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SUMMARY OF THE 2005 PSYCHOLOGY ALUMNI SURVEYIn connection with the Psychology Department’s top-to-bottom review of its program, the Alumni Survey 2000 was updated[1]. In August 2005, invitations to complete the online survey were e-mailed to approximately 1,600 former U.T. students who graduated between May 2000 and May 2005 with a degree in psychology. The survey was completed by 289 respondents (approximately 18% response rate). Of these, 277 came from BA and BS graduates of the department; the 12 other surveys came from alumni who received their graduate education in this department but did not attend the U.T. psychology undergraduate program. This later group will not be considered further. (See Appendix A for the text of the survey questions and answer options) The alumni overwhelmingly (95%--compared to 76% in 2000) reported that they majored in Psychology because of their interest in the topic. Only two percent selected “their first choice didn’t work out” (10% in 2000) and less than one percent reported they selected the major because they considered it “easy” (2% in 2000). Seventy-nine percent agreed or strongly agreed that choosing psychology as a major was a good decision. Most (94%) of the respondents were either “very” or “generally” satisfied with the overall quality of instruction they received in the department, and an equal percentage of respondents were very or generally satisfied with the quality of the department in general (faculty, programs, & policies). These numbers represent a two percent and twelve percent increase respectively, compared to the 2000 results. Compared to the Survey 2000 results, more students took advantage of the advising resources in the department (94% vs. 86%). As in 2000, respondents in 2005 were still more likely to be advised by staff (94%) than by faculty (87%). Satisfaction with advising by faculty and staff was not rated differently from five years ago. Advising by faculty and staff was experienced by 55% of the alumni as “very” or “generally” satisfying, while 16% were dissatisfied, compared to 53% and 15%, respectively, in 2000). The four qualities that the psychology undergraduate respondents liked the most about the department were: 1) course topics[2] (84%), 2) the diverse choice of classes available (79%--70%, Rank 1 in 2000); 3) the research opportunities (49%--38%, Rank 4 in 2000), 4) the feeling they were part of a world-class department (41%--39%, Rank 3 in 2000). Accessibility of the faculty was a close 5th with 38% (39%, Rank 2 in 2000). The four most common complaints were: 1) class sizes were too large (51%), 2) not enough individual attention (50%), 3) difficulty in getting into the desired classes (41%), and 4) long waits for the advising office (22%). The ranks were the same in 2000, though the numbers were lower: 39%, 39%, 25%, and 14% respectively. The finding in this survey that a substantially larger precentage of respondents than in the previous survey perceived the large size of classes to be a major disadvantage was unexpected. Since 2000, the psychology major has become restricted and the total number of students enrolled in the major has dropped from over 2,000 to about 1,500. The average size of psychology classes has actually decreased from the 1990s (from 86.9 students per section [sps] in Fall 1996 to 73 sps in Fall 2004). It is encouraging that more students are taking advantage of the advising resources in the department and respondents’ satisfaction with advising remains unchanged. Several questions addressed the graduates’ educational and career activities since graduating. A total of 64% of the respondents indicated they have pursued, are currently pursuing, or are planning to pursue further education after their BA, compared to 63% in 2000. The most common post graduate degrees are MA/MS (28%), law (10%), and Ph.D./PsyD (8%), only slightly different from 2000 ( 30%, 9%, and 13% respectively).
Two questions were directed at the graduates’ perceptions of how well their experience in the psychology department at UT facilitated personal growth and development, and prepared them for their subsequent life or career experiences. A total of 76% of the alumni respondents reported that their psychology education had facilitated their personal growth and development “exceptionally” or “quite well” (compared to 65% in 2000[3]); another 20% indicated “adequate” facilitation. Fifty-five percent of the respondents reported that their psychology education had prepared them “exeptionally” or “quite well” for their continuing education or career (an 11% drop from the results in 2000[4]). An additional 29% indicated their education had prepared them “adequately.” In response to the question “How closely related is your career/continuing education to your psychology degree?” 49% reported “moderately” or “very closely” (up 5% from 2000), 38% reported “Somewhat” or “A little” (up 1% from 2000), and 13% indicated “Not at all” (down 4% from 2000).
As in 2000, alumni revealed that they are involved in a wide variety of occupations or educational pursuits. Thirty-three percent of the respondents are still involved in their continued education (compared to 16% in 2000[5]). The five most common career fields were business (23%), service (e.g., social work, 12%), health related (e.g., psychology, medicine, 8%), education (e.g., teaching, 6%), and law (4%).
Seventy-one percent of the respondents reported they were either “very” or “generally satisfied” with their current career (down 7% from 2000); 11% reported being “generally” or “very dissatisfied,” compared with 5% in 2000. Footnote 5 provides a possibly explanation for this change as well; graduates may still be in their first jobs and may have not yet found their true profession. In sum, the vast majority of graduates rated their experience in the Psychology Department at U.T. as positive. However, while the respondents of the 2005 survey felt that their educational experience in the psychology department better facilitated their personal development, they felt less well prepared for their subsequent career or continued education than their 2000 counterparts. While most respondents are very or generally satisfied with their current careers, an increased percentage of respondents reported dissatisfaction. A possible explanation for this increase may be the fact that this current survey was targeting recent graduates (May 2000-May 2005), who may be still searching for their ultimate career goals. [1] Changes were minor: questions regarding alumni’s overall experience with U.T. were dropped, as was the question about satisfaction with advising by peers, since peer advisors are no longer used to the extent they were before 2000. Two questions were added to elicit narrative comments about the impact of the UT psychology education on alumni and possible advice to current or future psychology majors. [2] This item was added to the “What I liked about the department” list in the 2005 survey. [3]This difference may be in part due to a change in wording for this question, replacing the phrase “prepare you for life after college” with the somewhat less vague “facilitate your personal growth and development.” [4] There was no change in wording that could help explain this difference. [5] The large increase in respondents still pursuing their continued education is likely due to the fact that the 2005 survey targeted recent graduates—none of them graduated before May 2000. |
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Updated 6 March 2009
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