About the Undergraduate Survey - Question Definitions
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Question Subject |
Definition |
| Test Scores (ACT/SAT) | This allows us to produce complex distributions of the test scores within each University's major and deparment (i.e. Physics, Math, English ..) |
| 'Rate Yourself' (Not too bright - Super brilliant) | Since we do not believe that standardized test can in any way shape or form measure a person's aptitude in any given subject, using them to split satisfaction according to intelligence is a little silly. Each individual person has a good handle on their own aptitude within a given major. Such a personal rating is a more applicable comparison between a prospective student who thinks that they are smart to a current student who also thinks he/she is smart. (e.g. 40% of the current students who think they are super brilliant were satisfied with the University. Since you (a prospective student) think that you are super brilliant, there is a 40% chance you will be satisfied.) |
| Years Completed | Using this, we can track how satisfaction changes within a department/major over the course of the 'typcial 4year college stint'. |
| Year of Graduation | 'Safety' check. If a year of graduation is set prior to the current year, then it means that an alumni is taking the current student survey by mistake. |
| Gender | Using 'gender', we can show "20% of females who think they are super brilliant were satisfied", as opposed to "40% of people who think they are super brilliant were satisfied" |
| In/OutState/International | We can show how satisfaction differs between in-state, out of state, and international students. |
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We can plot each of the following variables against those described above.
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| Departmental Friendliness | How friendly is the department to international students? to women? to not so bright people? |
| Competitive | Inclusion of this variable was much debated due to its hazy meaning. What is competitiveness? In the end, we decided to include it, because, though hazy, the concept of competitiveness means the same to a high school student as it does to a college student, and thus would be understandable. |
| Faculty Accessibility | While many colleges boast the student-faculty ratio, many times professors do not want to teach, nor make themselves available for students. Our results characterize the faculty accessibility of specific department within a college. |
| Creativity | Does the department/major foster creativity? innovation? |
| Busywork | How much of the workload and courseload is unnecessary? |
| Scholastic Success | This question is included because in many classes & departments success is not related to hard work, effort, or understanding the material. It is dependent upon weaseling the professor, nagging, brown nosing, and just generally "working the system". |
| Quality of Major | Is the major worth your money? Overall. Is it any good? |
| Perceived Campus Safety | Because campus crime statistics carry so little useful information, and are rumored (rightly we think) to have been 'adjusted', this question attempts to guage how safe the students feel on campus -- independent of statistics. |
| University Resource Use | Do students think that the University waste the tuition money? Is it used to keep facilities intact, the campus maintained, and to acquire quality professors? |
| Campus Aesthetics | Is the campus visually pleasing? |
| Campus Maintenance | How is the campus maintained? How the campus is maintained reflects how the University treats its students. If it respects its students, the campus will be maintained and clean. If not... |
| Individual Value | Does the University & staff treat the student as a person or a number? Does the school have a 'factory' feel to it? |
| Social Life | How is the student social life? from the perspective of men? women? international students? |
| Extra Curricular activities | Are there enough quality extracurriculars to be involved in? |
| Surrounding City | What is the social life of the surrounding city like? Are there things to do? |
| Student/Faculty Characteristics | The emotional/interpersonal 'climate' of the department and University as a whole. |
| a. How Challenging is the Course Work b. How much did you expect to be challenged |
How do students feel the universities course work meets or exceeds their expectations? |
| What % of the faculty do not speak english clearly. | This is a big problem on many campuses. It is infrequently spoken of, but is an issue nonetheless. TA's (Teaching Assistants), GSI (Graduate Student Instructors), and professors are hired without their having a firm grasp on the english language -- the students pay the price. |
| Disregarding friends, given the chance to go to a different university, would you? | Overall, this identifies whether the student felt their time spent at the University was a positive experience -- of if he/she would have rather spent their time elsewhere. |
