Summary of FDTC's Graduate Survey 2001

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Below are the results of Florence-Darlington Technical College's (FDTC's) annual Graduate Evaluation Survey administered to all 2000-2001 graduates in attendance at graduation rehearsal May 17, 2001. Four hundred twenty-four (424) students completed the survey. Highlights of the survey are listed below. The report of statistics related to the full report is attached for your further review.

Graduate Considerations of FDTC and the Future

  • Purpose for attending FDTC - 69.3% of graduates stated that they attended FDTC to prepare for career advancement representing 5% increase in this choice over last year's report.
  • The top three factors influencing students' decisions to attend FDTC were identified as its convenient location, cost and the choices in the academic programs.
  • Approximately 18% identified friends/relatives as influential factors in choosing FDTC.
  • 94% of FDTC graduates stated that they had accomplished their academic goal.
  • 80% of FDTC's 2001 graduates said that in the future they would consider choosing FDTC to upgrade job skills or change careers.
  • 65% described that their present job is related to their current academic award.
  • 60% of FDTC's 2001 graduates told us that they plan to be working the Pee Dee region in ten years.
  • 51.4% said their immediate plans following graduation were to find a new job.

Student Services

Graduates rated Student Services with the differentiations noted below.

  • Admissions services - 79% Excellent to Good
  • Registrar Services - 70.1% Excellent to Good
  • Career Services - 58% Excellent to Good
  • Job Placement - 52.5% Excellent to Good
  • Financial Aid- 58.7% Excellent to Good
  • ASAP Center - 58.5% Excellent to Good
  • Class Center Services - 55.2 % Excellent to Good
  • Library Services - 71% Excellent to Good.

Educational Programs

Students stated the following observations about their educational programs:

  • General Education - 80.7% Excellent to Good
  • Course Content in program area - 80.2% Excellent to Good
  • Quality of Instruction - 71.7% Excellent to Good
  • College Transfer Procedures - 65.1% Excellent to Good
  • Classroom Facilities - 74.3% Excellent to Good
  • Laboratory Facilities - 68.7% Excellent to Good
  • Preparation in written Communication skills - 76.9% Excellent to Good
  • Preparation in general computer skills - 75.4% Excellent to Good

Education Contribution to Personal Growth

Student responses to the question, "How did your educational experience at FDTC contribute to your personal growth?" are as follows:

  • Comprehension of written material and documents - 86% Very Much to Some
  • Organizational skills - 87.8% Very Much to Some
  • Determining personal and career goals - 87.3% Very Much to Some
  • Working cooperatively - 88.2% Very Much to Some
  • Understanding different philosophies and cultures - 78.3% Very Much to Some
  • Decision making skills - 88% Very Much to Some
  • Developing job hunting skills in your area of education - 83.5% Very Much to some

Optional Questions on Distance Learning Experiences

Graduates having taken any type of Distance Learning course at FDTC were asked to respond to our additional questions. One hundred seventy-six students responded to the questions. Their answers are summarized below. Questions twelve and thirteen could be answered with more than one choice.

The 2001 FDTC graduates who took Distance Learning courses took the following types of courses in the following:

  • Internet - 77.3%
  • Interactive TV - 24.4%
  • Cable TV - 5.7%

The following are the reasons for taking Distance Learning courses:

  • Convenience - 50%
  • Unable to fit class into class schedule - 34.7%
  • Could not have taken the course otherwise; could not get to campus - 21%

Of the sources for information listed, the following responses were ranked:

  1. Radio - 1.1%
  2. Advisor - 47.2%
  3. FDTC Website - 9%
  4. Line Schedule - 18.8%
  5. Other Students - 20.5%
  6. Other - 5%

Academic Advisors and other students were reported to be the two greatest sources of information on Distance Learning courses.

  • 75% of the Graduates having taken Distance Learning courses said they would take another Distance Learning class at FDTC.

Graduate Evaluation Statistics 2001

424 Graduates completed the Graduation Evaluation survey. Please keep in mind that not every student answered every question and that there were a number of questions that were designed to be answered with more than one response.

1. What was your purpose for attending FDTC?

  • Improvement of existing job skills - 8.0%
  • Preparation for career advancement - 69.3%
  • Transfer to a four year college University - 12.3%
  • Personal interest - 4.7%
  • Other - 5.2%

2. What factors below influenced your decision to attend FDTC?

Cost / 55.7%
Ease of admission / 13.9%
Convenient location / 57.3%
Convenient Scheduling / 13.4%
Campus Visit / 1.7%
Career Day/Expo / 1.4%
FDTC Catalog / 9.2%
FDTC Employee / 0.9%
Academic program / 35.4%
Friends/Relatives / 17.7%
High School Counselor / 4.2%
FDTC Website / 0.7%
Newspaper Ads & Inserts / 1.4%
TV/Radio Ads for FDTC / 1.7%
FDTC Recruiter Visit / 0.5%
Other / 7.1%

3. What are your immediate plans following graduation?

  • Maintain current job - 20%
  • Find a new job - 51.4%
  • Continue Education - 12.7%
  • What College or University?
  • What Major?
  • Other - 1.9%

yes / no
4. Did you accomplish your educational goal? / 94.1% / 5.2%
5. Is your job related to your current academicdegree/diploma/certificate? / 64.6% / 34.0%
6. Would you recommend FDTC to a friend or relative? / 85.4% / 13.4%
7. In the future, would you consider FDTC to upgrade job skills or change careers? / 80% / 9.3%
8. Ten years from not, do you plan to be working in the Pee Dee region? / 60.1% / 37.5%

9. Please rate your satisfaction with these college services.

Excellent / Good / Fair / Poor / NA
Admissions / 28.8% / 49.8% / 15.6% / 3.3% / 0.5%
Registration Process / 23.6% / 50.5% / 17.7% / 5.7% / 0.5%
Financial Aid / 25.2% / 33.5% / 18.2% / 6.8% / 15.8%
Career Services / 22.2% / 35.8% / 18.9% / 1.9% / 18.2%
Job Placement / 21.5% / 30.7% / 17.9% / 1.7% / 24.1%
Faculty Advisor / 39.6% / 34.2% / 18.9% / 5.7% / 1.7%
Library / 25.7% / 45.0% / 19.6% / 3.5% / 4.7%
Student Activities / 17.9% / 31.4% / 24.1% / 9.2% / 14.6%
ASAP Center / 26.4% / 32.1% / 17.0% / 3.1% / 18.2%
Registrar Services / 26.7% / 43.4% / 18.6% / 4.0% / 3.3%
Veterans Affairs / 13.0% / 22.6% / 7.8% / 1.2% / 46.7%
Class Center / 23.1% / 32.1% / 15.3% / 2.6% / 24.5%
Testing/Assessment Ctr. / 25.0% / 37.0% / 19.3% / 1.9% / 13.7%

10. Please rate the following concerning educational programs.

Programs / Excellent / Good / Fair / Poor / NA
General Education course content / 28.3% / 52.4% / 14.4% / 1.7% / 2.4%
Content in your program area / 32.1% / 48.1% / 13.9% / 4.0% / 0.2%
Course variety / 27.4% / 49.1% / 17.7% / 2.1% / 0.7%
Quality of instruction / 27.6% / 44.1% / 17.9% / 5.4% / 0.7%
Instructor availability outside of class / 30.9% / 41.3% / 18.4% / 5.7% / 1.7%
College transfer procedures / 24.5% / 40.6% / 15.3% / 4.5% / 11.8%
Preparation for future occupations / 32.3% / 48.6% / 15.1% / 2.4% / 2.4%
Classroom Facilities / 26.7% / 47.6% / 19.8% / 3.3% / 0.7%
Laboratory Facilities / 24.8% / 43.9% / 17.9% / 4.0% / 7.1%
Preparation in written communication skills / 26.4% / 50.5% / 17.7% / 1.9% / 1.9%
Preparation in general computer skills / 28.5% / 46.9% / 17.2% / 2.1% / 3.1%
Preparation in word processing skills / 27.6% / 46.7% / 14.9% / 2.1% / 6.6%

11. How much did your educational experience at FDTC contribute to your personal growth in each of the following areas?

Areas / Very Much / Some / Very Little / None / NA
Speaking effectively / 39.4% / 44.3% / 7.3% / 4.2% / 2.8%
Comprehension of written materials and documents / 38.0% / 48.1% / 7.3% / 3.1% / 1.4%
Understanding and applying math in daily life / 35.8% / 45.3% / 9.2% / 4.2% / 3.5%
Organizational skills / 40.6% / 47.2% / 7.5% / 2.8% / 1.2%
Determining personal and career goals / 46.0% / 41.3% / 7.3% / 2.1% / 1.4%
Developing job hunting skills in your area of education / 41.5% / 42.0% / 10.8% / 4.0% / 4.7%
Self confidence in expressing your ideas / 43.4% / 42.0% / 7.8% / 3.8% / 1.9%
Learning on your own / 46.9% / 42.9% / 5.7% / 2.1% / 0.9%
Working cooperatively with others / 44.6% / 43.6% / 7.5% / 1.4% / 1.2%
Understanding different philosophies and cultures / 34.9% / 43.4% / 10.4% / 5.2% / 3.5%
Developing self reliance / 42.2% / 42.5% / 9.2% / 2.8% / 1.2%
Problem solving skills / 40.1% / 46.5% / 7.8% / 2.4% / 1.9%
Decision making skills / 40.8% / 47.2% / 7.1% / 2.6% / 1.2%
Understanding of human relations / 39.9% / 44.8% / 8.5%