2004 Alumni Survey Results Administered using SurveyMonkey Updated questions from 2001 survey Target: 5 and 3 yr grads (1999, 2001) 34% response (58/171)– typical Male/female ratio consistent (34%) Results file posted on Assessment web site: www.che.wisc.edu/assessment

Known and New Issues Current courses New suggestions Statistics, Physics Summer Lab – hate or love New suggestions Application or business background Polymers background increase

Continuing Education 79% taking something! (vs. 38% in 2001) 7 graduate study in ChE 9 other technical 10 MBA 9 other business 10 other misc. (law, medicine, rheology, …) Graduate students at MIT, Delaware, Purdue, Georgia Tech, UIUC, Stanford

Employment Broad range of companies; different names, similar mix Top names different from 2001 2004 – KC, General Mills, Frito Lay, UOP, Abbott 2001 – 3M, P&G, KC, Cargill Consumer products, polymers lead Chemicals, petroleum, metals trail

Feedback in “Environmental Plots” Ratings for levels of preparation Very, adequately, poorly Ratings for levels of use on the job Frequently, moderately, not used Scores tabulated individually Environmental plot for cross-topic comparisions Scale –1 to +1 Cross-plot to compare our emphasis with later degree of need or use Ideal results falls on 45o y=x line

Feedback on Courses Frequently Used Rarely Used Poorly Prepared Very job utility Rarely Used Poorly Prepared Very Prepared

Course Topic Comments Statistics still below need Computer Science off target Omit? Suggestions for new directions Polymers/Materials need

Feedback on Soft Topics Frequently Used Commnication Lifelong learning Contemporary issues Societal, Global Impact Professional, Ethical Responsibility Societal, Global Impact job utility job utility Rarely Used Poorly Prepared Very Prepared

Soft Topic Comments Teamwork vital to courses and jobs Communications key – more? Short on contemporary issues Explicit links Increase examples

Feedback on Degree Content Commnication Professional, Ethical Responsibility Lifelong learning Contemporaryissues Societal, Global Impact job utility job utility

Laboratory Courses Strong writing component appreciated Summer Lab Ratio of “Kill”:“Best” about 1:2 Overseas support very strong Equipment, experiments need modernization

Co-op and Independent Study Strong Co-op appreciation Lead to job offers (4) Decide not to stay in area/job type (12) Push harder, or make requirement? CBE 599 useful Type of project, interaction important Helpful in career decisions Suggestions for improvement

Other Items Interpersonal Skills Appreciated, need more emphasis Important emphasis on problem-solving, more so than technical specifics Strong skills and attitudes compared to other ChE colleagues!

Action Items Statistics, including Design of Experiments Computer Science course refocus Increasing Communications emphasis Polymers?