respondents reported perceiving it as being not descriptive of NC State (see Table 28). Significantly more females than males (p = .002) found the statement not descriptive. There were a number of comments on this issue, with most of them stressing the need for greater interaction between students and faculty (e.g., "Closer student/teacher relations," "Better student/teacher interaction").

Means and standard deviations for the first three Faculty Issues questions are presented in Table 29A, with mean scores ranked from highest to lowest for the total group. The responses were on a scale of 1 to 4, where 4 = agree strongly, 3 = agree somewhat, 2 = disagree somewhat, and 1 = disagree strongly.

Table 29B displays the means and standard deviations for the last two Faculty Issues questions, with mean scores ranked from highest to lowest for the total group. The responses were on a scale of 1 to 3, where 3 = very descriptive, 2 = somewhat descriptive, and 1 = not descriptive.

Extracurricular Activities

Approximately one third (31.0%) of all graduating senior respondents stated agreeing at least somewhat with the statement "Most students at NC State are strongly committed to community service" (see Table 30). It should be noted, however, that 69.0% of all respondents indicated disagreeing at least somewhat.

Only 36.6% of respondents felt the statement 'Social activities are overemphasized' was at least somewhat descriptive of NC State (see Table 31). However, significantly (p = 0.0008) fewer females (30.8%) than males (40.7%) felt this way.

When asked how descriptive the statement "NC State provides opportunities for students to engage in community service" is of NC State, the majority (82.8%) of respondents reported that the statement was at least somewhat descriptive. Differences in response were significant by gender (p = 0.005), with female respondents finding this statement more descriptive of NC State than male respondents (84.2% and 81.8% respectively). These results are displayed in Table 32. Some graduating seniors were not aware of community service opportunities available at NC State. One graduating senior from the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences said "Provide more opportunity for community service -- i.e. Student Assistants Volunteering in Emergency Situations (Fire Protection Division of Public Safety)."

Regarding the statement "Intercollegiate sports are overemphasized," the majority of respondents (80.9%) indicated that they felt that this was either not descriptive or only somewhat descriptive of NC State (see Table 33).

Respondents' ratings of how descriptive the statement "Students here do not usually socialize with one another" is of NC State are presented in Table 34. Over three quarters (78.6%) of all graduating seniors reported this statement as being not descriptive of NC State. Significantly (p = 0.005) more males (24.6%) than females (16.8%) felt students did not usually socialize with one another.

Table 35A contains the Extracurricular Activities means and standard deviations for the first question, with mean scores ranked from highest to lowest for the total group. The responses were on a scale of 1 to 4, where 4 = agree strongly, 3 = agree somewhat, 2 = disagree somewhat, and 1 = disagree strongly.

Table 35B contains the means and standard deviations for the last four Extracurricular Activities questions, with mean scores ranked from highest to lowest for the total group. The responses were on a scale of 1 to 3, where 3 = very descriptive, 2 = somewhat descriptive, and 1 = not descriptive.

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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 their NC State experience contributed to their current level of development in these areas.

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 36. 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.

Significant differences were found by gender at the p = 0.0001 significance level, with men reporting higher levels of development than women on ability to handle stress and self-confidence.

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 37. The area in which graduating seniors reported the highest level of college contribution to personal characteristics was coping with change; their lowest perceived area of educational contribution to personal characteristics was their sense of personal identity.

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 = 0.002). No significant differences by ethnicity were observed.

Table 38 displays 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 gap scores can be interpreted in several ways. Large positive gap scores may indicate a perceived weakness in the level of educational contribution to the development of personal characteristics, or may be a function of the maturity level of NC State students on that characteristic. Of particular note is the large positive gap score for African-Americans and males with regard to sense of personal identity, which may indicate a perceived growth in maturity not necessarily connected with the university experience.

Tables 39A - 39F present the percentage responses for the questions concerning graduates' assessment of their current level of development on personal characteristics.

Tables 40A - 40F report the percentage responses of graduates' perceived level of NC State's contribution to these personal characteristics.

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STUDENT SATISFACTION

This section provides ratings on reported levels of satisfaction students felt with the quality of 34 university experiences, student facilities, offices, or activities. In addition, ratings of the responsiveness of the staff in 15 of the areas are also reported.

For each question, significant differences in response by gender (T-tests) or ethnicity (ANOVA) are reported when found. Following the discussion of frequency results, means and standard deviations are presented. All frequencies were calculated omitting responses of "don't know/did not use" and "no contact" to portray the most accurate picture of students' attitudes and opinions. In cases where the response to "don't know/did not use" or "no contact" is greater than 5.0%, the number and percentage of respondents who answered in this manner is reported in the text.

Summary of Satisfaction Areas

The areas with which graduating seniors reported the highest satisfaction were: opportunities to join campus clubs and organizations; instruction in major; diversity of courses overall; internships, co-ops and field experiences or practica; and opportunities to participate in co-curricular activities. The areas in which they reported the least satisfaction were: services for commuter students; residence halls; career advising; financial aid services; and food service on campus.

A considerable amount of valuable information was also gained from the open-ended questions (questions 42 and 43) 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.

Instruction

Table 41 illustrates that most respondents (94.0%) were at least moderately satisfied with the instruction they received in their major field or program. One graduate from the College of Forest Resources said "I am particularly satisfied with the education I received from the College of Forest Resources. The education enhanced all aspects of my professional abilities. Professors in this curriculum are very helpful to students and exceptional in teaching their respective courses...". There were many positive comments relating to specific instructors, but there were also concerns expressed in open-ended comments from 41 students in Physical and Mathematical Sciences, Agriculture and Life Sciences, Engineering, and other research-oriented disciplines that professors were too focused on research and did not devote enough time and energy to being quality teachers.

Overall instruction at NC State was also rated highly by graduating seniors, with 93.6% reporting at least moderate satisfaction. No significant differences were found by gender or by ethnicity (see Table 42).

Diversity of Courses

The majority of respondents (85.1%) indicated at least moderate satisfaction with the diversity of courses in their major field of study. This result is presented in Table 43. 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 from the College of Management wrote "Allow more freedom in choosing classes that fulfill non-curriculum requirements, e.g., history, social sciences, literature..." Of concern to respondents from humanities and social sciences curricula was the need for more courses specifically related to their major (e.g., more media courses for a communication 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 91.6% reporting at least moderate satisfaction (see Table 44). There were significant differences by gender (p = 0.002), with a greater percentage of women (93.0%) than men (90.6%) 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 to enhance the NC State learning experience.

Availability of Courses

Most respondents (83.5%) reported at least moderate satisfaction with the availability of courses in their major field of study (see Table 45). The main issue with which respondents reported dissatisfaction in the area of major course availability was the fact that for some majors, courses required for the major were only offered once per year or were sometimes cancelled. This was reported by some respondents as being the reason they did not graduate in eight semesters or did not participate in any outside internship or cooperative education. One graduating senior wrote "Not enough courses [were] offered at the times I needed them... there were not enough classes offered to fill my graduation requirements, so I had to substitute an unrelated course just to graduate this year."

Satisfaction with availability of courses overall at NC State was also high, with 88.3% of graduating seniors reporting at least moderate satisfaction (see Table 46). A significant difference was found by gender (p = 0.006), with 33.8% of female respondents very satisfied vs. 25.6% of male respondents 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, and there were some complaints from other respondents that they were unable to register for classes that they needed in their freshman and sophomore years.

Adequacy of Classroom and Laboratory Facilities

According to graduating senior respondents, 78.9% were at least moderately satisfied with classroom facilities at NC State (see Table 47). 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 (classroom overcrowding), and lack of adequate climate control.

In regard to the adequacy of the laboratory facilities, 78.5% of graduating senior respondents who used them (n = 964) reported at least moderate satisfaction with the facilities at NC State (see Table 48). It should be noted that 5.3% (n=54) of all respondents indicated an answer of "don't know/did not use". Reasons given by respondents for being dissatisfied with laboratory facilities at NC State were as follows: worn out/out of date equipment, equipment not consistent with that used in corporate laboratory research facilities, 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, more than two-thirds (68.3%) of the respondents reported that they were at least moderately satisfied with the quality of academic advising. On the other hand, 31.7% reported being moderately or very dissatisfied. See Table 49 for a breakdown of these percentages.

A large number of comments were received on the issue of academic advising. Of the 229 comments, 17 were positive and 212 were negative, which means that only one of every five respondents expressed a positive view of advising at NC State. 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. Another frequent comment related to advising in the freshman year, with respondents stating that good advising and advice about majors and/or careers in the freshman year is critical for future academic success. One respondent from the College of Agriculture and Life sciences commented "Have advisors become more involved in the student's academic career during freshman year to help guide them through their years here at NC State...".

Prior information was obtained on the subject of student satisfaction with academic advising as a part of the 1993 Self-Study Survey of undergraduates and the 1995 Graduating Senior Survey. Table 49A displays the percentage response for satisfaction with the quality of academic advising from the seniors in the Self-Study Survey side by side with the corresponding percentages for the 1995 and 1996 Graduating Senior Surveys (all 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 with their academic advising. Only 68.0% of 1995 Graduating Senior Survey and 68.3% of 1996 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 first a decrease (1995) and then a leveling off (1996) in the satisfaction rating for academic advising based on the three most recent and most comprehensive indices of student satisfaction available.

A graphical representation of the change in student satisfaction with academic advising is presented in below in Chart 2.

Aspects of Academic Advising

Respondents' ratings of satisfaction with their advisors' ability to help them with required academic planning are displayed below in Table 50. The majority of graduating seniors (81.9%) indicated being at least moderately satisfied with this aspect of advising. No significant differences in response were detected by either gender or ethnicity. Open-ended commentary showed that this aspect of advising was extremely important to undergraduates. In spite of the overall positive rating for this question, however, there were comments from students claiming to have setbacks as a result of advisors not knowing curriculum changes or graduation requirements. A respondent from the College of Humanities and Social Sciences stated "Although I enjoyed talking to my advisor, I would have appreciated more knowledgeable advice on what courses to take to complete requirements for graduation...".

Of the graduating senior respondents who reported utilization of their advisor for advice and discussion of academic matters (n = 897), 70.8% indicated at least moderate satisfaction with their advisor's ability in this area (see Table 51). It should be noted that of all respondents to this question, 12.6% (n=129) stated that they did not use their advisor for this purpose. Again, responses were not significantly different by gender or by ethnicity. Comments on this issue mostly pertained to areas such as discussion of academic progress or choice of major. One graduating senior who started off in the University Undesignated program wrote "I appreciated the amount of personal guidance my freshman year from my advisor. She helped me work through my confusion concerning my major...".

Of the respondents who indicated utilizing their advisor for career advising (n = 852), almost two thirds (64.5%) reported at least moderate satisfaction with this aspect of advising (see Table 52). The percentage of all respondents who answered this question but stated that they did not use their advisor in this capacity was 16.8% (n=172). Most comments on this issue related to advisors not being able to link career options to the student's major field of study. A graduating senior from the College of Engineering commented "I was very dissatisfied with advising my freshman and sophomore years. I was ill-prepared to find a career. Advisors should suggest paths to reach our goals...".

The majority (79.8%) of respondents who rated their advisor for knowledge of policies and procedures (n = 964) were at least moderately satisfied with their advisor's knowledge (see Table 53). Of all respondents who answered this question, only 5.6% (n=57) gave a response of "don't know/did not use."

Interaction with Faculty

At least moderate satisfaction with opportunities for interaction with faculty outside of the classroom was reported by 78.5% of respondents (see Table 54). Female responses to this question were significantly different from male responses (p = 0.01), with 80.9% of female respondents and 77.0% of male respondents reporting being at least moderately satisfied.

Academic Support Services

Of those spring 1996 respondents (n = 614) who reported utilizing academic support services at NC State, the majority (86.6%) indicated at least moderate satisfaction with the quality of service they received (see Table 55). No significant differences were found by either gender or ethnicity. It is important to note that 40.3% (n=415) of the seniors responding to this question indicated that they didn't know about or did not use these services. The comments on this question focused primarily on the need for a better way to publicize the availability of academic support services to the undergraduate population.

Career Planning and Placement

Of those respondents who reported using career services/employment assistance (n = 834), 76.4% stated at least moderate satisfaction with the quality of these services at NC State (see Table 56). Of the graduating seniors who answered this question, 18.3% (n=187) reported that they did not know about or did not use career services/employment assistance.

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 Agriculture and Life Sciences) were particularly satisfied with placement services. One respondent from the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences wrote "Career Planning and Placement provided good resources - books, seminars, and on-line resumes..." Respondents from the programs that did not have such 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. A graduate from the College of Humanities and Social Sciences wrote "[increase] job opportunities in Career Planning and Placement for humanities majors...".

Financial Aid Services

Table 57 shows that of those graduating seniors who reported utilizing financial aid services (n = 587), 64.4% were at least moderately satisfied. 35.6% 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 Forest Resources graduate stated "In regard to service from Financial Aid: Amiable representatives with genuine interest in assisting students would be helpful, as well as a [quicker] turnover of paperwork to its necessary designated places...". 42.3% (n=430) of the respondents indicated they didn't know about or did not use financial aid services.

Residence Halls

Of those respondents who indicated living in residence halls while at NC State (n = 709), 72.5% were at least moderately satisfied with the quality of their living experience (see Table 58). Of the 1,012 graduating seniors who answered this question, 29.9% (n=303) reported they either didn't know about or did not use the residence halls. Respondents had varied comments on this subject. Some respondents focused on physical plant and maintenance issues such as lack of air conditioning in summer, heat that would not turn off in winter, age and disrepair of some buildings, lack of adequate computer facilities, the need for better laundry 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 in or near the residence halls, improved selection processes for Resident Assistants, and enforcement of residence hall safety codes.

Services for Commuter Students

When asked about the quality of services for commuter students, 69.3% of respondents who commuted (n = 560) indicated at least moderate satisfaction. These results are presented in Table 59. 45.1% (n=460) of respondents either did not know about or did not utilize these services. 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. It was also mentioned that the University could provide additional services for commuter students. A graduating senior in Animal Science wrote that it would improve the undergraduate experience if there were "More places for commuters to sit and eat lunch, and places for commuters to lock their belongings...".

Food Service on Campus

Respondents who used food service on campus (n = 782) expressed somewhat more satisfaction than dissatisfaction with food service on campus, with 55.6% moderately to very satisfied and 44.4% moderately to very dissatisfied (see Table 60). 23.2% (n=236) of the graduating seniors who responded to this question didn't know about or did not use campus food service. Responses to this question were found to be significantly different by ethnicity (p < 0.01), with significantly more white respondents and African-American respondents (57.0% and 51.8% respectively) than respondents from other ethnic minorities (28.6%) indicating at least moderate satisfaction. Respondents who commented on this question expressed a desire for a greater variety of food service options on campus, with more health-conscious food options and moderate pricing.

Library Services

The majority of graduating seniors were pleased with the quality of NC State library services, with 85.1% of respondents reporting at least moderate satisfaction (see Table 61). There were significant differences in response by ethnicity (p < 0.01), with 97.1% of respondents from other ethnic minorities but only 84.6% of white respondents at least moderately satisfied. The most often mentioned concerns about library services were: increasing funding for journal subscriptions; increasing hours of operation; opening the Hillsborough St. Entrance; and updating library reference materials. Respondents from the Colleges of Forest Resources, Education and Psychology, and Humanities and Social Sciences repeatedly mentioned having to utilize libraries at other local institutions of higher learning such as Duke University and UNC-Chapel Hill. A Department of English graduate said "Subscribe to more journals in the library. As an English major, it is very inconvenient to have to travel to UNC to do research...".

Computer Labs

Satisfaction with the quality of computer lab/center services was also high, with 84.7% of all graduating senior respondents moderately to very satisfied. These results are presented in Table 62. The numerous comments on computer facilities focused on having more computer labs (both on campus and in the residence halls), increasing the number and quality of the computers in the labs, and making twenty-four hour computing available to students from all curricula.

Other Student Services

The majority of respondents (77.1%) were at least moderately satisfied with bookstore services and products (see Table 63). Responses were found to be significantly different by gender (p = 0.002), with 80.9% of women moderately to very satisfied and only 74.5% of men moderately to very satisfied.

Satisfaction with the registration process at NC State was high, with 85.3% of respondents reporting at least moderate satisfaction (see Table 64).

Table 65 shows that satisfaction with the business office and cashier was high, with 83.2% of respondents who reported using those services (n = 793) stating at least moderate satisfaction. 21.3% (n=214) of respondents either didn't know about or did not use the business office and cashier.

Of those graduating seniors who reported using the Counseling Center (n = 266), 81.2% were at least moderately satisfied (see Table 66). It should be noted, however, that almost three-fourths (73.5%; n=737) of the respondents indicated that they didn't know about or did not use the Counseling Center.

Table 67 reveals that the majority (86.5%) of respondents who reported using the Chaplains' Cooperative Ministry (n = 118) were at least moderately satisfied with the services provided. It is notable, however, 88.2% (n=881) of the respondents indicated that they did not know about or did not use these services.

Satisfaction with the quality of service from the office of Registration and Records at NC State was quite high, with 88.0% of all respondents stating that they were moderately to very satisfied (see Table 68).

When asked about the quality of student health services at NC State, 81.6% of respondents who used them (n = 844) indicated that they were moderately to very satisfied with the quality of these services. The percentages are displayed in Table 69. 17.1% (n=174) of respondents reported that they did not know about or did not use these services. Significant differences in response were observed by gender (p = 0.004), with more male respondents (84.5%) than female respondents (77.5%) reporting at least moderate satisfaction. This difference may indicate a perception that the health center is less responsive to women's health needs than to those of male students.