GMU Office of Institutional Assessment

Vol. 3, No. 4, November 1998

Satisfaction Rises Among Mason's '98 Graduating Seniors
A Preliminary Report on the 1997-98 Graduating Senior Survey

I. Introduction

Each year, the Office of Institutional Assessment (OIA), in cooperation with academic departments and the Registrar's Office, surveys Mason's graduating seniors. This report provides a review of seniors' levels of satisfaction with experiences at Mason over the past five years. Satisfaction declined among seniors in 1996 and in particular 1997, but rose in 1998 (see Table 1 below). Higher satisfaction in 1998 is a return to levels expressed by seniors in 1994 and 1995.

Table 1. Five Year (1994-1998) Satisfaction Ratings Summary

Proportion "Very" or "Somewhat" Satisfied

Satisfaction at Mason	1994 Very %	1994 Somewhat %	1995 Very %	1995 Somewhat %	1996 Very %	1996 Somewhat %	1997 Very %	1997 Somewhat %	1998 Very %	1998 Somewhat %
Education in general	43	52	45	52	32	60	31	60	46	49
Education in major field	40	34	60	35	43	48	42	47	57	37
Advising in major field*	29	42	37	40	24	41	24	39	29	40
University support services	21	50	27	47	15	48	16	42	25	49
Campus Life	7	46	10	43	7	38	7	32	10	46
Sense of belonging to Mason community	11	38	14	38	10	35	10	29	12	39
Overall GMU experience	na^	na	na	na	21	59	21	57	35	56

*Prior to 1997 the question read "departmental support services (e.g. advising)." ^Na means the question not asked in those years.

II. Why Do Satisfaction Ratings At Mason Fluctuate?

Survey Response Rates
It is beyond the scope of this report to explain precisely such sharp fluctuations in satisfaction ratings, but there are several possible explanations related both to changes at the institution as well as the survey response rate. This year's 1,097 responding seniors represents 40% of all fall 1997, spring and summer 1998 graduating seniors. Similarly, in 1997, a 41% response rate was achieved, 46% in 1996, 45% in 1995 and 44% in 1994. Such modest response rates may increase the variability of satisfaction ratings from year to year. Further, students from various departments, schools and colleges express different levels of satisfaction. The response rates across schools are not always consistent from year to year and the levels of satisfaction in any given school vary from year to year as well.

Table 2: Did You Know?

1. The 1998-99 survey will continue to be on-line with the electronic graduation application process.

2. College-level reports will be prepared. However, departmental and program reports will be prepared only by special request. Table 3 lists the number of survey respondents by department and school. Use these numbers and response rates as a guide to determine whether a report would be warranted in your academic area. E-mail your request for a report to Institutional Assessment at assessmt@gmu.edu.

Reorganization
Significant changes have been underway at Mason in the last few years. Lower levels of satisfaction among the 1996 and 1997 graduates appear to have been partly the result of the reorganization in the School of Management (SOM). For example, only 13% of the SOM students were "very satisfied" with their education in their major field in 1996 compared to 48% of all graduating senior respondents in that year. The impact of reorganization seemed to continue through 1997 when 29% of SOM students were "very satisfied" with their education in their major field compared to 42% among all respondents. However, in 1998, 42% of SOM students said they were "very satisfied" with their education in their major field.

Renovations and Building
Some students have indicated that the disruption caused by the construction of the Johnson Center, creating messy conditions and longer routes to class and to the parking lots, was a source of dissatisfaction. While occupancy of the Johnson Center began in Fall 1995, the 1996 graduating seniors experienced the down side, but few of the benefits of the Center prior to graduation. The temporary shifting of many student services from Krug to Enterprise Hall, due to renovations of Krug Hall, from November 1995 to September 1996 may have inconvenienced students as well.

Attention to Campus Life
Finally, steps taken to improve campus life and satisfaction such as the naming of a Vice Provost for University Life in 1996 and the advent of such activities as "University Listening Days" may have given students a new avenue to express their concerns which in and of itself may have resulted in greater levels of satisfaction with the institution. If the results of the 1998 survey, in which more students were satisfied with campus life than in the previous two years, are the beginning of a trend, then we may be seeing the fruit of increased attention to students' concerns and needs.

Table 3. Number of 1997-98* Graduating Senior Survey Respondents by School/College and Major
		# of Respondents	# of Graduates*	Response Rate (%)
College of Arts and Sciences		358	1,408	25%
	Administration of Justice	15	78	19%
	Anthropology	9	27	33
	Art History	3	6	50
	Biology	29	146	20
	Chemistry	4	14	29
	Classical Studies	0	1	0
	Communication	64	179	36
	Earth Systems Science	2	13	15
	Economics	11	50	22
	English	41	187	22
	Geography	1	11	9
	Geology	0	2	0
	Government & Politics	20	89	23
	History	25	81	31
	International Studies	18	87	21
	Mathematics	11	13	85
	Medical Technology	0	3	0
	Modern/Classical Languages	3	31	10
	Music	2	20	10
	Philosophy	3	15	20
	Physics	0	3	0
	Psychology	76	268	28
	Public Administration	7	28	25
	Russian Studies	1	8	13
	Sociology	13	44	30
	Study of the Americas	0	4	0
Graduate School of Education		11	77	14%
	Health Education	0	1	0
	Health, Fit. & Rec. Resources+	8	43	19
	Physical Education	3	33	9
Institute of the Arts		35	53	66%
	Art Studio	23	42	55
	Dance	8	5	100+^
	Theatre	4	6	67
New Century College (NCC)		48	131	37%
	Bachelor of Indiv. Studies, BIS	27	74	37
	Integrative Studies, BAIN	3	13	23
	Integrative Studies, BSIN	0	1	0
	Interdisciplinary Studies, BAIS	1	6	17
	Social Work	17	37	46
College of Nursing and Health Science Nursing		121	200	61%
School of Management		281	654	43%
	Accounting	54	156	35
	Business Administration	15	24	63
	Decision Sciences/MIS	101	242	42
	Finance	44	91	48
	Management	29	65	45
	Marketing	38	76	50
Information Technology & Engineering		64	206	31%
	Computer Science	17	118	14
	Electrical Engineering	42	64	66
	Systems Engineering	4	8	50
	Urban Systems Engineering	1	16	6

Unknown		179	0	0
Totals 1997-98:		1,097	2,729	40%
* Fall 1997, spring and summer 1998 respondents. ^ A response rate of more than 100% most likely represents errors in student reporting. + Includes Parks, Rec. and Leisure Studies graduates.

III. A Word About Advising

Satisfaction with advising is consistently low over the five year period examined in this study. An average of only 29% of each cohort of graduating seniors reported being "very" satisfied with advising, while an average of 40% reported being "somewhat" satisfied. Further, Mason alumni who graduated in 1993-94 were even more dissatisfied. Surveyed in 1997, three years after graduation, only 13% of alumni said they were "very" satisfied, while 28% reported being "somewhat" satisfied with advising. This same cohort of alumni (graduating seniors in 1993-94) was more satisfied with advising at graduation (30% "very" satisfied) than three years later. Question wording changes, low alumni response rates and shifting of opinion as life experiences change may account for some of this difference.

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