SARI Report #318, March, 2004 Survey of June 2002 Baccalaureate Degree Recipients Educational and Occupational Outcomes By Gillian Butler
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Graduates face a weakened economy: unemployment among graduates seeking work, at 11%, was at its highest since the first survey of UC Davis recent graduates was administered 25 years ago. The proportion of those enrolled in postgraduate study who were pursuing an academic doctorate is the lowest it has been in over a decade. Every three years, Student Affairs Research and Information (SARI) conducts a survey of recent graduates one year after they have completed their bachelor s degree. The survey includes questions about the immediate postgraduate education and employment of our graduates and the degree to which graduates feel that their education at UC Davis prepared them. This report summarizes the educational and employment outcomes of June 2002 graduates as reported in a survey of recent graduates conducted in the summer and early fall of 2003. Compared to the graduates of June 1999 (see SARI report 203), the June 2002 class faced an economy weakened by the collapse of the dot-com bubble and the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. While the proportion of full-time employed June 2002 graduates (57%) was well within the range reported by earlier cohorts of graduates, the proportion reporting that they were unemployed and seeking work was at an all-time high of 11%. The mean salary of June 2002 graduates was more than $4000 lower than that of June 1999 graduates, a decline in real dollars of 17%. One year after graduating with a baccalaureate degree from UC Davis, 38% of the June 2002 graduating class were studying for or had just completed a postgraduate degree or credential. Whereas UC Davis graduates of the early 1990 s responded to rising levels of unemployment with increased postgraduate enrollments, June 2002 graduates enrolled at the same rate as the 1999 graduating class. The proportion of graduates pursuing master s degrees increased over former years: this was largely due to an increased number who were concurrently acquiring teaching credentials and a master s degree. 10% 13% 10% 9% 7% Only 7% of June 2002 graduates who were enrolled in postgraduate schools were pursuing an academic doctorate, substantially fewer than 13% in 1993. 1990 1993 1996 1999 2002 While most respondents (86%) were accepted at their first or secondchoice institution, their mean rating of preparation for postgraduate work was lower than former graduates ratings; still, the actual mean score remained in the range between more than adequately and very well prepared. i
Women, while more often enrolled in postgraduate schools than men, were less likely than men to be pursuing doctorates and more likely to be pursuing teacher s credentials and master s degrees in education. Within most fields, women received lower salaries than their male counterparts. Women continued to receive salaries that are about four-fifths of those received by men. This is partially because they outnumber men in less-well-paid occupations such as teaching and are underrepresented in high-paid occupations such as engineering and computer science. Even within identical fields, however, women usually received lower salaries than their male counterparts. Despite the challenges the economy has posed for June 2002 graduates, the percentage who found work in their chosen field, their job satisfaction, and their mean rating of preparation for employment remained high and comparable to responses from earlier cohorts of graduates. ii
TABLE OF CONTENTS Executive Summary Table of Contents i iii Results and Discussion 1 Postgraduate Studies 1 Figure 1: Enrollment and Employment Trends of Recent Graduates 1 Degree Programs 1 Table 1: Degree Programs of June 2002 Graduates Continuing Their Education 2 Figure 2: In Pursuit of an Academic Doctorate % of Enrolled Graduates 3 Postgraduates Degrees by Gender 3 Type and Location of Postgraduate Institution 3 Figure 3: Where They Go for Postgraduate Instruction 4 Choice of Postgraduate Institution 4 Figure 4: Choice of Postgraduate Institution 4 Figure 5: Choice by Postgraduate Degree/Credential 4 Preparation for Postgraduate Education 5 Table 2: Preparation for Postgraduate Study by Degree Program 5 Table 3: Preparation for Graduate School 6 Postgraduate Education by Undergraduate Division/College 6 Figure 6: Enrollment in Postgraduate Programs by Undergraduate Division 6 Figure 7: Field Highly/Moderately Related to Major by Undergraduate Division 7 Preparation for Postgraduate Study by Undergraduate Division/College 7 Table 4: Preparation for Postgraduate Study by Undergraduate Division 7 Occupational Outcomes Employment Status 8 Figure 8: Employment Status of June 2002 Baccalaureate Recipients 8 Table 5: Employment Status of Recent Graduates: 1976 2002 9 Figure 9: Duration of Job Search of June 2002 Graduates 9 Figure 10: Type of Organization by Which Employed 10 Careers 10 Table 6: Full-time Occupation of Respondents One Year after Graduation 10 iii
Careers by Gender 11 Salaries 11 Salaries by Gender and Occupation 11 Table 7: Mean Annual Salaries of Full-time Employed Graduates 11 Employment in Chosen Field 12 Table 8: Graduates Employed Full-time in Field of Choice 12 Figure 11: Employment Relation to Major by Undergraduate Division 13 Figure 12: Job Satisfaction 13 Preparation for Employment 13 Table 9: Preparation for Present Position by Undergraduate Division 14 Figure 13: Preparation for Activities of June 2002 Graduates 14 Appendix 1 Background 15 Response Rates 15 Survey Methodology 15 Representativeness of Responses 16 Appendix 2 Table: Characteristics of Survey Respondents 17 Appendix 3 Survey Instrument 18 iv
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION Postgraduate Studies One year after graduating with a baccalaureate degree from UC Davis, 38% of the June 2002 graduating class were studying for or had just completed a postgraduate degree or credential and 57% were employed full-time. Compared to the June 1999 graduating class, 2002 s graduates were equally likely to be continuing their education, but somewhat less likely (57% vs. 64%) to be employed full-time. Figure 1: Enrollment and Employment Trends of Recent Graduates % of Respondents 70% Employed full-time Enrolled in postgraduate program 64% 60% 58% 58% 55% 57% 59% 57% 50% 51% 50% 40% 30% 34% 33% 35% 36% 43% 40% 41% 38% 38% 20% 10% 0% 1976 1979 1983 1987 1990 1993 1996 1999 2002 Thirty-eight percent of respondents from the June 2002 graduating class were studying for or had recently completed a postgraduate degree or credential; an additional 49% reported that they planned to pursue an additional degree or credential within the next five years. Degree Programs As shown in Table 1, June 2002 graduates who entered into a degree or certificate program within one year were more likely to have entered a master s program than a PhD program (44% vs. 7%). An increase in the proportion of master s degrees sought by June 2002 graduates over those sought by June 1999 graduates (44% vs. 39%) is largely due to an increase in the proportion of those seeking teaching certificates who are concurrently pursuing a master s degree (31% vs. 16%). 1
Table 1: Degree Programs of June 2002 Graduates Continuing Their Education % of respondents n=1169 % of enrolled n=443 n Doctoral Degrees 2% 7% 29 Academic 2% 7% 29 Professional Degrees 12% 33% 146 Law 4% 12% 51 Medicine 3% 8% 36 Veterinary Medicine 1% 4% 16 Other Health Fields 4% 9% 41 Other Professional Doctorates 0% 0% 2 Master's Degrees 17% 44% 195 Academic 12% 32% 142 Education 3% 8% 34 Business 1% 2% 10 Other Professional Masters 1% 2% 9 Credentials 10% 26% 113 Teaching Credential (83) 7% 19% 83 Other a 3% 7% 30 Note: The sum of percentage enrolled exceeds 100% because some respondents (n=39) report multiple degrees; the majority of these (62%) these are pursuing a teacher's credential and a master's degree in education. a Other credentials, certificates, and 2nd bachelor's degrees The master s programs most often pursued by June 2002 graduates were in education (19%), the social sciences (16%), or arts and humanities (12%). Those pursuing professional degrees were primarily studying human health (17%) or law (12%). 2
The percentage of respondents reporting enrollment in academic doctoral programs was lower than for previously surveyed cohorts of recent graduates. Figure 2: In Pursuit of an Academic Doctorate % of Enrolled Graduates 14% 12% 10% 8% 6% 4% 2% 0% 13% 10% 10% 9% 7% 1990 1993 1996 1999 2002 Of the 29 people who enrolled in academic PhD programs, most pursued degrees in the biological sciences (31%), medicine (14%) or the social sciences (14%). Postgraduates Degrees by Gender Upon graduation, women were slightly more likely to have continued their education then men (39% vs. 37%). However, as found in previous studies, the chosen degree program varied by gender. Women were less likely than males to have entered PhD programs (4% vs. 12%). Women were also less likely to pursue professional degrees (30% vs. 38%). Proportionately fewer women were pursuing degrees in law (9% vs.16%) or medicine (6% vs. 12%). Conversely, more women than men were pursuing a teaching credential (21% vs. 14%) or a master s degree in education (9% vs. 4%). Type and Location of Postgraduate Institution Nearly a third (31%) of June 2002 graduates who entered degree programs enrolled within the University of California system: 19% continued at UC Davis (Figure 3). Only about one-fifth left California to continue their education. Half of the MD students left the state, and about a third (36%) attended a UC campus. Ph.D. students were equally likely to have left the state or to have chosen a UC campus (45% each). Most students pursuing a master s in education (88%) remained in California: they were about equally likely to have attended a UC campus, a CSU campus, or a private college. Nearly all students earning a teaching certificate stayed in California (97%), most often attending a CSU campus (49%). 3
Figure 3: Where They Go for Postgraduate Instruction Out-of-state 21% CA CC 1% UC 31% CA private 24% CSU 23% Choice of Postgraduate Institution Overall, 86% of graduates enrolled in their first or second choice postgraduate institution. Without exception, those who entered academic doctoral programs were accepted at their first or second choice school. Even in the highly competition field of medicine, nearly three-fourths (72%) of enrolled students attended their first or second choice school. Only in the field of law did a substantial proportion of June 2002 graduates (33%) fail to qualify at their most-favored institutions. Figure 4: Choice of Postgraduate Institution % of enrolled graduates Other 14% Second Choice 16% First Choice 70% Figure 5: Choice by Postgraduate Degree/Credential % of enrolled Teaching Credential Veterinary Medicine Business Master's Master's (inc. Education) Other Health Doctorate Academic Doctorate Medicine Law 0% 0% First Choice 7% 11% 12% 28% 47% 25% 31% 35% Second Choice 73% 72% 81% 80% 78% 87% 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% 4
Preparation for Postgraduate Education As with past classes, June 2002 graduates gave high ratings to the preparation they received at UC Davis for postgraduate study. Using a scale ranging from 5 (very well prepared) to 1 (poorly prepared), three-quarters (76%) of graduates reported being adequately or very well prepared for continued study. Overall, the mean rating of preparation for postgraduate education was 4.14. Respondents pursuing degrees in veterinary medicine or other health fields rated their preparation for graduate study especially highly, as did respondents seeking to attain teaching credentials. Ratings of preparation were lowest for those enrolled in MBA programs. Table 2: Preparation for Postgraduate Study by Degree Program Very well/ More than adequately Adequately Less than adequately/ Poorly n Mean Rating TOTAL 76% 20% 4% 443 4.14 Doctoral Degrees Academic 83% 17% 0% 29 4.24 Professional Degrees Law 63% 33% 4% 51 3.90 Medicine 72% 25% 3% 36 4.14 Veterinary Medicine 93% 7% 0% 15 4.47 Other Health Fields 73% 24% 2% 41 4.20 Other Professional Fields a - - - 2 - Master's Degrees Academic 75% 21% 4% 141 4.08 Business 50% 40% 10% 10 3.50 Education 82% 9% 9% 34 4.12 Other Professional Masters a - - - 9 - Credentials Teaching Credential 82% 13% 5% 83 4.29 Other b 73% 10% 17% 30 4.00 a Fewer than ten cases. b Other credentials, certificates, and 2nd bachelor's degrees 5
Although ratings of preparation for graduate school by June 2002 graduates were high, they were statistically lower than ratings given by other surveyed cohorts of recent UC Davis graduates. Compared to mean ratings of 1999 graduates, 2002 ratings were lower in most degree categories: exceptions were ratings of preparation for academic doctorates, veterinary medicine, and other credential and degree programs. Table 3: Preparation for Graduate School Year Mean Rating 1979 4.21 1983 4.29 1987 4.37 1990 4.22 1993 4.20 1996 4.23 1999 4.29 2002 4.14 Postgraduate Education by Undergraduate Division/College Graduates who majored in mathematical and physical sciences or the biological sciences were most likely to have continued their education directly after graduation. Less than one quarter of graduates who majored in engineering or environmental sciences enrolled in a degree program within a year of graduating from UC Davis. Figure 6: Enrollment in Postgraduate Programs by Undergraduate Division % enrolled Mathematical & Physical Sciences Biological Sciences Humanities, Arts & Cultural Studies Social Sciences 49% 47% 45% 41% Agricultural Sciences Human Sciences 32% 30% Engineering 24% Environmental Sciences 19% 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 6
Over three-fourths (76%) of the respondents who had enrolled in postgraduate institutions reported that their field of study was highly or moderately related to their undergraduate major. Postgraduate study in a related field was most prevalent among graduates from the Division of Biological Sciences (91%) and the College of Engineering (89%). Figure 7: Field Highly/Moderately Related to Major by Undergraduate Division % of enrolled Biological Sciences Engineering 91% 89% Agricultural Sciences Human Sciences Mathematical & Physical Sciences 80% 78% 78% Environmental Sciences Social Sciences Humanities, Arts & Cultural Studies 65% 63% 70% 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100% Preparation for Postgraduate Study by Undergraduate Division/College On a scale ranging from 5 (very well prepared) to 1 (poorly prepared), mean ratings of preparation for postgraduate study ranged from a high of 4.30 in the Division of Environmental Sciences (only 10 respondents) to a low of 3.56 for graduates from the Division of Mathematical & Physical Sciences. Table 4: Preparation for Postgraduate Study by Undergraduate Division College/Division Very well/ More than adequately Adequately Less than adequately/ Poorly n Mean Rating TOTAL 76% 20% 4% 441 4.14 Environmental Sciences 70% 30% 0% 10 4.30 Agricultural Sciences 80% 20% 0% 25 4.28 Human Sciences 81% 17% 2% 63 4.27 Biological Sciences 80% 19% 1% 103 4.25 Social Sciences 79% 15% 6% 143 4.17 Humanities, Arts & Cultural Studies 71% 24% 5% 42 4.02 Engineering 63% 26% 11% 27 3.78 Mathematical & Physical Sciences 48% 43% 9% 23 3.56 7
Ratings of preparation for postgraduate work by June 2002 were lower than ratings by June 1999 graduates for most divisions or colleges: exceptions were higher ratings by 2002 graduates who had majored in the Division of Environmental Sciences or the Division of Agricultural Sciences. Occupational Outcomes Employment Status June 2002 graduates who entered the work force upon leaving UC Davis faced a troubled economy: their responses clearly reflect the challenging job market they encountered upon graduation. While 64% of June 1999 graduates were employed full-time in a burgeoning economy at the crest of the dot-com bubble, a more modest 57% of June 2002 graduates reported that they were employed full-time a year after graduation. While this figure is well within the range of historical data from surveys of UC Davis s recent graduates, it does register the impact of the rise in national unemployment rate from 4.2% in 1999 to 5.8% in 2002. 1 More striking than the fall in the percentage of full-time employed was the dramatic rise, from 4% in 1999 to 11% in 2002, in the percentage of graduates who reported that they were unemployed and seeking work one year after graduating (Figure 8 and Table 5). Figure 8: Employment Status of June 2002 Baccalaureate Recipients % of respondents No, seeking work 11% No, not seeking work 13% Yes, part-time but prefer full-time 6% Yes, full-time 57% Yes, part-time by choice 13% 1 Data from the U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics. 8
Table 5: Employment Status of Recent Graduates: 1976 2002 Year Employed fulltime Employed parttime, prefer fulltime Unemployed, seeking work 1976 51% n/a 5% 1979 58% n/a 6% 1983 58% n/a n/a 1987 55% n/a 7% 1990 57% 6% 8% 1993 50% 6% 7% 1996 59% 3% 3% 1999 64% 3% 4% 2002 57% 6% 11% About two-thirds (64%) of graduates employed full-time reported that they obtained their present position prior to or within two months of completing their degree; 89% secured a full-time position within six months of graduating. 100% Figure 9: Duration of Job Search of June 2002 Graduates % of full-time employed 89% 80% 79% 60% 64% 40% 33% 20% 15% 0% Employed while at UCD Obtained job while UCD Within 2 mos. Within 4 mos. Within 6 mos. While a majority (56%) of full-time employed graduates indicated that they worked in private business or industry, substantial proportions worked in an educational institution (19%), for the government or military (11%) or for a nonprofit organization (11%)(Figure 10). 9
Figure 10: Type of Organization by Which Employed % of full-time employed Nonprofit Organization 11% Government/Military 11% Self-Employed 3% Educational Institution 19% Business/Industry 56% Careers Respondents were asked to select the career category that best described their current position. As in previous years, respondents most often indicated that they worked in the biological or health sciences (18%). Even though UC Davis does not offer a traditional business major, more than a quarter (26%) of graduates worked in finance, banking, marketing, and general business administration. Another 10% described their work as administrative support. (The percentage who placed themselves in this category doubled compared to 1996 and 1999 graduates: this could be due to a change in terminology from secretary/clerk to administrative support.) Table 6: Full-time Occupation of Respondents One Year after Graduation Occupation Total (n=661) n Women (n=426) n Men (n=235) Biological/Health Scientist/Technician 18% 120 21% 88 14% 32 Finance/Accountant/Banker 10% 69 10% 42 11% 27 Administrative Support 10% 68 11% 46 9% 22 Educator/Teacher 10% 63 12% 53 4% 10 Sales/Marketing Professional 9% 61 9% 38 10% 23 Engineer/Architect 9% 58 5% 22 15% 36 General Business Administrator 7% 46 8% 36 4% 10 Computer/Math/Physical Scientist 6% 41 4% 17 10% 24 Social Scientist/Service Professional 6% 39 7% 31 3% 8 Agricultural/Environmental Scientist/Manager 4% 29 4% 17 5% 12 Legal Services/Law Enforcement/Military 4% 24 3% 11 6% 13 Artist/Designer/Writer/Performer 2% 14 2% 9 2% 5 Other 4% 29 4% 16 6% 13 10 n
Careers by Gender As in former years, more men than women began careers in engineering (15% vs. 5%) and in computer, math, or physical science fields (10% vs. 4%). Conversely, women more often worked in biological and health fields (21% vs. 14%) and as educators (12% vs. 4%). Salaries One year after graduation, the annual mean salary of full-time employed June 2002 graduates was $34,500, a decrease of about 11% from the mean salary of June 1999 graduates. Adjusted for inflation, the mean salary of June 2002 graduates a year later was 17% lower than the mean salary of the June 1999 cohort. The median salary for full-time employed 2002 graduates one year later was $32,000; the corresponding median for 1999 graduates was $34,500. Salaries by Gender and Occupation Table 7: Mean Annual Salaries of Full-time Employed Graduates TOTAL MEN WOMEN OCCUPATION Amount n Amount n Amount n Total $34, 400 635 $39, 200 225 $31, 800 410 Engineer/Architect $47, 200 57 $48, 400 35 $45, 400 22 Computer/Math/Physical Scientist $45, 000 40 $47, 800 24 $41, 000 16 Finance/Accountant/Banker $42, 800 65 $52, 800 25 $36, 600 40 General Business Administrator $36, 900 44 $35, 200 9 $37, 300 35 Legal Services/Law Enforcement/Military $35, 900 24 $39, 300 13 $31, 800 11 Sales/Marketing Professional $35, 800 57 $39, 400 21 $33, 700 36 Artist/Designer/Writer/Performer $32, 700 12 $34, 800 4 $31, 600 8 Agricultural/Environmental Scientist/Manager $31, 200 29 $35, 400 12 $28, 300 17 Administrative Support $28, 200 66 $30, 200 21 $27, 200 45 Biological/Health Scientist/Technician $29, 600 115 $28, 800 31 $30, 000 84 Educator/Teacher $29, 100 61 $31, 000 10 $28, 700 51 Social Scientist/Service Professional $26, 800 39 $31, 600 8 $25, 500 31 Other $26, 600 26 $28, 900 12 $24, 600 14 Consistent with past surveys of recent UC Davis graduates, women reported salaries that were about four-fifths (81%) those received by men. Part of this differential was attributable to lower proportions of women in the highest-paying fields (engineering; computers, math and physical sciences) and their predominance in less-generously compensated fields (biological and health sciences; education; social sciences and services). Even within most fields, however, women received lower salaries than their male counterparts: exceptions were occupations in general business administration or biological and health sciences. 11
Employment in Chosen Field Factors other than job type and salary may shed light on the extent to which June 2002 graduates were able to meet their employment goals. One consideration is whether graduates were able to secure employment in their chosen field. Seventy-two percent of these graduates who were employed full-time were successful in this regard. (This figure excludes 13% of respondents who had not chosen a career field.) Although the proportion varied from a high of 86% of graduates from the College of Engineering to 60% of those graduating from the Division of Social Sciences, a majority of graduates from all undergraduate divisions were able to find employment in their chosen field. Table 8: Graduates Employed Full-time in Field of Choice Percent Employed in Field of Choice Total 72% 579 Engineering 86% 72 Environmental Sciences 83% 30 Agricultural Sciences 78% 44 Human Sciences 76% 115 Biological Sciences 74% 97 Humanities, Arts & Cultural Studies 68% 38 Mathematical & Physical Sciences 68% 28 Social Sciences 60% 153 n Another dimension of employment for graduates is the correspondence between their current employment and their undergraduate field of study. Of course, not all graduates seek jobs in occupations related to their undergraduate majors. The majority graduates working full-time (60%) described their jobs and majors as highly related or moderately related. Graduates from majors in the environmental sciences or engineering were most likely to have a position related to their undergraduate major (Figure 11). 12
Figure 11: Employment Highly/Moderately Related to Major by Undergraduate Division % of full-time employed Environmental Sciences Engineering 79% 77% Agricultural Sciences Human Sciences Biological Sciences Mathematical & Physical Sciences 70% 69% 65% 64% Humanities, Arts & Cultural Studies Social Sciences 45% 44% 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% Nearly three-quarters (73%) of respondents rated their satisfaction with their current position as very satisfied or satisfied. Figure 12: Job Satisfaction % of full-time employed Very dissatisfied 3% Dissatisfied 7% Very satisfied 27% Neutral 17% Satisfied 46% Preparation for Employment Most (93%) June 2002 graduates who were working full-time felt that they were at least adequately prepared for their present position, and a majority (56%) felt that they were very well prepared or more than adequately prepared (Table 9). On a scale of 5 (very well prepared) to 1 (poorly prepared), these recent graduates gave their preparation for employment a mean rating of 3.74. 13
While somewhat lower than the overall rating given by June 1999 graduates (3.80), the difference is neither substantial nor statistically significant. Ratings by graduates who had majored in the biological sciences were especially high. Table 9: Preparation for Present Position by Undergraduate Division Very well/ More than adequately Adequately Less than adequately/ Poorly n Mean Rating TOTAL 56% 37% 7% 656 3.74 Biological Sciences 69% 24% 8% 105 3.91 Environmental Sciences 55% 42% 3% 33 3.79 Human Sciences 54% 40% 5% 129 3.78 Social Sciences 57% 35% 8% 191 3.77 Humanities, Arts & Cultural Studies 54% 35% 10% 48 3.71 Mathematical & Physical Sciences 46% 46% 7% 28 3.64 Engineering 46% 46% 7% 71 3.55 Agricultural Sciences 47% 43% 10% 49 3.47 Historically, recent graduates have rated UC Davis higher on preparation for graduate education than on preparation for employment. While June 2002 graduates concurred with this assessment, the difference between their ratings on these two facets of education was smaller than for previous cohorts. Over time the difference between these two ratings has fallen steadily, from 0.66 in 1976 to 0.40 in 2002. 5.00 Figure 13: Preparation for Activities of June 2002 Graduates Mean Ratings of Enrolled and Full-Time Employed Postgraduate Education Employment 4.21 4.29 4.37 4.22 4.20 4.23 4.29 4.14 4.00 3.69 3.78 3.73 3.68 3.73 3.80 3.74 3.55 3.00 1979 1983 1987 1990 1993 1996 1999 2002 14
APPENDIX 1 Background The Office of Student Affairs Research and Information (SARI) has conducted surveys of recent graduates periodically since 1977. These surveys provide valuable information for both prospective students and external stakeholders and for campus decision makers. The first survey was conducted to meet a requirement of the Guaranteed Student Loan Program for colleges to provide information to prospective students about the employment and salaries of graduates. Since then the survey has expanded to gather information about the postgraduate educational attainment of graduates, their assessment of the degree to which UC Davis prepared them for careers and postgraduate study, and their satisfaction with various aspects of the undergraduate experience at UC Davis. Occasionally items have been included in the questionnaire to address contemporaneous campus interests and concerns. Although the survey of recent graduates has evolved since its inception in 1977, certain core questions have remained unchanged, allowing for longitudinal comparisons of results over time. Additionally, the survey has been conducted as a census of a graduating cohort (whether a calendar year, an academic year, or a June graduating class). Since response rates have been reasonably high (from 43% to 65%), the number of responses has been large enough to support analysis by gender, ethnicity, admit level, and academic unit (college, division, and some majors). Response Rates From June through October 2003, SARI implemented a survey of June 2002 baccalaureate recipients. The June 2002 graduating class numbered 2748; the AIS database provided current addresses for 2410 of these graduates, and the remainder were contacted at their last permanent address on record. By October 2003, 1169 June 2002 graduates had responded, and 52 surveys were returned as undeliverable for a final response rate of 43%. Survey Methodology The survey of June 2002 baccalaureate recipients was delivered both electronically and by postal service. Graduates whose records included e-mail addresses (1066 or 39%) were contacted by email with a message from Chancellor Vanderhoff and a link to the online survey on June 11 th and again on June 13 th. Nearly half of the e-mail addresses were defunct or otherwise undeliverable. Of the 558 e-mails contacts that were successfully made, 159 graduates (28%) had responded to the online survey by June 20. All non-respondents were mailed a copy of the questionnaire with a cover letter from Chancellor Vanderhoff on June 24, 2003. An Aggie decal provided by the Development Office was included as an incentive to participate in the survey. This mailing also included instructions on how to respond to the survey online for those who preferred that medium. The postal mailing of the questionnaire was followed by a reminder postcard two weeks later. A second mailing containing a cover letter and another copy of the questionnaire was sent to all remaining non-respondents on July 23 followed again by a reminder postcard several weeks later. 15
By the end of October, 1169 graduates completed a questionnaire: 347 chose to respond electronically and 822 responded by postal service. Representativeness of Responses As displayed in the accompanying table, the respondents were reasonably representative of the underlying population of June 2002 baccalaureate recipients. The primary bias consisted of a disproportionate response by females. Although the sample represents known dimensions of the population and the response rate is within acceptable standards for this type of research, the usual care should be taken when making inferences from the sample to the population. Especially when examining analyses of subgroups, the size of the groups and the variance of the responses should be taken into account. 16
APPENDIX 2 Characteristics of Survey Respondents Gender Population (N=2748) Respondent (N=1169) Female 59% 66% Male 41% 34% Ethnicity White/Caucasian 47% 49% Asian/Asian American 34% 33% Chicano/Mexican American 6% 5% Unknown 6% 7% Latino/Other Spanish American 2% 2% Black/African American 2% 2% Other 2% 2% American Indian/Alaskan Native 1% 1% Standing at Admission New from High School 72% 74% Advanced Standing 28% 26% College Letters & Science 44% 42% Agricultural & Environmental Sciences 28% 30% Biological Sciences 18% 18% Engineering 10% 10% Division Social Sciences 32% 30% Biological Sciences 18% 19% Human Sciences 18% 18% Engineering 10% 10% Humanities, Arts & Cultural Studies 8% 8% Agricultural Sciences 7% 8% Mathematical & Physical Sciences 4% 4% Environmental Sciences 3% 3% UC Davis Mean GPA 3.12 3.16 (Standard deviation) 0.42 0.41 17
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