Reported Gains by Graduating Seniors, Spring 1997

Data Summary #175

Measurement and Research Services at Texas A&M University

Prepared by: Mark E. Troy, Cathy E. Cantrell and Jean S. Whitaker

Sample

A random sample of 624 names was drawn from the population of seniors who had met all the requirements for graduation in May, 1997. The sample was stratified on gender and ethnicity . At least three attempts were made to contact each student by telephone during the Spring semester, 1997. A total of 239 or 38% of the sample, was actually contacted and interviewed.

Survey

The survey consisted of a total of forty items. A subset of twenty-three items were taken from the College Student Experiences Questionnaire (CSEQ) by C. Robert Pace. These items asked students to estimate their gains in specific academic areas. The CSEQ items were selected because normative data from other doctoral granting universities are available.

CSEQ/Norms

The CSEQ was initially published in 1979 following two years of development and testing under a grant from the Spencer Foundation. The current edition was revised in 1992. The norms are based on responses of 8669 students in 18 doctoral-granting universities. Strictly speaking, it is not a representative norm group. In the 1987 manual and norm book, Pace states that "Our aim was to select a reasonable assortment of colleges, and ones that had distributed the CSEQ to a broadly representative group of undergraduates." (p.85). Pace argues that the number of students and institutions makes for a reasonable level of stability in the results.

In making comparisons with the norm group, it would be well to keep in mind some differences between the norms and TAMU. In the norm group, 32% of the students are seniors, whereas all of the TAMU sample are seniors. The norm group is 58% female, whereas TAMU is 46% female. The ethnic composition of the two groups is also somewhat different. The norm group has larger percentages of blacks and Asian Pacific Islanders (7% and 19%) than the TAMU sample (2.5% and 5%), and smaller representation of white students and Hispanics (65% and 4% respectively) than the TAMU sample (84% and 8.5%). How these differences would affect the results is unknown.

Figure 1: Reported Gains by TAMU Graduating Seniors Compared with Students at Other Doctoral Institutions, 1997

In response to the question: "In thinking over your experience in college up to now, please indicate to what extent you feel you have made progress in each of the following respects: very much, quite a bit, some, very little.

Results

In most areas, more Texas A&M students reported making considerable gains than did students in the norm group. More specifically, in 13 areas, the gains reported by TAMU students are significantly greater than the norm group. The areas with the highest reported gains are:

• Learn On one's Own,
• Analytical Thinking,
• Self-Understanding,
• Put Ideas Together,
• Career Relevant Information,
• Being a Team Member,
• Computer Familiarity,
• Quantitative Thinking,
• Specialized Education,
• Understanding Science,
• Understand Experiment,
• Understanding Others,
• Technology Application.

In the following two areas, the gains reported by TAMU students are significantly less than those of the norm group:

• Enjoying Literature,
• Enjoyment of Art Music Drama,

These results are consistent with the survey results from the previous year. For specific comparisons with previous years, please see Measurement and Research Services Data Summaries: #162 (1996), #157(1995).

The responses are the students' own self-reports of gains and, as such, should be interpreted as indicators of relative satisfaction with their education at Texas A&M University. The data should not be confused with actual measurements of real gains. The results do, however, indicate that Texas A&M graduating seniors generally have a higher degree of satisfaction with their education than students at other doctoral universities.

Doctoral Institutions Providing Norm Data:

Pace, C. R., (1992).

College Student Experiences Questionnaire: Norms for the Third edition, 1990.

The Center for the Study of Evaluation, Graduate School of Education, University of California, Los Angeles.

Pace, C. R. (1987).

CSEQ: Test Manual and Norms, College Student Experiences Questionnaire.

The Center for the Study of Evaluation, Graduate School of Education, University of California, Los Angeles.

For a hard copy of this report, contact Measurement and Research Services, 845-0532 or email Mark Troy

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