Institutional Research and Planning Room 306 1871 Old Main Drive Shippensburg, PA 17257 Phone: (717)-477-1154 Fax: (717)-477-4077 irp@ship.edu

Annual Graduate Follow-up Survey In 1997, the State System of Higher Education undertook a study to collect information from recent baccalaureate graduates of the 14 State System of Higher Education universities. A survey was administered, focusing on the academic experiences and current activities of individuals who graduated from Pennsylvania's State System universities in December 1995, May 1996, and August 1996. Alumni responses indicated that both SU and system-wide alumni were pleased with the education and preparation they received, with SU being rated higher on all elements of the educational experience and its impact on skills than the overall system. SU alumni rated all skills as more important than did their system-wide counterparts; furthermore, responses indicated that SU impacted these skills more substantially than the system universities. When gap scores were calculated based on the difference between importance and impact scores, SU showed smaller gap scores than the system-wide institutions, indicating that SU did an above average job of meeting the needs of its former students. Nearly one fourth of all the alumni were involved in further education. Both alumni groups felt that their universities prepared them more than adequately for their subsequent education, with SU alumni giving their university higher ratings along this dimension than system-wide alumni. Placement rates for both groups of alumni were very high (96.3%). Almost two thirds of alumni in both groups were employed in their field of study. SU and system-wide alumni took about the same amount of time to attain their first job after graduation, and salaries for members of both groups were about the same. Again, SU alumni rated their university higher than those system-wide concerning preparation for employment. SU alumni also reported higher levels of satisfaction than their SSHE counterparts with the quality of education they received at their university.