westmont college alumni survey april 2015 the alumni office and the provost’s office conducted a...
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Westmont CollegeAlumni Survey
April 2015
The Alumni Office and the Provost’s Office conducted a survey of Westmont alumni who graduated in the past 20 years. Over 730 individuals responded to the survey, which was distributed electronically.
The survey included some questions that were similar to those posed by the “Great Jobs, Great Lives” survey conducted by Gallup and Purdue University.
Exact comparisons between the statistical results should be avoided, since the methodologies between the surveys varied (e.g., Gallup randomly called 30,000 graduates in the United States, while we allowed respondents to self-select).
But the “Great Jobs, Great Lives” survey did identify some aspects of the college experience that seemed to correspond to graduates’ engagement with work and thriving in life, and we wanted a representative sampling of how our graduates evaluated us on those matters.
Even as a self-selective survey, this study does indicate that those who chose to respond (usually because they had favorable views of Westmont) resonated with the themes that Gallup-Purdue accented about the important experiences of college.
Gallup-Purdue Study (national):• I had at least one professor at
college who made me excited about learning.
• My professors at college cared about me as a person.
• I had a mentor at college who encouraged me to pursue my dreams.
• I completed a semester-long project.
• I held an internship or job during college.
• I was extremely involved in extracurricular activities and organizations.
63%
27%
24%
32%
29%
20%
Gallup-Purdue Study (national): • I had at least one professor at
college who made me excited about learning.
• My professors at college cared about me as a person.
• I had a mentor at college who encouraged me to pursue my dreams.
• I completed a semester-long project.
• I held an internship or job during college.
• I was extremely involved in extracurricular activities and organizations.
63%
27%
24%
32%
29%
20%
14%
6%
Gallup-Purdue Study (national): • I had at least one professor at
college who made me excited about learning.
• My professors at college cared about me as a person.
• I had a mentor at college who encouraged me to pursue my dreams.
• I completed a semester-long project.
• I held an internship or job during college.
• I was extremely involved in extracurricular activities and organizations.
63%
27%
24%
32%
29%
20%
3%
Westmont Questions and Results
My professors provided guidance for my career.
Strongly Agree
Agree
Neutral
Disagree
Strongly Disagree
43.5%
30.7%
My professors provided me meaningful feedback about my work.
Strongly Agree
Agree
Neutral
Disagree
Strongly Disagree
59.6%
34.2%
My professors kept in touch with me after I graduated from Westmont.
Strongly Agree
Agree
Neutral
Disagree
Strongly Disagree
31.9%
30.3%
I had at least one professor at Westmont who made me excited
about learning.
Strongly Agree
Agree
Neutral
Disagree
Strongly Disagree
81.8%
16.4%
My professors cared about me as a person.
Strongly Agree
Agree
Neutral
Disagree
Strongly Disagree
68.6%
27.7%
Someone at Westmont encouraged me to pursue my dreams.
Strongly Agree
Agree
Neutral
Disagree
Strongly Disagree
48.0%
31.7%
Semester-Long Project
YesNoDon't Remem-ber
57.3%37.4%
Internship
Job
Extracurriculars
0 100200300400500600700800
Yes
No
73.1%
Activities During Westmont
88.8%
61.4%
Some Final Thoughts
• High value of faculty and co-curricular staff during college and in retrospect. Need to find authentic connections to former professors, avoid abrupt shift to more “institutional” connection.
• Strong affirmation of the value of the residential liberal arts to life and to the workplace.
• Concerns about “launching” beyond Westmont; internships are important launching pad. Enlarging and enriching internship opportunities would be valued. Need to link academics to career advising.
• High appreciation for campus culture. Major concern is diversity.