Employer Surveys General & Employee Supervisor May -June 2003

History Spring & Summer meeting with advisory committee Spring & Summer meeting with advisory committee Focus on students from most recent alumni survey Focus on students from most recent alumni survey Focus on general outcomes expected of all graduates (skills, attitudes, values) Focus on general outcomes expected of all graduates (skills, attitudes, values) Obtain permission to contact supervisor Obtain permission to contact supervisor Two surveys Two surveys General survey of employers in the State General survey of employers in the State Survey of employee supervisors Survey of employee supervisors

General Employer Survey Sample 1523 Employers Sample 1523 Employers All alumni employers in State All alumni employers in State All State employers with 100 or more employees All State employers with 100 or more employees Surveys Completed by 776 (50.3%) Surveys Completed by 776 (50.3%) Less than 100 employees – 28.5% Less than 100 employees – 28.5% employees – 32.7% employees – 32.7% employees – 38.8% employees – 38.8% employees – 10.3% (part of 38.8%) employees – 10.3% (part of 38.8%)

Employer Focus 27 Categories Sales/Marketing/Management19.1% Sales/Marketing/Management19.1% Health Related11.7% Health Related11.7% Government/Education11.2% Government/Education11.2% Manufacturing 8.4% Manufacturing 8.4% Any other<6.0% Any other<6.0%

Firms with Several to Many Employees from Various Institutions (%) InstitutionSeveralMany BYU U of U USU WSU SUU UVSC DSC SLCC Snow CEU

Overall Quality of Education at UVSC  Very good 26.2%  Good 45.4%  Satisfactory 28.2%  Average Rating 4.0 on a 5-point scale

Importance of Degree Type Degree Type % Important to Very Important Regular Employ. Related Associate Degrees Bachelor’sDegrees

Institutional Designation Important or Very Important in Name:  “College” 31.7%  “State College” 30.2%  “University” 37.8%

Comparableness to UVSC Education 5=Superior to; 3=Similar to; 1=Inferior to  BYU 4.0  U of U 3.9  USU 3.6  WSU3.2  SUU3.0 DSC2.7 DSC2.7 SLCC2.6 SLCC2.6 Snow2.6 Snow2.6 CEU2.6 CEU2.6

Education Provided by UVSC Similar to or Better than (%) Institution % Similar % Better Total S or B BYU U of U USU WSU SUU DSC SLCC Snow CEU

Employer Recruiting  BYU31.6%  U of U27.4%  UVSC23.1% USU18.6% USU18.6% WSU18.3% WSU18.3% SLCC14.3% SLCC14.3% SUU 8.9% SUU 8.9% DSC 6.1% DSC 6.1% Snow 5.8% Snow 5.8% CEU 5.5% CEU 5.5%

Preferred Recruiting Methods All Institutions 1. Job Boards39.8% 2. Career Center Contacts29.1% 3. e-Recruiting28.2% 4. On-Campus Career Fairs25.0% 5. Campus Newspapers 17.9% 6. On-Campus Interviews13.9%

Recruiting at UVSC N=179 Job Boards63.1% Job Boards63.1% Campus Contacts53.6% Campus Contacts53.6% Career Fairs49.2% Career Fairs49.2% On-Campus Interviews20.7% On-Campus Interviews20.7%

Business Activity Percentages Increase Expected No change Decrease Expected Employee Growth Business Growth

Other Findings *Most frequent recommended 4-year degree not presently offered at UVSC was Engineering (46 firms, 12.3% of responding employers) *Nearly 40% of employers who made recommendations for new 4-year degrees recommended degrees already in place (e.g., Business, Accounting, Nursing)

Supervisor Survey Employed Alumni of

Sample Characteristics Alumni Survey of August 2000 to April 2001Graduates 870 indicated employment in August of Alumni Survey of August 2000 to April 2001Graduates 870 indicated employment in August of were employed full-time 627 were employed full-time 293 were employed part-time 293 were employed part-time 445 graduates gave permission to the college to contact their supervisors 445 graduates gave permission to the college to contact their supervisors 284 supervisors (65.0%) responded to the telephone survey 284 supervisors (65.0%) responded to the telephone survey

Employment Profile  73.8% were stilled employed by the firm given on their alumni survey from August 2002  Graduates averaged 2.8 years of employment and 2.1 years in their current positions  40.3% were employed prior to graduation 29.1% were in their current position

Knowledge/Skill Ratings - 1  93.6% of employers indicated graduates had the essential knowledge and skills  More than 90% of supervisors indicated that graduates had Good or Very Good knowledge and skills in 10 areas  More than 80% of supervisors indicated that graduates had Good or Very Good knowledge and skills in all areas

Knowledge/Skill Ratings - 2 Knowledge/Skill AreaAve %VGRank Nec Computer Proficiency Essnt’l Funct’l Skills for Pos Overall Job Know/Skills Essnt’l Knowledge for Pos Interpersonal T Conceptual Understanding T Oral Communication Job-related, Techinical Organization of Work Math/Computational Critical Thkng/Prob Solvg T Written Communication T Leadership

Attitude/Value Area - 1 All 10 areas had averages 4.19 or above on a 5-point scale All 10 areas had averages 4.19 or above on a 5-point scale Nine (9) of the 10 were rated Satisfied or Very Satisfied by more than 90% of the supervisors Nine (9) of the 10 were rated Satisfied or Very Satisfied by more than 90% of the supervisors Highest rated area was Ethical Behavior Highest rated area was Ethical Behavior Lowest was Entrepreneurial/Innovative Behavior Lowest was Entrepreneurial/Innovative Behavior

Attitude/Value Area - 2 Attitude/Value AreaAve%VSRank Ethical Behavior Willingness to Learn Respect for Others /Ideas Acceptance of Wrk Resp Ability to Wrk as a Tm Mbr Quality of Work Applctn of Knwldg to Wrk Sit High Pers Stnds for Wrk Perf Taking Initiative Entrepren/Innovative Behvr

Relatedness of Education to Current Position Very 48.3% Very 48.3% Moderately 31.7% Moderately 31.7% Slightly 9.2% Slightly 9.2% Not10.7% Not10.7%

Importance of Course of Study to Hiring Decision  Very Important33.5%  Important31.0%  Unimportant 5.0%  Very Unimportant 2.1%  No Opinion13.2%  Not Applicable15.3%

Likelihood of Hiring Other UVSC Graduates Very Likely60.1% Very Likely60.1% Likely27.2% Likely27.2% Neutral12.7% Neutral12.7% Unlikely 0.0% Unlikely 0.0% Very Unlikely 0.0% Very Unlikely 0.0%

Supervisor Recommendations to Improve Graduate Quality Approximately 20% made suggestions o Increase communication skills o Provide more practical/applied experiences for graduates o Improve problem solving & critical thinking skills o Develop better interpersonal skills

Employer Surveys Summary & Conclusions  Employers generally believe UVSC is producing quality graduates  UVSC is viewed to be most like SUU, USU & WSU  The college is a changing and emerging institution  Much of what we do is unknown by many employers  General regard for 2-yr degree, but 4-yr degree is seen as more desirable by many employers

Employer Surveys Summary & Conclusions, continued  Employers are supportive of UVSC adding additional 4-yr programs  Desire to see graduates have more work related experience  Add additional focus to communication (writing), problem solving, and interpersonal skills