The student survey is an integral component of the UHV assessment system. Students Opinion Survey and Alumni Survey, two major surveys which assess the students’ satisfaction of the institutional services, are conducted by Student Services and the IR office every other year. The second Alumni Survey was conducted in November 2001 (The first one was conducted in 1999). ACT Alumni survey was used as the instrument. The results were analyzed and compared to the national norm provided by ACT.

METHODOLOGY:

Sampling:

The alumni survey in 2001 sampled students who graduated from fall 1998 to fall 2000. A list of alumni provided by UH Development Office was reviewed and matched with UH RORDAT of students graduating during the same period. 805 surveys were sent out on November, 2001 to all UHV alumni in the U.S., of which 35% (278) were alumni of School of Arts and Sciences, 22% (179) of Division of Business, 43% (348) of the Division of Education. Seventy-two per percent (582) of them were female, and 28% (223) male, 60% (481) undergraduates and 40% graduates.

Ten surveys were rejected due to an invalid addresses. 166 of the 795 surveys were returned by January 2002, for a return rate of 21%. Among the respondents, 50% (83) were from Education, 26% (43) from Business, and 24% (38) from Arts and Sciences; 53 % (87) undergraduate and 46%(76) graduate students.  ACT provided the data for national norms. Surveys returned after January 15 were not included in the analysis.

Instrument:

ACT Alumni Survey includes 5 sections: background information, continuing education, college experiences, employment history, and additional questions.

The purpose of the survey is to assess the impact college has on the graduates.

Additional questions are designed by individual schools. Two separate sets of questions are distributed to the alumni of the School of Business and the School of Education. The survey is accompanied by a cover letter from the dean of the school from which the student graduated.

Analysis:

ACT tabulated the data. The results of the total group and 12 sub-groups: School of Education, School of Business, and School of Arts and Sciences, undergraduate, graduate, full-time, part-time, male, female, Black, White and Hispanic, are provided by ACT. However, ACT changed the categories of some variables (income) in 2001. Since UHV used a combination of forms, ACT can only generate two separate reports. IR office re-ran the report by excluding the variables with different categories. The total group and three sub-groups are included in the report. Other sub-groups are available, but not included in the report due to the volume.

ACT also provides the national norms for the survey. The norms of two sub-groups, public 4-year colleges and 4-year colleges size 2000-5999, are used as comparison data, since the institutions included in these two groups are more similar to UHV than institutions in other sub-groups. The results of the total group and 3 sub-groups, School of Education, School of Business, and School of Arts and Sciences, are compared to the national normative data. The distributions of the scores are provided. Means are calculated when necessary and compared to the normative data. None of the items are significantly different from the norms.

RESULTS HIGHLIGHT:

Section I. Background information:

Of the 166 respondents:

• 52.4% are undergraduate degree holders and 45.8% are graduate degree holders.
• 72.9% are female, 25.3% are male, 82.5% are White, 5.4% are Black, and 7.2% are Hispanic.
• 40% are over 40 years old.
• Over 98% of them were in-state students and 45% of them were enrolled part-time while attending UHV.
• 37% attended UHV for up to 2 years, 49% attended UHV for 3-4 years, and 12% attended UHV for over 5 years.
• 95% of the respondents are currently living in Texas.
• 24% of the respondents plan to attend UHV in the future, 32% do not plan to attend UHV in the future, and the others are uncertain.

Compared to the national norm, UHV alumni are older and attend UHV for a shorter period of time due to the type of institution it is. A higher percentage of them were part-time students while attending college. A higher percent of them have a Master's degree, are currently located in Texas.  They are less likely to say that they do not plan to attend this institution in the future.

Section II. Continuing Education:

About 50% of the respondents replied to this section. Of those who responded:

• Five main reasons for continuing education for UHV alumni are (ranked from the most selected): to increase earning power (32.9%), to obtain/maintain certification (20%), self-improvement (20%), to learn a new occupation (15.7%), job requirements (8.6%).
• UHV alumni recognize the role UHV plays in preparing them for their continuing education. All of those who responded to this item think UHV prepared them adequately, more than adequately, or very well for their continuing education (2.c) 
• 30% of the respondents plan to obtain a doctoral or professional degree, 47% plan to obtain a Master's degree, while 16% have no plan to obtain a higher degree.
• 59% of the respondents have not accumulated any continuing education SCH. Of those who have, 44% have less than 10 SCH, 16% have 11 to 30 SCH, and 6% have more than 30 SCH, while 33% of them are taking course for non-credit.

Compared to the national norms, UHV alumni evaluated UHV's role highly in preparing them for their continuing education (2c). A high percentage of UHV alumni plan to obtain a doctoral or professional degree (2d). However, the CE SCH accumulated by UV alumni is lower than the norm data (2e). A higher percentage of UHV alumni participate in continuing education on a part-time basis, which can be explained by the characteristics of UHV alumni listed in section I.

III. College Experiences:

This section assesses the college choice, alumni experience and college contribution to personal growth.

• 87% of the respondents chose UHV as their first choice of admission.
• 80% would choose to attend UHV if they could start college over.
• 75% would choose the same major if they could start college over.
• 30% think the quality of education provided by UHV is better than other institutions, 44% think it is about the same, while only 2% say that the quality of UHV is worse compared to other colleges.
• Over 90% believe that their college education has improved the quality of their life.
• The main reason UHV alumni chose to attend UHV is the location (78%). 8% chose UHV because of the programs/academic reputation.
• The major funding sources to attend UHV are: personal savings (36%), student loans (22%), spouse (21%), and scholarships (18%).

Compared to the national norms, a much higher percentage of UHV alumni attended UHV as the institution of their first choice (3a). UHV alumni are more satisfied with their choice of attending UHV. A higher percentage of UHV alumni think they would choose the same college and the same major if they could start over again (3.b, 3.c). A much higher percentage of UHV alumni chose UHV because of the location, while a comparatively lower percentage of them chose UHV because of the program and academic reputation (3f).

• Alumni program and services (3h): Less than 50% of respondents to the survey responded to the questions concerning alumni programs. The average scores of those who responded to these items and norms are listed below:
  (3-point scale from 3 as “Very Good” to 1 as “ Poor “)

• Contribution of Education of this college to personal growth (3i):  Over 50% of respondents think UHV has contributed very much to the following areas: planning and carrying out projects (54%), persisting at difficult tasks (52%), and writing effectively (51%). Over 50% of the respondents think that UHV has contributed very little to the areas of managing personal finance (55), caring for one's own physical/mental health (54), and understanding/ appreciating the arts (51).

The five areas ranked highest by UHV alumni are: Writing effectively, Planning and carrying out projects, Understanding the interaction of people and environment, Persisting at difficult tasks, Working cooperatively in a group. Following are the average scores and the ranking of college contribution to each area:
(3-point scale from 3 as “Very Much” to 1 as “Very Little”)

IV. Employment History:

This section includes current employment status, information about the first job, and information about the current job.

• 86% of the respondents are currently employed full-time, part-time or self-employed, 7% are continuing their education.
• About the first job:
• The major sources (4b) for learning about their first job are employer recruitment (18.1), other students (13%), newspaper (12%), and 45% from other sources.
• The major problems related to the first job listed by the UHV alumni are: finding the job where they are paid enough (15%), finding the job which they want (15%) or for which they were trained (10%). This distribution is similar to the norms.
• About 50% of respondents indicated that they obtained their first job before they graduated, which is much higher than the norms (33%, 35%).
• Only 8% of respondents responded to the questions related to unemployment. Over half of them indicated that they did not desire employment at this time.
• Over 40% of respondents think UHV prepared them very well for their occupations, which is much higher than the norms (30%, 31%).  11% indicated that UHV prepared them poorly or not at all for their present job, which is similar to the norms (12%, 12%).
• 75% indicated that their current occupations are closely or moderately related to their college majors, which is higher than the norms (64%, 62%). Only 6% indicated that their job is not related to their major.
• 28% of the respondents feel that they are currently under-employed, similar to the norms (28%, 27%).
• Generally the respondents are satisfied with their jobs. Following are the average scores of assessing job satisfaction, compared to the normative data.
  (5-point scale from 5 as “Very Satisfied” to 1 as “Very Dissatisfied”)

 Discussion

• Compared to the survey in 1999, the composition of 2001 cohort is similar to that of 1999. Most respondents in 2001 cohort have graduated within 2 years of when the survey was conducted. A higher percentage of 2001 cohort attended UHV longer than two years. In 1999 45% of the respondents attended UHV for two years or less, while in 2001 37% attended UHV for two years or less.
• As the previous cohort, less than 50% of 2001 cohort responded to the questions related to continuing education. The major reasons for participating in continuing education are to increase earning power or to obtain a license. Those who participated in continuing education because of job requirements decreased from 19% in 1999 to 9% in 2001, while those for self-improvement increased from 13% in 1999 to 20% in 2001. There is also a higher percentage of respondents accumulating SCH from continuing education: 66% in 2001 compared to 51% in 1999.
• As the previous cohort, respondents in 2001 are satisfied with their choice of  UHV: for over 90% UHV is the first choice, and over 75% would choose the same school and the same major if they had to choose again. Although the primary reason for attending UHV is its location, a higher percentage (30%) of respondents in 2001 believe that the quality of education at UHV is better than other colleges, compared to 1999 (25%).
• Only a small proportion of respondents answered the questions related to Alumni experience. Significant differences between the two years in some variables exist. The following items are rated significantly higher in 2001 at a significance level of 0.1: publication, fundraising, and campus tour program.
• Compared to 1999, 2001 cohort has a more positive view of their educational experiences at UHV. Some items related to the college experiences are rated significantly higher in 2001. The means of “Understanding different cultures” and “Understanding the interaction of people and environment” are significantly higher at the significance level of 0.05 and the means of the following items are significantly higher at a significance level of 0.1: working independently, learning on your own, caring for mental and physical health, working cooperatively in a group, planning and carrying out projects, organizing time effectively, and leading others. No items are significantly lower than 1999.
• Compared to 1999, a higher percentage of 2001 cohort held a job prior to their graduation, as well as holding one job since graduation. The percentage of those who think that UHV prepared them well or adequately for their current job decreased from 85% to 78% and those who indicate that their current occupation is highly or moderately related to their major decreased from 85% to 75%. However these figures are higher in both years compared to the national norms. No significant difference is detected between 1999 and 2001 concerning the satisfaction of the respondents with their current job.

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