The Senior Exit Survey analytical report-2018

Report created by the Office for Institutional Effectiveness and Strategic Planning November 2018

THE SENIOR EXIT SURVEY ANALYTICAL REPORT-2018

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The Senior Exit Survey Analytical Report-2018

November 15, 2018

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Table of Contents Introduction .................................................................................................................................................. 3

Methodology ................................................................................................................................................. 3

The Data Entry Process ............................................................................................................................. 3

Statistical Methodology ............................................................................................................................ 4

Findings ......................................................................................................................................................... 5

Part A: Descriptive Analysis ...................................................................................................................... 5

Status Following Graduation ................................................................................................................. 5

Employment Status ............................................................................................................................... 6

College of Charleston Experiential Learning ....................................................................................... 13

Continuing Education .......................................................................................................................... 16

Academic Experiences ........................................................................................................................ 20

Demographics ..................................................................................................................................... 23

Part B: Sub-group Analysis ...................................................................................................................... 24

Sub-group analysis by school .............................................................................................................. 24

Sub-group analysis by transfer student status ....................................................................................... 37

Part C: Statistical Analysis ....................................................................................................................... 42

The association between salary and internship ................................................................................. 42

The associations between gender and major-job match ................................................................... 43

The associations between gender and salary ..................................................................................... 43

The associations between school and salary ...................................................................................... 44

The senior distributions by gender and school ................................................................................... 45

The association between gender and satisfaction with the curriculum in their majors .................... 46

The association between gender and satisfaction with overall academic experiences ..................... 46

The association between transfer student status and satisfaction with curriculum in their majors . 47

The association between transfer student status and satisfaction with satisfaction with their overall co-curricular activities experience ...................................................................................................... 48

The association between transfer student status and satisfaction with their overall College of Charleston experience ........................................................................................................................ 48

References .................................................................................................................................................. 50

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Introduction

The College of Charleston Senior Exit Survey (SES) is administered annually to candidates for

graduation in all undergraduate programs in two formats: paper and Qualtrics, an online survey

distribution tool. The primary purpose of the survey is to obtain information about seniors’

satisfaction with a range of academic experiences and to better understand their career outcomes,

including continuing education and job placements. The SES survey has six main questions, each

with subparts, which cover status following graduation, employment, continuing education,

College of Charleston experiential learning, academic experience, and demographics. The paper

survey is administered by the Office for Institutional Effectiveness and Strategic Planning(OIEP)

at the graduation rehearsal, which occurs two days prior to the graduation ceremony in May. In

addition, an online survey through Qualtrics is administered in the School of Business and for all

Biology Majors. The data from the online survey and paper survey are then merged into one

dataset to provide data for the entire graduating class. Graduates are invited to take the survey

online two weeks before graduation. iPads are utilized at graduation rehearsal to capture any

non-responders. In addition, the academic year is used in the report for the survey to define

graduation year. For instance, the Class of 2018 is defined as the cohort who graduate in 2017-

2018 academic year at the College of Charleston. Of 1,854 graduates who participated in the

graduation rehearsal and the online survey, 1,393 completed the survey, which yields a response

rate of 75.13%.

Methodology The Data Entry Process The data from the paper survey were entered into an Excel spreadsheet using a data entry screen

developed by OIEP. To ensure the data accuracy and to decrease human error as much as

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possible, five strategies have been applied during and after the data entry process. 1) Data

ownership. The data entered by any team members at OIEP were marked in different colors for

possible data checking. 2) Random data checking during the data entry process. We randomly

checked 5 surveys for every 100 paper surveys, yielding a 5% data checking rate. 3) Final

random data checking. We increased the percentage of data checking from 5% to at least 10%

after all data were inputted into Excel. As of today, our team has checked 260 surveys randomly

yielding, roughly, a 19% data checking rate. 4) Record archiving and ID creation. A SESID has

been created for all survey respondents and the paper surveys will be safely stored at OIEP for at

least five years for further data checking. 5) Supervisor check. Divya Bhati, Associate Vice

President of the OIEP, has conducted the random data checking after the data entry was done.

Statistical Methodology

For the data analysis, basic descriptive analysis, sub-group analysis, and further statistical

analysis have been conducted to analyze the dataset that encompasses the paper and the online

survey. The descriptive analysis is utilized to understand the frequency and distribution of the

data, primarily presenting the total number of variables of interest as well as percentages. The

goal of sub-group analysis is to understand whether academic experiences, continuing education,

and job placements of seniors that took the 2017-2018 SES differ significantly by school and

transfer student status. The rationale of conducting subgroup analysis by school is that seven

schools1 at the College of Charleston represent different fields of study and previous higher

education research2 has found that field of study is closely associated with graduates’ monetary

and non-monetary career outcomes. Conducting subgroup analysis by transfer student status is

1 School of Professional studies only has seven students, so it was excluded from most analysis in this report and the results of these seven students will be available by request. 2 References were not included here for the brevity of the report.

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completed for two reasons. First, prior literature3 has emphasized the importance of paying

attention to the academic experiences of transfer students and the career outcomes of transfer

students. In addition, the formation of the Transfer Resource Center at the College of Charleston

shows that the College of Charleston is committed to improving the academic experiences of

transfer students. A comprehensive sub-group analysis by transfer student status has been

conducted in order to provide the Transfer Resource Center with the data needed so they have a

better understanding of the academic experiences and career outcomes of transfer students who

graduate from the College of Charleston. In terms of statistical analysis, the Chi-square test is

used to further examine if there are statistically significant differences between key variables

presented in the survey, including status following graduation, employment, continuing

education, College of Charleston experiential learning, academic experience, and demographics.

Statistical analysis is presented with detailed explanations and interpretations.

Findings

Part A: Descriptive Analysis Status Following Graduation Table 1. Frequency distribution of employment status following graduation of seniors in the 2017-2018 academic year

Status following Graduation n Total Percentage

Seeking employment 548 1,393 39.34%

Employed full time 438 1,393 31.44%

Continuing education 321 1,393 23.04%

3 References were not included here for the brevity of the report.

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Employed part time 214 1,393 15.36%

Seeking admission to graduate school 198 1,393 14.21%

Temporary or contract work 47 1,393 3.37%

Volunteer or national service 32 1,393 2.30%

Note: the total of the percentages is larger than 100% and the total number of n is larger than 1393 because seniors selected more than one choice in this question.

As shown in Table 1, of 1,393 seniors surveyed, 39.34% of them are still seeking employment,

31.44% of them are employed full time, and 15.36% of them are employed part time. In terms of

continuing education, 23.04% of seniors surveyed have continued their education and 14.21% of

them are still seeking admission to graduate school. Please note that these seven percentages are

not mutually exclusive, meaning that students could select both “employed full time” and

“seeking employment”, which is likely to indicate that seniors are still looking for better career

opportunities even though they are already employed full time.

Employment Status Table 2. Frequency distribution of employment categories for seniors in 2017-2018 academic year

Category n Total Percentage

Education (Early childhood, K-12, and higher education) 109 858 12.70%

Food and beverage 93 858 10.84%

Science, technology, engineering, and/or math 88 858 10.26%

Healthcare services including clinical 82 858 9.56%

Arts, design, and/or music 72 858 8.39%

Communication, media, and /or marketing 67 858 7.81%

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Accounting, business, finance, and/or management 58 858 6.76%

Civil service or government 58 858 6.76%

Hospitality and/or tourism 54 858 6.29%

Non-profit, community and social service 49 858 5.71%

Administrative 27 858 3.15%

Law and legal 27 858 3.15%

Entrepreneurship 19 858 2.21%

Real estate 18 858 2.10%

Consulting or project management 13 858 1.51%

Logistics, operations and/or supply chain 12 858 1.40%

Military service 12 858 1.40%

Note: 858 is the total number of seniors who responded to this question.

Table 2 illustrates employment fields where seniors are employed following graduation. As

shown in Table 2, seniors surveyed are spread across seventeen categories of employment.

Education, including early childhood education, K-12 education, as well as higher education, has

the largest portion of seniors surveyed (12.7%); followed by the food and beverage industry

(10.84%); and then STEM-related fields (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math)

(10.26%). The fourth and fifth employment fields for seniors are healthcare services and arts,

design, and/or music, consisting of 9.56% and 8.39% of seniors surveyed, respectively.

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Table 3. Top 15 job titles held by seniors in 2017-2018 academic year

Position Title n Top 15

K-12 teacher 47 1

Service associate/manager 21 2

Sales associate/manager 15 3

Business analyst 8 4 Accounting coordinator/manager 8 4

Marketing associate/manager 7 6

Account associate/ manager 7 6

Financial consultant 6 8

Software engineer 5 9

Administrative associate 5 9

Events coordinator 5 9

Line therapist 3 12

Paralegal 2 13

Business co-owner 2 13

Implementation consultant 2 13 Note: ranking the categories with equal values follows the practice in college ranking from US News and World Report.

Consistent with the findings in table 2, Table 3 shows that the top 10 full-time job titles reported

by seniors in the 2017-2018 SES survey are K-12 teacher, service associate/manager, sales

associate/manager, business analyst, accounting coordinator/manager, marketing

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associate/manager, financial consultant, software engineer, and administrative associate. This

table also shows that with K-12 teacher, service associates/manager and sales associate/manager

have over 10 seniors, the rest of the distributions in seniors’ reported job titles all include less

than 10 seniors, which indicates that seniors from the College are largely spreading throughout a

variety of employment fields and take on different roles in the job market.

Table 4. Top 15 employers where seniors are working full time

Employer Name n Top 15

Medical University of South Carolina 7 1

College of Charleston 6 2

Berkeley County Schools 4 3

SPAWAR 3 4

Boomtown 3 4

Marriott International 3 4

Kiawah Island Golf Resort 3 4

Enterprise 2 8

Cornerstone Wealth Advisory 2 8

Jet program 2 8

Army 2 8

Cvent 2 8

Carolina Coast Behavioral Services 2 8

Greystar 2 8

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Charleston County Schools 2 8

Note: ranking the categories with equal values follows the practice in college ranking from US News and World Report.

Table 4 lists the top 15 employers where seniors are currently holding full-time employment. Of

those employers, seven seniors are working at the Medical University of South Carolina, six are

working at the College of Charleston and four are working at Berkeley County Schools. Table 4

also suggests that instead of working at the same employer in large numbers, surveyed seniors

reported that they are employed in different organizations in a spreading manner and there are no

more than eight seniors working for the same employer.

Figure 1: Percentage distribution of self-reported salary

Figure 1 details how the salaries of seniors surveyed were distributed in percentage. Overall, the

percentage distribution is not normally distributed but skewed to the right, which means most

14.37%

18.35%

27.22%

18.96%

9.17%

5.81% 6.12%

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

Below $20,000 $20,000-$29,000 $29,001-$39,000 $39,001-$49,000 $49,001-$59,000 $59,001-$69,000 $69,001 andabove

Distribution of Seniors' Salary

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seniors fall into the first four lower-salary categories with a small portion of them having salaries

in the upper three categories. Specifically, 27.22% of seniors reported that their salaries range

from $29,001 to $39,000, 18.96% of them have salaries between $39,001 and $49,000, and

18.35% have salaries between $20,000 and $29,000. In other words, 21.1% of seniors have

salaries that are over $49,001 and 78.9% of seniors surveyed have salaries that are lower than

$49,001.

Figure 2. Percentage distribution of how college majors have prepared seniors for their jobs

Figure 2 demonstrates how seniors surveyed rated how their academic majors have prepared

them for the jobs they are currently holding. Generally, the results suggest that seniors surveyed

from the College of Charleston have rated their preparedness by their college majors for their

careers post-graduation very positively. 36.27% of seniors rated that their college majors have

very much prepared them for the jobs they have and 16.91% rated that their college majors have

6.62%

14.71%

25.49%

36.27%

16.91%

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

35%

40%

Not at all Somewhat Moderately Very Completely

Percentage of How Majors Have Preapred Seniors for Jobs

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completely prepared them for their current jobs, as opposed to 6.62% of seniors who rated that

their majors have not prepared them for jobs at all.

Figure 3. Percentage distribution of major-job match4

Figure 3 details the percentage distribution of self-reported major and job match rated by seniors

when asked “in relation to your major, how you would describe your job?” As suggested in

Figure 3, the distribution is generally bell-shaped and normally distributed, which suggests that

the majority of seniors reported their jobs are appropriate for their level (61.69%). In addition,

13.18% stated that their jobs are somewhat above their level, whereas 16.92% rated their jobs as

somewhat beneath their level.

4 Major-job match in this report is generally defined as the perception of how seniors’ jobs have matched their academic majors.

6.47%

16.92%

61.69%

13.18%

1.74%0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

Definitely beneath mylevel

Somewhat beneath mylevel

Appropriate for my level Somewhat above mylevel

Definitely above mylevel

Percentage of Major-Job Match

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Table 5. Descriptive analysis of Figure 2 and Figure 3

Item Mean Standard Deviation n

To what extent did your college major prepare you for the above job? 3.42 1.12 408

In relation to your major, how would you describe your job? 2.86 0.78 402

Table 5 suggests that the average score of how seniors’ college majors have prepared them for

their jobs is 3.42, which indicates that on average, seniors rated the extent to which their

academic majors have prepared them for their jobs as between “moderately” and “very much”.

In addition, the average score of the major and job match is 2.86, which means that on average,

seniors rated their major-job match as “appropriate for my level.”

College of Charleston Experiential Learning Table 6: Frequency distribution of experiential learning

Experiential Learning Opportunities n Total # of respondents Percentage

Internship 813 1,393 58.36%

Volunteer/Community Service 548 1,393 39.34%

Undergraduate Research 291 1,393 20.89%

Student Teaching 143 1,393 10.27%

Co-op 11 1,393 0.79%

Note: since students have selected more than one choice in this question, the total of n is larger than the total respondents, 1393 and the total percentage is larger than 100%.

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Table 7: Frequency distribution of internships

Category n Total Percentage

Completed at least one internship 813 1,393 58.36%

Internship for credit(s) 512 1,393 36.76%

Paid internship 386 1,393 27.71%

Employment offer 268 1,393 19.24%

Meeting a degree requirement 464 1,393 33.31%

Note: the total of the percentages is larger than 100% and the total number of n is larger than 1393 because seniors selected more than one choice in this question.

Table 8: Frequency distribution of utilizing Career Center services

Career Center n Total Percentage

No 656 1,393 47.09%

Yes 659 1,393 47.31%

Not sure 44 1,393 3.16%

Note: 2.44% of seniors (n=34) did not respond to this question.

As suggested in Table 6, of 1,393 respondents, 58.36% of them have completed at least one

internship at the College of Charleston. The percentage of respondents who have participated in

volunteer/community service, undergraduate research, student teaching, and Co-op are 39.34%,

20.89%, 10.27% and 0.79%, respectively. According to the Class of 2017 Student Survey

conducted by the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE)5, 61% of graduating

seniors took part in an internship or co-op experience during their college careers. The

corresponding figure for the College of Charleston is 59.15%, which suggests that the College of

5 See https://www.naceweb.org/store/2017/the-class-of-2017-student-survey-report/

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Charleston has approached the national level in terms of assisting graduating seniors to prepare

for future careers through internships and co-op experiences. Another notable characteristic of

college experiences for seniors reflected in this survey is that more than one in five seniors

reported they had undergraduate research experience at the College. Prior research on effects of

undergraduate research experiences has indicated that undergraduate research experiences,

coupled with the interactions between students and faculty, have been found to have a largely

positive effect on students’ academic performance, graduate school attendance, and as career

outcomes (Bauer & Bennett,2003; Lopatto, 2007; Russell, Hancock & McCullough, 2007).

As suggested in Table 7, of seniors who have completed at least one internship, 36.76% reported

that at least one of the internships was for academic credit, 27.71% of them reported that at least

one of the internships was paid, 19.24% of them received an employment offer at the conclusion

of at least one of the internships, and 33.31% of them reported that at least one of the internships

met a degree requirement.

As shown in Table 8, in terms of utilizing services from the Career Center, 47.09% of seniors

surveyed did not utilize Career Center services and 47.31% did utilize the services. Certainly, to

what extent these experiential learning experiences, including internship, undergraduate research,

community service, student teaching, as well as co-ops, have affected seniors’ academic

performance and career outcomes at the College of Charleston remains to be answered in future

studies.

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Continuing Education Table 9: Frequency distribution of type of degrees pursuing

Continuing Education n Total # of respondents Percentage

Master’s degree 157 1,393 11.27%

Medical degree 30 1,393 2.15%

Ph.D. or other doctoral degrees 29 1,393 2.08%

Additional/second bachelor’s degree 26 1,393 1.87%

Law degree 22 1,393 1.58%

Certificates 15 1,393 1.08%

Other 15 1,393 1.08%

Note: the percentage is calculated by the total number of seniors in each category, n, divided by the total number of respondents-1393.

As suggested in Table 9, 11.27% of seniors in the Class of 2018 who responded to the survey are

attending graduate school or pursing a master’s degree, and 2.08% of seniors surveyed are

pursuing a doctoral degree. 3.73% of respondents are attending professional graduate schools or

pursuing law degrees (1.58%) and medical degrees (2.15%), respectively.

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Figure 4 percentage of degree types among seniors who pursue continued education

Note: This percentage is calculated by the total number of seniors in each degree category

divided by the total number of respondents for this question-294. Others include associate’s

degree, nursing degree, other degrees in a community college, and so on.

Figure 4 provides the percentages of degree types of the seniors who have decided to continue

their education. Of 294 seniors who reported pursuing continuing education, 53.40% of them are

pursuing a master’s degree, 10.20% are pursuing a medical degree, 9.86% are pursuing a

doctoral degree, and 7.48% are pursuing a law degree.

Master’s degree, 53.40%

Medical degree, 10.20%

Ph.D. or other doctoral degrees, 9.86%

Additional/second bachelor’s degree,

8.84%

Law degree, 7.48%

Certificates, 5.10% Other, 5.10%

Percentage of Contiuning Educaiton Degrees

Master’s degree Medical degree

Ph.D. or other doctoral degrees Additional/second bachelor’s degree

Law degree Certificates

Other

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Table 10: Top 15 academic disciplines where seniors are pursuing graduate degrees

Programs of Study n Top 15

Business 39 1

Math and Sciences 19 2

Medicine 15 3 JD and other Law school degrees 12 4

Nursing 11 5

Chemistry 7 6

Psychology 6 7

History 5 8

Public Health 4 9

Social Work 4 9

Physical Therapy 3 11

School Counseling 3 11

Computer Science 3 11

Political Science 3 11

Data Science 3 11 Note: ranking the categories with equal values follows the practice in college ranking from US News and World Report.

Table 11: Top 15 institutions where seniors are pursuing graduate degrees

Institutions n Top 15

College of Charleston 42 1 Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) 23 2

The Citadel 6 3

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University of South Carolina 6 3

Emory University 4 5

University of Georgia 4 5

Clemson University 4 5

Trident Tech 3 8

Charleston School of Law 3 8

Elon University 2 10

University of Florida 2 10

University of Alabama 2 10

New York University 2 10

Charleston Southern University 2 10

Georgia Tech 2 10 Note: ranking the categories with equal values follows the practice in college ranking from US News and World Report.

Table 10 lists the top 15 academic disciplines where seniors are pursuing their graduate degrees.

The top 5 disciplines with more than 10 seniors are business, math and science, medicine, law,

and nursing. Table 11 lists the top 15 institutions where seniors are pursuing their new degrees.

Forty-two seniors remain at the College of Charleston for advanced degrees and twenty-three

seniors attend MUSC for their medical degrees. Of the other top 13 institutions, only the Medical

University of South Carolina has more than seven seniors, the remaining have less than 7.

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Academic Experiences Table 12: The total number of seniors surveyed by school

School n Total Percentage

School of Humanities and Social Sciences 379 1,393 27.21%

School of Business 313 1,393 22.47%

School of Education, Health, and Human Performance 256 1,393 18.38%

School of Sciences and Mathematics 236 1,393 16.94%

School of the Arts 138 1,393 9.91%

School of Languages, Cultures, and World Affairs 42 1,393 3.02%

School of Professional Studies 7 1,393 0.50%

Note: 1.57% of seniors (n=22) did not respond to this question.

Table 12 illustrates the distribution of the total number and the percentage of seniors surveyed in

the Senior Exit Survey in 2017-2018 academic year. In total, 1,393 seniors were surveyed. The

largest group is from School of Humanities and Social Sciences, consisting of 27.21% of senior

surveyed, followed by School of Business (22.47%) and School of Education, Health, and

Human Performance (18.38%). School of Sciences and Mathematics had 236 seniors surveyed,

taking up 16.94%. 13.43% of seniors surveyed are from School of the Arts (9.91%), School of

Languages, Cultures, and World Affairs (3.02%), and School of Professional Studies (0.5%). Of

1,393 seniors, 22 are missing data.

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Table 13: Satisfactions with academic experiences

Item Very

Dissatisfied Dissatisfied Neutral Satisfied Very

Satisfied n The curriculum in your major 0.44% 2.73% 8.18% 51.73% 36.92% 1357 The instruction in your major 0.52% 2.58% 9.72% 46.17% 41.01% 1358 The curriculum in your minor 1.01% 2.70% 8.95% 38.51% 48.83% 592 The instruction in your minor 1.39% 1.92% 9.06% 37.63% 50.00% 574 The curriculum in your general education program 0.96% 7.97% 27.23% 47.16% 16.68% 1355 The instruction in your general education program 0.96% 4.64% 24.10% 52.76% 17.54% 1357 Your overall academic experience 0.81% 1.54% 9.63% 52.28% 35.74% 1360 Preparation for further education 1.33% 3.48% 19.35% 48.26% 27.58% 1349 Preparation for professional employment 1.63% 5.33% 22.65% 44.93% 25.46% 1351 Your overall co-curricular activities experience 1.04% 2.37% 23.07% 44.58% 28.94% 1348 Your overall College of Charleston experience 0.96% 1.33% 7.90% 40.51% 49.30% 1355

Table 13 details the percentage distributions of how satisfied seniors surveyed have been with

their academic experiences at the College of Charleston. Of 1,357 respondents, 88.65% of them

have been satisfied or very satisfied with the curriculum in their majors and 87.18% of them

have been satisfied or very satisfied with the instruction in their majors out of 1,358 respondents.

In terms of the curriculum and instruction in their minors, the corresponding figures are 87.34%

out of 592 respondents and 87.63% out of 574, respectively. In general, the majority of seniors

surveyed are satisfied with the curriculum and instruction in both their majors and minors.

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In addition, seniors who rated the curriculum and instruction in their general education

programs as “satisfied” or “very satisfied” are between 63.84% and 70.3%. 88.02% of seniors

reported that they are either “satisfied” or “very satisfied” with their overall academic

experiences at the College of Charleston. Percentages of seniors who reported that they have

been either “satisfied” or “very satisfied” with how their academic experiences have prepared

them for future education and future employment are 75.84% and 70.39%, respectively. 73.52%

of seniors have been either “satisfied” or “very satisfied” with their overall co-curricular

experiences at the College of Charleston. More importantly, 89.81% of seniors have been either

“satisfied” or “very satisfied” with their overall College of Charleston experiences.

Table 14: Studying aboard experiences

Study Aboard n Total Percentage

Yes 426 1,393 30.58%

No 919 1,393 65.97% Note: 3.45% of seniors (n=48) did not respond to this question.

Table 15: Top 10 countries where seniors have selected for studying abroad

Study Abroad County n Top 10

Italy 62 1

Spain 50 2

England 32 3

France 25 4

Ireland 14 5

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Australia 13 6

Germany 13 6

Cambodia & Vietnam 12 8

Cuba 12 8

Costa Rica 11 10 Note: ranking the categories with equal values follows the practice in college ranking from US News and World Report.

As shown in Table 14 and Table 15, 30.58% of seniors surveyed have studied abroad, and the

top 10 countries that have attracted the most seniors from the College are Italy, Spain, England,

France, Ireland, Australia, Germany, Cambodia & Vietnam, Cuba, and Costa Rica.

Demographics Table 16. Demographic characteristics of seniors surveyed

Demographics n Total Percentage

In-state students 848 1,393 60.88%

Out-of-state students 494 1,393 35.46%

Transfer students 320 1,393 22.97%

Non-transfer students 975 1,393 69.99%

Male 396 1,393 28.43%

Female 962 1,393 69.06%

Other 2 1,393 0.14%

Note: 3.66% of seniors (n=51) did not respond to the in-state/out-of-state question; 7.04% of seniors (n=98) did not respond to the transfer/non-transfer question; 2.37% of seniors (n=33) did not respond to the gender question.

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As shown in Table 16, in-state students consist of 60.88% of seniors surveyed and around 70%

of them are non-transfer students. Of 1,393 survey takers, female seniors outnumber their male

counterparts by 566 in total and by 40.63% in percentage. The distribution of seniors surveyed

by gender, transfer/non-transfer student status and in-state/out-of-state status suggests that the

Senior Exit Survey in 2017-2018 academic year is characterized by disproportionately higher

percentages of female, in-state and non-transfer seniors; therefore, this demographic

characteristic should be taken into consideration when interpreting the results of this survey.

Part B: Sub-group Analysis Sub-group analysis by school Table 17. Employment status by school

School/Status following graduation

Employed Full time

Employed Part time

Continuing Education

Seeking employment n

School of Business 99

(31.63%) 2

(0.64%) 43

(13.74%) 149

(47.6%) 313 School of Sciences and Mathematics

60 (25.42%)

22 (9.32%)

75 (31.78%)

87 (36.86%) 236

School of Education, Health, and Human Performance

85 (33.2%)

45 (17.58%)

80 (31.25%)

96 (37.5%) 256

School of Humanities and Social Sciences

135 (35.62%)

94 (24.80%)

86 (22.69%)

133 (35.09%) 379

School of the Arts 35

(25.36%) 41

(29.71%) 23

(16.67%) 66

(47.83%) 138 School of Languages, Cultures, and World Affairs

14 (33.33%)

6 (14.29%)

8 (19.05%)

12 (28.57%) 42

Note: seniors selected more than one choice in these four employment categories, so the total percentage might not be 100%. In addition, the percentage is calculated by the total number in every category divided by the total number of seniors from each school. Furthermore, the total of these four categories does not equal n in each school because there are other categories in this question and seniors selected more than one choice.

Table 17 illustrates four employment statuses of seniors surveyed by school with the total and

the percentages presented. 35.62% of seniors from the School of Humanities and Social

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Sciences, 33.33% of seniors from School of Languages, Cultures, and World Affairs, 33.2%

from School of Education, Health, and Human Performance, and 31.63% from School of

Business are employed full time. The corresponding figures for School of Sciences and

Mathematics and School of Arts are 25.42% and 25.36%, respectively. In terms of part-time

employment, School of Arts has the highest percentage of seniors, which is 29.71%. Of seniors

who continue their education, School of Sciences and Mathematics has the highest percentage,

31.78%. School of Arts and School of Business have the highest percentage of seniors who are

seeking employment, 47.83% and 47.6%, respectively.

Table 18. How academic majors have prepared seniors for their jobs by school

School\Category Not at all Somewhat Moderately Very Completely n School of Business

4 (3.57%)

17 (15.18%)

32 (28.57%)

49 (43.75%)

10 (8.93%)

112

School of Sciences and Mathematics

9 (9.18%)

10 (10.2%)

26 (26.53%)

31 (31.63%)

22 (22.45%)

98


11 (6.4%)

19 (11.05%)

30 (17.44%)

76 (44.19%)

36 (20.93%)

172


29 (11.69%)

43 (17.34%)

64 (25.81%)

80 (32.26%)

32 (12.9%)

248

School of the Arts

11 (11.34%)

14 (14.43%)

29 (29.9%)

29 (29.9%)

14 (14.43%)

97

School of Languages, Cultures, and World Affairs

7 (25%)

4 (14.29%)

5 (17.86%)

8 (28.57%)

4 (14.29%)

28

Note: the percentage is calculated by the total number in every category divided by the total number of seniors who responded to this question from each school.

As suggested in Table 18, seniors from School of Education, Health, and Human Performance

rate the preparedness of their majors for their careers the highest, which is that 65.11% of them

26

reported that their academic majors have either very much or completely prepared them for jobs.

School of Sciences and Mathematics and School of Business both have over 50% of seniors who

rated that their academic majors have either very much or completely prepared them for jobs.

The percentage of seniors from School of the Arts, School of Languages, Cultures, and World

Affairs, and School of Humanities and Social Sciences who reported that their academic majors

have either very much or completely prepared them for jobs ranges from 42.86% to 45.16%.

Table 19. Major-job match by school

School\Category

Definitely beneath my level

Somewhat beneath my level

Appropriate for my level

Somewhat above my

level

Definitely above my

level n

School of Business

5 (4.5%)

12 (10.81%)

76 (68.47%)

14 (12.61%)

4 (3.6%) 111


12 (12.9%)

20 (21.51%)

46 (49.46%)

14 (15.05%)

1 (1.08%) 93


14 (8.81%)

27 (16.98%)

104 (65.41%)

9 (5.66%)

5 (3.14%) 159


43 (19.91%)

54 (25%)

97 (44.91%)

20 (9.26%)

2 (0.93%) 216

School of the Arts

7 (7.69%)

16 (17.58%)

52 (57.14%)

15 (16.48%)

1 (1.11%) 91


4 (14.81%)

5 (18.52%)

18 (66.67%) - - 27

Note: the percentage is calculated by the total number in every category divided by the total number of seniors who responded to this question from each school.

As suggested in Table 19, School of the Arts has the highest percentage of seniors who reported

their jobs are either somewhat or definitely above their level, which is 17.59%; on the other

27

hand, School of Languages, Cultures, and World Affairs does not have any seniors who reported

in these two categories. For those who reported their jobs are appropriate for their level, School

of Business has the highest proportion of seniors, which is 68.47%, followed by School of

Languages, Cultures, and World Affairs (66.67%) and School of Education, Health, and Human

Performance (65.41%).

Table 20. Types of graduate degrees pursued by seniors by school

School\Category

Law and medical degree

Master's degree

Doctoral degree Other n

School of Business 5 (10.87%)

31 (67.39%) - 10

(21.74%) 46

School of Sciences and Mathematics 17 (17.89%)

47 (49.47%)

24 (25.26%)

7 (7.38%) 95


20 (16.66%)

68 (56.67%)

8 (6.67%)

24 (20%) 120

School of Humanities and Social Sciences 33 (22.6%)

85 (58.22%)

13 (8.9%)

15 (10.28%) 146

School of the Arts 2 (6.06%)

29 (87.88%) - 2

(6.05%) 33


3 (16.67%)

13 (72.22%) - 2

(11.11%) 18

Note: other includes additional bachelor’s degree, certificates, associate degree and so on. The percentage is calculated by the total number in every category divided by the total number of seniors who responded to this question from each school.

Table 20 illustrates the distribution of seniors who pursue graduate level degrees by school.

School of Humanities and Social Sciences has 22.6% of seniors who are pursuing either a law

degree or a medical degree, which is the highest among the schools. School of the Arts has the

highest proportion of seniors who are pursuing a master’s degree, which is 87.89%. School of

Sciences and Mathematics produces the highest proportion of seniors who are pursuing a

doctoral degree, which is 25.26%.

28

Table 21. Experiential learning experiences by school

School\Category Internship Volunteer service

Undergraduate Research

Student Teaching Total

School of Business

226 121 22 6 313

(72.20%) (38.66%) (7.03%) (1.92%)


88 103 125 28 236

(37.29%) (43.64%) (52.97%) (11.86%)


163 111 23 74 256

(63.67%) (43.36%) (8.98%) (28.91%)


210 135 84 22 379

(55.41%) (35.62%) (22.16%) (5.80%)


25 20 15 6 42

(59.52%) (47.62%) (35.71%) (14.29%)

School of the Arts

91 53 18 5 138

(65.94%) (38.41%) (13.04%) (3.62%)

Note: seniors selected more than one choice in the experiential learning question, so these percentages do not add up to 100%. The total of these four categories does not equal the total number of seniors in each school because there are other categories available in the experiential learning question and seniors selected more than one choice.

Table 21 details the distribution of experiential learning experiences by school. School of

Business (72.2%), School of the Arts (65.94%), and School of Education, Health, and Human

Performance (63.67%) are the top three schools that have the highest percentage of seniors who

had completed at least one internship. School of Languages, Cultures, and World Affairs has the

highest percentage of seniors who participated in volunteer and community services, which is

29

47.62%. In terms of undergraduate research, over half of the seniors in School of Sciences and

Mathematics had undergraduate research experiences, which is the highest among the six schools

surveyed. School of Education, Health, and Human Performance has the highest percentage of

seniors who had student teaching experiences, which is 28.91%.

Table 22. Satisfaction with academic experiences by major and minor and by school

All Schools Very


Satisfied Total The curriculum in your major

6 (0.44%)

37 (2.73%)

111 (8.18%)

702 (51.73%)

501 (36.92%) 1357

the instruction in your major

7 (0.52%)

35 (2.58%)

132 (9.72%)

627 (46.17%)

557 (41.01%) 1358

The curriculum in your minor

6 (1.01%)

16 (2.7%)

53 (8.95%)

228 (38.51%)

289 (48.83%) 592

the instruction in your minor

8 (1.39%)

11 (1.92%)

52 (9.06%)

216 (37.63%)

287 (50%) 574

School of Business The curriculum in your major

4 (1.33%)

9 (2.99%)

34 (11.30%)

152 (50.50%)

102 (33.88%) 301


5 (1.66%)

12 (3.97%)

41 (13.58%)

147 (48.68%)

97 (32.11%) 302


4 (2.58%)

6 (3.87%)

10 (6.45%)

63 (40.65%)

72 (46.45%) 155


5 (3.36%)

4 (2.68%)

16 (10.74%)

51 (34.23%)

73 (48.99%) 149

School of Science and Mathematics The curriculum in your major

0 (0%)

7 (3.06%)

17 (7.42%)

126 (55.02%)

79 (34.50%) 229


0 (0%)

5 (2.18%)

22 (9.61%)

103 (44.98%)

99 (43.23%) 229


0 (0%)

1 (0.96%)

10 (9.62%)

36 (34.62%)

57 (54.8%) 104


0 (0%)

2 (2%)

8 (8%)

36 (36%)

54 (54%) 100

30

School of Education, Health, and Human Performances The curriculum in your major

1 (0.39%)

5 (1.95%)

18 (7.03%)

131 (51.17%)

101 (39.46%) 256


1 (0.39%)

6 (2.35%)

22 (8.63%)

115 (45.10%)

111 (43.53%) 255


0 (0%)

2 (3.45%)

6 (10.35%)

25 (43.10%)

25 (43.10%) 58


0 (0%)

1 (1.69%)

7 (11.86%)

24 (40.68%)

27 (45.77%) 59

School of Humanities and Social Sciences The curriculum in your major

1 (0.26%)

8 (2.12%)

25 (6.62%)

196 (51.85%)

148 (39.15%) 378


0 (0%)

5 (1.32%)

28 (7.41%)

176 (46.56%)

169 (44.71%) 378


1 (0.55%)

5 (2.73%)

17 (9.29%)

70 (38.25%)

90 (49.18%) 183


1 (0.57%)

2 (1.14%)

17 (9.71%)

70 (40%)

85 (48.58%) 175

School of Arts

The curriculum in your major

0 (0%)

6 (4.41%)

13 (9.56%)

76 (55.88%)

41 (30.15%) 136


0 (0%)

6 (4.38%)

11 (8.03%)

68 (49.64%)

52 (37.95%) 137


0 (0%)

1 (1.61%)

6 (9.68%)

24 (38.71%)

31 (50%) 62


1 (1.59%)

1 (1.59%)

1 (1.59%)

29 (46.03%)

31 (49.2%) 63

School of languages, Cultures, and World Affairs The curriculum in your major

0 (0%)

2 (4.88%)

2 (4.88%)

14 (34.14%)

23 (56.10%) 41


1 (2.38%)

1 (2.38%)

4 (9.52%)

13 (30.95%)

23 (54.77%) 42


0 (0%)

0 (0%)

2 (8.33%)

10 (41.67%)

12 (50%) 24


0 (0%)

0 (0%)

2 (9.09%)

5 (22.73%)

15 (68.18%) 22

31

Table 22 presents how satisfied seniors have been with their academic experiences at the College

by major and minor and by school. The top three schools with the highest percentages of seniors

who reported that they have been either “satisfied” or “very satisfied” with the curriculum in

their majors are School of Humanities and Social Sciences (91%), School of Education, Health,

and Human Performance (90.63%), and School of School of Languages, Cultures, and World

Affairs (90.24%).

The top three schools with the highest percentages of seniors who reported that they have been

either “satisfied” or “very satisfied” with the instruction in their majors are School of

Humanities and Social Sciences (91.27%), School of Education, Health, and Human

Performance (88.63%), and School of Science and Mathematics (88.21%).

In terms of satisfaction with the curriculum in their minors, School of Languages, Cultures, and

World Affairs has the highest proportion of seniors who rated the satisfaction with the

curriculum in their minors as “satisfied” or “very satisfied” (91.67%), followed by School of

Science and Mathematics (89.4%) and School of the Arts (88.71%).

For satisfaction with the instruction in their minors, School of the Arts has the highest proportion

of seniors who rated the satisfaction with the instruction in their minors as “satisfied” or “very

satisfied” (95.23%), followed by School of Languages, Cultures, and World Affairs (90.91%),

and School of Science and Mathematics (90%).

32

Table 23. Satisfaction with overall academic experiences by school

All Schools Very


Satisfied Total The curriculum in general education

13 (0.96%)

108 (7.97%)

369 (27.23%)

639 (47.16%)

226 (16.68%) 1,355

The instruction in general education

13 (0.96%)

63 (4.64%)

327 (24.1%)

716 (52.76%)

238 (17.54%) 1,357

Your overall academic experience

11 (0.81%)

21 (1.54%)

131 (9.63%)

711 (52.28%)

486 (35.74%) 1,360

Preparation for further education

18 (1.33%)

47 (3.48%)

261 (19.35%)

651 (48.26%)

372 (27.58%) 1,349

Preparation for professional employment

22 (1.63%)

72 (5.33%)

306 (22.65%)

607 (44.93%)

344 (25.46%) 1,351

Your overall co-curricular activities

14 (1.04%)

32 (2.37%)

311 (23.07%)

601 (44.58%)

390 (28.94%) 1,348

Your overall College of Charleston experience

13 (0.96%)

18 (1.33%)

107 (7.9%)

549 (40.51%)

668 (49.3%) 1,355

School of Business

The curriculum in general education

5 (1.66%)

31 (10.26%)

99 (32.78%)

140 (46.36%)

27 (8.94%) 302


5 (1.65%)

21 (6.93%)

94 (31.02%)

156 (51.49%)

27 (8.91%) 303


6 (1.98%)

6 (1.98%)

42 (13.86%)

177 (58.42%)

72 (23.76%) 303


7 (2.31%)

13 (4.29%)

83 (27.39%)

153 (50.50%)

47 (15.51%) 303


10 (3.30%)

22 (7.26%)

78 (25.74%)

135 (44.55%)

58 (19.15%) 303


9 (2.98%)

7 (2.32%)

83 (27.48%)

134 (44.37%)

69 (22.85%) 302


7 (2.33%)

4 (1.33%)

26 (8.64%)

132 (43.85%)

132 (43.85%) 301

School of Science and Mathematics The curriculum in general education

0 (0%)

20 (8.66%)

67 (29%)

107 (46.32%)

37 (16.02%) 231

33


0 (0%)

10 (4.33%)

48 (20.78%)

139 (60.17%)

34 (14.72%) 231


1 (0.43%)

1 (0.43%)

22 (9.52%)

121 (52.38%)

86 (37.24%) 231


1 (0.44%)

6 (2.62%)

40 (17.47%)

113 (49.34%)

69 (30.13%) 229


1 (0.43%)

16 (6.96%)

54 (23.48%)

99 (43.04%)

60 (26.09%) 230


1 (0.43%)

7 (3.03%)

49 (21.21%)

111 (48.05%)

63 (27.28%) 231


1 (0.43%)

2 (0.87%)

14 (6.09%)

108 (46.96%)

105 (45.65%) 230

School of Education, Health, and Human Performance The curriculum in general education

5 (1.96%)

16 (6.27%)

62 (24.31%)

118 (46.27%)

54 (21.19%) 255


4 (1.57%)

9 (3.53%)

55 (21.57%)

132 (51.76%)

55 (21.57%) 255


3 (1.17%)

3 (1.17%)

23 (8.98%)

125 (48.83%)

102 (39.85%) 256


2 (0.78%)

3 (1.18%)

34 (13.33%)

123 (48.24%)

93 (36.47%) 255


4 (1.56%)

8 (3.13%)

38 (14.84%)

117 (45.70%)

89 (34.77%) 256


2 (0.78%)

3 (1.18%)

42 (16.47%)

118 (46.28%)

90 (35.29%) 255


3 (1.18%)

2 (0.78%)

13 (5.10%)

101 (39.61%)

136 (53.33%) 255

School of Humanities and Social Sciences The curriculum in general education

2 (0.53%)

32 (8.56%)

90 (24.06%)

177 (47.33%)

73 (19.52%) 374


1 (0.27%)

15 (4.01%)

88 (23.53%)

192 (51.34%)

78 (20.85%) 374


1 (0.27%)

8 (2.13%)

27 (7.18%)

184 (48.94%)

156 (41.48%) 376

34


4 (1.08%)

12 (3.25%)

71 (19.24%)

172 (46.61%)

110 (29.82%) 369


3 (0.81%)

15 (4.05%)

93 (25.14%)

175 (47.30%)

84 (22.70%) 370


0 (0%)

11 (3%)

86 (23.43%)

153 (41.69%)

117 (31.88%) 367


2 (0.53%)

7 (1.87%)

36 (9.63%)

129 (34.49%)

200 (53.48%) 374

School of Arts

The curriculum in general education

1 (0.73%)

6 (4.38%)

38 (27.74%)

66 (48.18%)

26 (18.97%) 137


2 (1.46%)

5 (3.65%)

31 (22.63%)

68 (49.64%)

31 (22.62%) 137


0 (0%)

3 (2.19%)

14 (10.22%)

72 (52.55%)

48 (35.04%) 137


1 (0.74%)

12 (8.82%)

24 (17.65%)

63 (46.32%)

36 (26.47%) 136


2 (1.46%)

9 (6.57%)

28 (20.44%)

63 (45.99%)

35 (25.54%) 137


2 (1.46%)

2 (1.46%)

33 (24.09%)

64 (46.72%)

36 (26.27%) 137


0 (0%)

3 (2.17%)

15 (10.87%)

55 (39.86%)

65 (47.10%) 138

School of Languages, Cultures and World Affairs The curriculum in general education

0 (0%)

1 (2.5%)

8 (20%)

23 (57.50%)

8 (20%) 40


0 (0%)

1 (2.44%)

4 (9.76%)

24 (58.54%)

12 (29.26%) 41


0 (0%)

0 (0%)

1 (2.44%)

21 (51.22%)

19 (46.34%) 41


2 (4.88%)

1 (2.44%)

7 (17.07%)

17 (41.46%)

14 (34.15%) 41


2 (5%)

1 (2.5%)

12 (30%)

10 (25%)

15 (37.50%) 40

35


0 (0%)

2 (4.88%)

13 (31.71%)

12 (29.27%)

14 (34.14%) 41


0 (0%)

0 (0%)

1 (2.44%)

15 (36.59%)

25 (60.97%) 41

Table 23 details how satisfied seniors have been with their overall academic experiences at the

College of Charleston by school. School of Languages, Cultures and World Affairs has the

highest percentage of seniors who have been either “satisfied” or “very satisfied” with the

curriculum in general education, which is 77.50%, followed by School of Education, Health, and

Human Performance (67.46%) and School of the Arts (67.15%).

As far as satisfaction with the instruction in general education is concerned, the three highest

percentages of seniors who reported that they have been either “satisfied” or “very satisfied”

with the instruction in general education come from School of Languages, Cultures and World

Affairs (87.8%), School of Science and Mathematics (74.89%) and School of Education, Health,

and Human Performance (73.33%).

Your overall academic experience: School of Languages, Cultures and World Affairs has the

highest percentage of seniors who reported that they have been either “satisfied” or “very

satisfied” with their overall academic experiences, which is 97.56%, followed by School of

Humanities and Social Sciences (90.42%), and School of Science and Mathematics (89.62%).

Preparation for further education: the top three schools with the highest percentage of seniors

who reported that they have been either “satisfied” or “very satisfied” with the preparation for

further education are School of Education, Health, and Human Performance (84.71%), School of

Science and Mathematics (79.47%), and School of Humanities and Social Sciences (76.43%).

36

Preparation for professional employment: the top three schools with the highest percentage of

seniors who reported that they have been either “satisfied” or “very satisfied” with the

preparation for professional employment are School of Education, Health, and Human

Performance (80.47%), School of the Arts (71.53%), and School of Humanities and Social

Sciences (70%).

Your overall co-curricular activities: School of Education, Health, and Human Performance has

the highest percentage of seniors who reported that they have been either “satisfied” or “very

satisfied” with the overall co-curricular activities, which is 81.57%, followed by School of

Science and Mathematics (75.33%), and School of Humanities and Social Sciences (73.57%).

Your overall College of Charleston experience: 97.56% of seniors from the School of

Languages, Cultures and World Affairs reported that they have been either “satisfied” or “very

satisfied” with their College of Charleston experience, followed by 92.94% from School of

Education, Health, and Human Performance, and 92.61% from School of Sciences and

Mathematics.

Table 24. Studying abroad by school

School\Category Study

aboard Not study

aboard Total

School of Business 116

(38.28%) 187

(61.72%) 303

School of Sciences and Mathematics 58

(25.11%) 173

(74.89%) 231 School of Education, Health, and Human Performance

46 (18.25%)

206 (81.75%) 252

School of Humanities and Social Sciences 127

(34.32%) 243

(65.68%) 370 School of Languages, Cultures, and World Affairs

36 (85.71%)

6 (14.29%) 42

37

School of the Arts 39

(29.55%) 93

(70.45%) 132

Table 24 presents the frequency distribution of seniors’ studying abroad experiences by school.

School of Languages, Cultures, and World Affairs has the highest proportion of seniors who

have studied abroad, which is 85.71%, followed by School of Business (38.28%) and School of

Humanities and Social Sciences (34.32%).

Sub-group analysis by transfer student status Table 25. Employment status by transfer student status

Employed full time

Employed part time

Continuing education

Seeking employment

Temporary or contract work

Transfer 123 (38.44%)

47 (14.69%)

62 (19.38%)

134 (41.88%)

8 (2.50%)

Non-transfer

275 (28.21%)

147 (15.08%)

238 (24.41%)

379 (38.87%)

36 (3.69%)

Note: the total number of transfer seniors is 320 and the total number of non-transfer seniors is 975. Seniors selected more than one choice in the employment status question, the total of percentages is not 100%.

As shown in Table 25, seniors who are transfer students are more likely to be employed full

time, are less likely to continue their education, and are more likely to seek employment.

Specifically, 38.44% of seniors who are transfer students are employed full time, and the

corresponding figure for non-transfer seniors is 28.21%. 19.38% of transfer seniors have

continued their education, and 24.41% of non-transfer seniors have continued their education.

41.88% of transfer seniors are seeking employment, while the corresponding figure for non-

transfer seniors is 38.87%.

38

Table 26. How college major has prepared seniors for employment by transfer student status

Not at all Somewhat Moderately Very Completely

Transfer 18 (9.05%)

41 (20.60%)

54 (27.14%)

60 (30.15%)

26 (13.06%)

Non-transfer

47 (9.40%)

63 (12.60%)

117 (23.40%)

188 (37.60%)

85 (17%)

Note: 199 transfer seniors and 500 non-transfer seniors responded to this question.

When asked to what extent your college major have prepared you for employment, transfer

seniors are less likely than their non-transfer counterparts to believe that their college majors

have prepared them well for their employment. Specifically, 43.21% of transfer seniors have

rated that their college majors have prepared them for employment either very much or

completely, but the corresponding figure for non-transfer senior is up to 54.6%.

Table 27. Major-job match by transfer student status

Definitely

beneath my level

Somewhat beneath Appropriate Somewhat

above

Definitely above my

level

Transfer 24 (13.04%)

38 (20.65%)

98 (53.26%)

17 (9.24%)

7 (3.81%)

Non-transfer 52 (11.30%)

83 (18.04%)

266 (57.83%)

53 (11.52%)

6 (1.31%)

Note: 184 transfer seniors and 460 non-transfer seniors responded to this question.

Table 27 suggests that transfer seniors are less likely than non-transfer seniors to locate jobs that

match their level. 53.26% of transfer seniors reported that they have located jobs that are

appropriate for their level, but the corresponding figure for non-transfer seniors is up to 57.83%.

39

Table 28. Continuing education by transfer student status

Law and medical Master PhD Other

Transfer 14 (14.43%)

60 (61.86%)

5 (5.15%)

18 (18.56%)

Non-transfer 62 (18.85%)

189 (57.45%)

37 (11.25%)

41 (12.45%)

Note: the total transfer seniors pursing graduate degrees is 97 and the total non-transfer seniors pursuing graduate degree is 329.

As shown in Table 28, non-transfer seniors are more likely to pursue law, medical, and doctoral

degrees, and transfer seniors are more likely to pursue a master’s degree.

Table 29. Academic experience by major and minor by transfer student status

Very

dissatisfied Dissatisfied Neutral Satisfied Very satisfied Total

Transfer students The curriculum in your major

4 (1.26%)

11 (3.47%)

37 (11.67%)

143 (45.11%)

122 (38.49%) 317

The instruction in your major

2 (0.63%)

6 (1.89%)

37 (11.67%)

134 (42.27%)

138 (43.53%) 317


3 (3.03%)

2 (2.02%)

9 (9.09%)

36 (36.36%)

49 (49.49%) 99

The instruction in your minor

3 (3.23%)

3 (3.23%)

6 (6.45%)

30 (32.26%)

51 (54.84%) 93

Non-transfer students The curriculum in your major

2 (0.21%)

24 (2.51%)

68 (7.10%)

509 (53.13%)

355 (37.06%) 958

The instruction in your major

5 (0.52%)

27 (2.81%)

89 (9.27%)

451 (46.98%)

388 (40.42%) 960


3 (0.65%)

14 (3.04%)

41 (8.91%)

180 (39.13%)

222 (48.27%) 460

The instruction in your minor

5 (1.11%)

7 (1.55%)

43 (9.53%)

178 (39.47%)

218 (48.34%) 451

40

As suggested in Table 29, transfer seniors are less likely than non-transfer seniors to be either

“satisfied” or “very satisfied” with the curriculum in their majors. 83.6% of transfer senior are

either “satisfied” or “very satisfied” with the curriculum in their majors, while the corresponding

figure for non-transfer seniors is 90.18%. Transfer seniors don’t appear to differ significantly

from the non-transfer seniors in how they rated their satisfaction with the instruction in their

majors, the curriculum in their minors, and instruction in their minors.

Table 30. The overall academic experience by transfer student status

Very

dissatisfied Dissatisfied Neutral Satisfied Very

satisfied Total

Transfer students The curriculum in general education

6 (1.89%)

25 (7.89%)

81 (25.55%)

131 (41.32%)

74 (23.35%) 317


6 (1.90%)

10 (3.16%)

70 (22.15%)

159 (50.32%)

71 (22.47%) 316


6 (1.89%)

11 (3.47%)

36 (11.36%)

140 (44.16%)

124 (39.12%) 317


6 (1.89%)

17 (5.36%)

64 (20.19%)

135 (42.59%)

95 (29.97%) 317


7 (2.22%)

17 (5.40%)

75 (23.81%)

125 (39.68%)

91 (28.89%) 315


6 (1.91%)

10 (3.18%)

92 (29.30%)

128 (40.76%)

78 (24.85%) 314


7 (2.22%)

10 (3.17%)

35 (11.11%)

128 (40.63%)

135 (42.87%) 315

Non-transfer students The curriculum in general education

7 (0.73%)

73 (7.62%)

269 (28.08%)

472 (49.27%)

137 (14.30%) 958


7 (0.73%)

48 (4.99%)

240 (24.97%)

514 (53.49%)

152 (15.82%) 961


5 (0.52%)

9 (0.94%)

91 (9.45%)

519 (53.95%)

338 (35.14%) 962

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12 (1.26%)

27 (2.84%)

180 (18.91%)

478 (50.21%)

255 (26.78%) 952


15 (1.57%)

49 (5.13%)

216 (22.59%)

441 (46.13%)

235 (24.58%) 956


8 (0.84%)

21 (2.20%)

204 (21.36%)

429 (44.92%)

293 (30.68%) 955


6 (0.63%)

8 (0.83%)

66 (6.88%)

379 (39.52%)

500 (52.14%) 959

As shown in Table 30, transfer senior and non-transfer seniors differ largely in how satisfied they

have been with their overall academic experience. 83.28% of transfer seniors have been either

“satisfied” or “very satisfied” with their overall academic experience, while the corresponding

figure for non-transfer seniors is 89.09%. The second notable difference between these two

groups lies in how satisfied they have been with their co-curricular activities. 65.61% of transfer

seniors have been either “satisfied” or “very satisfied” with their overall co-curricular activities,

while the corresponding figure for non-transfer seniors is up to 75. 6%. In addition, transfer

seniors are less likely than non-transfer seniors to have a satisfying overall College of Charleston

experience. 91.66% of non-transfer seniors have rated their overall College of Charleston

experience as “satisfied” or “very satisfied”, but the corresponding figure for transfer seniors is

only 83.5%. Furthermore, transfer seniors and non-transfer seniors don’t differ significantly in

the satisfaction with the curriculum in general education, the instruction in general education,

preparation for further education and preparation for professional employment.

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Part C: Statistical Analysis The association between salary and internship Table 31. The cross-tabulation of salary range and internship

Internship

Salary Range Yes No χ2 P

Less than $20,000 55.32% 44.68%

17.52 0.008**

$20,000 to $ 30,000 45% 55%

$30,001 to $ 40,000 42.70% 57.30%

$40,001 to $ 50,000 59.68% 40.32%

$50,001 to $ 60,000 76.67% 23.33%

$60,001 to $ 70,000 73.68% 26.32%

More than $70,000 65% 35% Note: the total number of seniors who responded to these questions is 327.

A chi-square goodness of fit test was conducted to examine if there are any statistical

associations between those seniors who have completed internships and their salary range. The

Chi-square test indicates that the association between the participation in internships and the

salary range is statistically significant (χ2=17.52, p<0.01). Specifically, it appears that

completing internships has affected graduates’ salaries in a positive way in the upper-level

ranges ($50,001 to $ 60,000, $60,001 to $ 70,000 and More than $70,000). To further illustrate,

of seniors with a salary ranging from $50,001 to $60,000, 76.67% of them have completed at

least one internship as compared to 23.33% who have not.

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The associations between gender and major-job match Table 32. The cross-tabulation of gender and seniors’ perception of major-job match

Definitely beneath my

level

Somewhat beneath my

level Appropriate for my level

Somewhat above my

level

Definitely above my

level χ2 P Male 10.93% 16.39% 56.28% 12.02% 4.38% 10.22 0.03*

Female 12.75% 19.80% 56.86% 9.61% 0.98% Note: the total number of seniors who responded to these questions is 694

The chi-square test indicates that the association between gender and seniors’ perception of

major-job match is statistically significant (χ2=10.22, p<0.05). Specifically, it seems that male

seniors are more likely than their female counterparts to believe that their jobs are somewhat or

definitely above their level. This difference is notable as 4.37% of male seniors rated their jobs

are definitely above their level, and the corresponding figure for female seniors is only 0.98%. In

addition, 12.02% of male seniors rated their jobs are somewhat above their level, and the

corresponding figure for female seniors is only 9.61%.

The associations between gender and salary Table 33. The cross-tabulation of gender and salary

< $20,000 $20,000 - $ 30,000

$30,001 - $ 40,000

$40,001 - $ 50,000

$50,001 - $ 60,000

$60,001 - $ 70,000

> $70,000 χ2 P

Male 7.14% 13.27% 23.47% 21.43% 11.22% 12.24% 11.23% 33.66 0.001**

Female 17.19% 20.36% 28.96% 18.10% 8.60% 3.17% 3.62% Note: the total number of seniors who responded to these two questions is 321.

Table 33 presents the chi-square test between gender and salary. The chi-square test indicates

that the association between gender and self-reported salary is statistically significant (χ2=33.66,

p<0.01). The finding illustrates a notable difference in salaries between male and female seniors,

with male seniors performing much better in the job market in terms of salary. This difference is

characterized by the distribution that most female seniors have salaries that are falling into

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ranges of less than $20,000 to $40,000, whereas most male seniors hold salaries that are usually

ranging from $40,000 to more than $70,000.

The associations between school and salary Table 34. The cross-tabulation of school and salary

< $20,000

$20,000 - $ 30,000

$30,001 - $ 40,000

$40,001 - $ 50,000

$50,001 - $ 60,000

$60,001 - $ 70,000

> $70,000 χ2 P

School of Business 2% 11% 19% 30% 20% 10% 8%

156.9 0.0001***


8.93% 17.86% 14.29% 17.85% 12.50% 10.71% 17.86%


20.96% 17.74% 53.23% 4.85% 1.61% - 1.61%


21.74% 33.33% 23.19% 18.84% 1.45% 1.45% -


16.67% 16.67% 33.33% 33.33% - - -

School of the Arts 38.46% 15.38% 30.77% 15.39% - - -

Note: - represents no values. The total number of seniors who responded to these two questions is 322.

Table 34 presents the chi-square test between school and salary. The chi-square test indicates

that the association between school and salary is statistically significant (χ2=156.9, p<0.01). The

finding clearly suggests that there is a statistically significant difference in seniors’ self-reported

salaries by school. First, it is apparent that seniors from School of Sciences and Mathematics and

School of Business have earned much higher salaries than their counterparts from School of

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Education, Health, and Human Performance, School of Humanities and Social Sciences, School

of Languages, Cultures, and World Affairs, and School of the Arts. That is, 18% of seniors from

School of Business and 28.57% of seniors from School of Sciences and Mathematics have

salaries that are more than $60,000, whereas less than 5% of seniors have earned that much in

each of the other four schools. In addition, of the top two schools where seniors have reported

the highest salaries, School of Sciences and Mathematics has 17.86% of seniors who have earned

salaries more than $70,000, and the corresponding figure for School of Business is 8%.

The senior distributions by gender and school Table 35. The cross-tabulation of gender and school

School

of Business

School of Sciences

and Mathematics

School of Education, Health, and

Human Performance


School of Languages, Cultures,

and World Affairs

School of the Arts

χ2 P

Male 29.01% 24.68% 11.20% 23.92% 8.14% 2.80% 61.71 0.0001***

Female 20.61% 13.49% 21.76% 29.39% 10.88% 3.24%

Note: the total number of seniors who responded to these two questions is 1,351. School of Professional Studies was not included in this analysis.

Table 35 illustrates that male and female seniors are disproportionately distributed across

schools, with female students primarily housed in School of Education and School of

Humanities, and male students primarily coming from School of Business and School of

Sciences and Mathematics. The chi-square test indicates that male and female students are

disproportionately distributed across schools and the gender difference across schools is

statistically significant (χ2=61.71, p<0.01). The finding indicates that male seniors are more

likely to study in the fields of business or sciences and mathematics, while female seniors are

more likely to study in humanities or social sciences and education; thus, the significant

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differences in salaries between male and female seniors is likely to be related to the

disproportionate distributions of male and female seniors by school. That is, when considering

examining the salary differences between female and male seniors, field of study needs to be

carefully considered.

The association between gender and satisfaction with the curriculum in their majors Table 36. The cross-tabulation of gender and satisfaction with the curriculum in their majors

Very Dissatisfied Dissatisfied Neutral Satisfied Very

Satisfied χ2 P

Male 0.77% 5.13% 10.51% 52.31% 31.28% 22.69 0.004**

Female 0.32% 1.69% 7.18% 51.21% 39.60%

Note: the total number of seniors who responded to these two questions is 1,339

Table 30 presents the results of the chi-square test between gender and satisfaction with the

curriculum in their majors. The chi-square test indicates that the association between gender and

satisfaction with the curriculum in their major is statistically significant (χ2=22.69, p<0.01). The

results suggest that female seniors have been more satisfied with the curriculum in their majors

than their male counterparts. For instance, 39.6% of female seniors have been “very satisfied”

with the curriculum in their majors, but the corresponding figure for male seniors who have been

“very satisfied” with the curriculum in their majors is 31.28%.

The association between gender and satisfaction with overall academic experiences Table 37. The cross-tabulation of gender and satisfaction with overall academic experiences


Satisfied χ2 P

Male 1.54% 2.31% 14.10% 53.59% 28.46% 31.37 0.0001***

Female 0.53% 1.26% 7.48% 51.84% 38.89%

Note: the total number of seniors who responded to these two questions is 1,341

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Table 37 presents the results of the chi-square test between gender and the satisfaction with the

overall academic experiences. The chi-square test indicates that the association between gender

and satisfaction overall academic experiences is statistically significant (χ2=31.37, p<0.01). The

results suggest that female seniors have been more satisfied with the overall academic

experiences than their male counterparts. For instance, 38.89% of female seniors have been

“very satisfied” with their overall academic experiences, but the corresponding figure for male

seniors who have been “very satisfied” with their overall academic experiences is 28.46%.

The association between transfer student status and satisfaction with curriculum in their majors Table 38. The cross-tabulation of transfer student status and satisfaction with the curriculum in their majors


Satisfied χ2 P

Transfer 1.26% 3.47% 11.67% 45.11% 38.49% 15.59 0.004**

Non-transfer 0.21% 2.51% 7.10% 53.13% 37.05%

Note: the total number of seniors who responded to these questions is 1,275

Table 38 presents the results of the chi-square test between transfer student status and

satisfaction with the curriculum in their majors. The chi-square test indicates that the association

between transfer student status and satisfaction with the curriculum is statistically significant

(χ2=15.59, p<0.01). The results suggest that seniors who are transfer students have been less

satisfied with the curriculum in their majors than their counterparts who are not transfer

students. For instance, 45.11% of seniors who are transfer students have been “satisfied” with the

curriculum in their majors, but the corresponding figure for seniors who are non-transfer

students and have been “satisfied” with the curriculum in their majors is 53.13%.

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The association between transfer student status and satisfaction with satisfaction with their overall co-curricular activities experience Table 39. The cross-tabulation of transfer student status and satisfaction with their overall co-curricular activities experience


Satisfied χ2 P

Transfer 1.91% 3.18% 29.30% 40.77% 24.84% 13.47 0.009**

Non-Transfer 0.84% 2.20% 21.36% 44.92% 30.68%

Note: the total number of seniors who responded to these questions is 1,269


satisfaction with their overall co-curricular experiences. The chi-square test indicates that the

association between transfer student status and satisfaction with their co-curricular experience is

statistically significant (χ2=13.47, p<0.01). The results suggest that seniors who are transfer

students have been less satisfied with their co-curricular activities experience than their

counterparts who are non-transfer students. For instance, 24.84% of seniors who are transfer

students have been “very satisfied” with their co-curricular activities experience, but the

corresponding figure for seniors who are non-transfer students and have been very satisfied with

their co-curricular activities experience is 30.68%.

The association between transfer student status and satisfaction with their overall College of Charleston experience Table 40. The cross-tabulation of transfer student status and satisfaction with their overall College of Charleston experience


Satisfied χ2 P

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Transfer 9.05% 20.60% 27.14% 30.15% 13.06% 10.57 0.03*

Non-Transfer 9.40% 12.60% 23.40% 37.60% 17.00%

Note: the total number of seniors who responded to these questions is 1,274.


satisfaction with their overall College of Charleston experiences. The chi-square test indicates

that the association between transfer student status and satisfaction with their overall College of

Charleston experience is statistically significant (χ2=10.57, p<0.05). The results suggest that

seniors who are transfer students have been less satisfied with the overall College of Charleston

experience than their counterparts who are non-transfer students. For instance, 43.21% of seniors

who are transfer students have been either “very satisfied” or “satisfied” with their overall

College of Charleston experience, but the corresponding figure for seniors who are non-transfer

students is 54.6%.

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References Bauer, K. W., & Bennett, J. S. (2003). Alumni perceptions used to assess undergraduate research

experience. The Journal of Higher Education, 74(2), 210-230.

Lopatto, D. (2007). Undergraduate research experiences support science career decisions and

active learning. CBE—Life Sciences Education, 6(4), 297-306.

Russell, S. H., Hancock, M. P., & McCullough, J. (2007). Benefits of undergraduate research

experiences. Science(Washington), 316(5824), 548-549.

The Senior Exit Survey analytical report-2018

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Transcript of The Senior Exit Survey analytical report-2018