ohio university career and further education …of study, degree sought, financial assistance,...

OHIO UNIVERSITY

CAREER AND FURTHER EDUCATION STUDY

SURVEY OF THE CLASS OF 2009 - 2010

BACHELOR'S DEGREE RECIPIENTS

OFFICE OF INSTITUTIONAL RESEARCH

October 2012

(12-SI-23)

Office of Institutional Research 2 Career and Further Education Study, 2009-2010

CAREER AND FURTHER EDUCATION STUDY OF BACHELOR'S DEGREE RECIPIENTS

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY • The Career and Further Education Study measures short-term educational outcomes through a

survey to all graduates of a given class. The present study identifies outcomes of the Ohio University class of 2009-2010, compared to results from the prior six classes. This report summarizes results only from graduates with bachelor's degrees.

• In 2010, 95% of the respondents reported that they were either employed or seeking further education. 80% of the employed respondents said they were employed full-time; full-time employment has remained steady since 2002.

• In 2010, 45% of the employed respondents reported working for employers in business, followed by 21% in education, and 16% in health care/social welfare; these were generally the most frequently reported occupational areas over the seven-year study.

• Of the 2010 respondents, 65% reported working in the state of Ohio. This is the lowest percentage since 2002 when the study began. The previous low was in 2006 when 67% of respondents reported that they were employed in Ohio.

• In 2010 the average reported salary for respondents employed full-time was $40,720. That represents a $430 decline from the highest average of $41,150 in 2008. However, the 2010 average remains $2,105 higher than the average salary of respondents in 2009.

• Most of the respondents who said they were employed found their jobs within 3 months after graduating from Ohio University, a consistent finding over the seven-year study.

• In 2010, 28% of respondents stated that the most important information source in their job search was a friend or realtive. The second most common response was the use of their own initiative (25%).

• 95% of the respondents reported being satisfied with their current position in 2010. 96% of the respondents reported that they were satisfied with the preparation they received for career goals at Ohio University.

• 91% of the respondents reported that they were satisfied with coursework in their major in 2010.

• 26% of the respondents reported being enrolled in a college or university for further education, the majority of which sought to obtain a Masters degree (57%).

• Of the respondents choosing to pursue further education, 55% chose to do so at an institution in the state of Ohio.

• 99% of the respondents reported being satisfied with how well Ohio University prepared them for further college/university work.

• Individual longitudinal college and department profiles (graduate and undergraduate) are given to colleges and departments for self-assessment, curricular review, and accreditation purpose. Results are available on the Institutional Research web site at www.ohio.edu/instres/indexrestrict.html.

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BACKGROUND OF STUDY The Career and Further Education Study is designed to collect information on Ohio

University graduates about one year after graduation. It is one of Ohio University's university-

wide assessment program studies. The Career and Further Education Study, the Survey of Alumni

(designed to collect information on graduates about five years after graduation), the First-Year

Treatment Study, the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE), the Student Involvement

Study, the First-year Marketing Study, and the Retention/Graduation Rate Studies, assess the

impact of Ohio University's programs on its undergraduates. Most of these studies were

implemented in 1981 as a result of suggestions made by the President and the Institutional Impact

Committee. They were recommended to be continued in the 1995 Institutional Impact and

Assessment Plan, and by subsequent university-wide assessment committees. This report

presents results from the survey of 2009-2010 bachelor's degree graduates, with comparisons to

the previous six graduating classes. A copy of the questionnaire is available on the institutional

Research web site at www.ohio.edu/instres/career/PlacQuest.pdf.

DESIGN OF STUDY

The Career and Further Education Study collected information through a questionnaire

that was mailed approximately one year after graduation. Two follow-up mailings were

conducted to increase the response rate; an additional follow-up was conducted via electronic

mail. The response rate for this study of bachelor's degree recipients was 30%, and the average

response rate from 2004 to 2010 was 35%. In terms of college of graduation, respondents were

representative of the entire class of those graduating with bachelor's degrees in 2009-2010. A

check for possible non-response bias revealed statistically significant differences in response rates

between male and female graduates. Of the 2,108 females included in the study, 34.1%

responded, while 25.0% of the 1,675 males responded. In addition, Spring 2010 graduates had a

significantly higher response rate (32.4%) than the other quarters included in the study (Fall 2009

– 26.5%, Winter 2010 – 27.5%, and Summer 2010 – 26.0%). Other factors checked for possible

non-response bias (race, campus, academic college and major) did not reveal the existence of such

bias in the results.

The questionnaire collected information in two major sections. The first section requested

employment information (e.g., income, occupation, job satisfaction, first job lead, satisfaction with

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education at Ohio University, and length of time from graduation to first job). The second section

requested information on further education after graduation from Ohio University (e.g., program

of study, degree sought, financial assistance, satisfaction with education at Ohio University, and

professional certification sought). While only the results from bachelor's degree recipients are

presented in this report, a separate report, summarizing the results of graduate degree recipients,

is available. College- and department-specific results are available on the Institutional Research

web site (www.ohio.edu/instres/indexrestrict.html).

EMPLOYMENT

Graduates were asked ten questions about their employment. The questions asked for

descriptive information about the time required to find their first job, current employment status,

satisfaction, occupational area, income, and sources used in finding their current position.

EMPLOYMENT STATUS

Of all survey respondents in 2010, 85% reported that they were employed. As shown in

Table 1, the percent of respondents employed increased in 2010. 80% of the respondents who

were employed had obtained full-time jobs while the remaining 20% were working part-time. Of

those not employed in 2010 (16%), most stated that they were furthering their education.

TABLE 1: UNIVERSITY-WIDE EMPLOYMENT STATUS BY YEAR*

Employment Status 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010

Employed 80% 88% 85% 83% 77% 80% 85%

Full-Time (% of total Employed) (83%) (86%) (87%) (85%) (84%) (78%) (80%)

Part-Time (% of total Employed) (17%) (14%) (13%) (15%) (16%) (22%) (20%)

Unemployed (in School) 12% 11% 12% 13% 13% 11% 11%

Unemployed (not in school) 8% 5% 4% 3% 9% 9% 5%

*Values may not total 100% due to rounding.

Overall employment levels in 2010 were slightly higher than the average over the nine-

year study. The amount of graduates working part-time in 2010 stood at 20%, which showed a

decrease from the all-time high of 22% that was recorded in 2009. With respect to the academic

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colleges in 2010, the College of Engineering and Technology had the highest percentage of

graduates working full-time (97%), followed closely by the College of Business (94%). The

colleges of Education (84%), Communication (81%), Health and Human Services (79%),

University College (77%), Arts and Sciences (68%), and Fine Arts (61%) rounded out the field.

Table 2 presents overall employment status (full- and part-time combined) for each

academic college in 2010. Respondents from the colleges of Business (96%), University College

(89%), Communication (89%), Fine Arts (87%), and Engineering and Technology (85%) reported

the highest employment rates for 2010 graduates. In all of the academic colleges most of the

respondents reported they were either employed or in school. Employment rates decreased in all

academic colleges except Business and University College, up 2% and 6% respectively. The Honors

Tutorial College (23%), Education (6%), Arts and Sciences (5%), and Health and Human Services

(5%) were the colleges that saw the greatest decrease in overall employment.

TABLE 2: EMPLOYMENT STATUS IN 2010 BY COLLEGE*

College Employed Unemployed (in School) Unemployed (Not in School)

Business 96% 2% 1%

Engineering and Technology 85% 13% 1%

Honors Tutorial College 82% 12% 6%

University College 89% 2% 9%

Communication 89% 6% 4%

Fine Arts 87% 11% 3%

Education 82% 4% 14%

Health and Human Services 82% 14% 4%

Arts and Sciences 77% 18% 4%

*Values may not total 100% due to rounding.

OCCUPATION

When considering males and females combined, "Business" has been the largest

occupational area followed by "Education" over the nine-year study. As shown in Table 3, in 2010,

the largest occupational area for both males and females was "Business,” with 22% of the male

respondents and 23% of females stating that they were employed in that area. The second most


prevalent area of occupation was “Education,” which accounted for 20% overall (Females = 16%,

Males = 4%).

TABLE 3: OCCUPATIONAL AREA IN 2010 BY SEX*

Occupational Area Females Males Combined

Business 37% 58% 45%

Education 26% 12% 21%

Health Care/Social Welfare 21% 7% 16%

Government 23 8% 5%

Communication 6% 11% 7%

Non-Profit 6% 4% 5%

Self-Employed 1% 1% 1% *Values may not total 100% due to rounding.

LOCATION OF EMPLOYMENT

Respondents reported employment in 44 states as well as the District of Columbia. With

65% of respondents listing it as the location of their employer, Ohio was the most common state

for Ohio University graduates to be working. This is a trend that has remained prevalent

throughout the course of the study. The next most frequently reported states in 2010 were Illinois

(4%) followed by Pennsylvania (3%) as well as California, North Carolina, and West Virginia (2%

each). 87% percent of the students who were not residents of the state of Ohio reported working

out of state, while 13% reported working in Ohio. Of the students who were residents of Ohio at

the time of application to Ohio University, 64% were employed within the state following

graduation.

ANNUAL FULL-TIME SALARY

After dipping 7% between 2008 ($41,150) and 2009 ($38,136), the average salary of

respondents in 2010 increased to $40,241. Table 4 and Figure 1 illustrate that increases were seen

in the average full-time salary of respondents from the colleges of Business, Health and Human

Services, Arts and Sciences, Communications, and Education. Of those, the colleges of Health and


Human Services, Communications, and Education all recorded their highest mean annual full-time

salaries in the nine-year study. The greatest increase in both dollar amount and percentage of

income between 2009 and 2010 was seen in the College of Communication, as its respondents

reported an increase in annual full-time salary of over 16%, an increase of $6,676 year-to-year.

TABLE 4: MEAN REPORTED ANNUAL FULL-TIME SALARY BY COLLEGE AND YEAR

College 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010

Engineering & Tech. $42,161 $44,161 $44,410 $50,153 $52,957 $49,354 $48,839

Business $39,032 $41,436 $43,691 $43,190 $46,190 $45,787 $46,072

University College $32,247 $32,897 $34,051 $50,467 $44,877 $42,450 $39,758

Health & Human Serv. $34,545 $32,553 $36,268 $37,271 $36,861 $40,182 $42,335

Arts and Sciences $30,450 $29,194 $36,040 $31,249 $35,574 $30,902 $33,563

Honors Tutorial $34,500 $28,544 $38,300 $36,238 $35,111 $37,400 $37,875

Communication $31,985 $32,536 $33,902 $36,073 $35,021 $33,642 $40,318

Education $30,121 $32,778 $33,275 $32,564 $32,968 $32,132 $34,079

Fine Arts $27,497 $30,312 $29,995 $27,632 $31,159 $30,417 $29,988

UNIVERSITY-WIDE $33,688 $34,301 $36,684 $36,684 $41,150 $38,136 $40,241

FIGURE 1: MEAN REPORTED ANNUAL FULL-TIME SALARY BY COLLEGE AND YEAR

$0

$10,000

$20,000

$30,000

$40,000

$50,000

$60,000

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2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010


The mean full-time salary reported by females in 2010 ($38,433) was the highest ever

recorded in the study. Males reported a 1% drop in mean full-time salary from 2009 ($43,597) to

2010 ($43,008). Based on a report by the U.S. Census Bureau for 2010, the national average full-

time salary of bachelor's degree graduates (about one year after graduation) was estimated to be

$40,393 for females and $57,815 for males. A 30% difference between males and females was

estimated to exist nationally in 2010 one year after graduation, compared to the 11% difference

found among Ohio University respondents in the same year.

TABLE 5: MEAN SALARY BY SEX AND YEAR

Sex 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010

Females $31,589 $25,500 $34,936 $33,770 $37,501 $34,240 $38,433

Males $40,438 $34,000 $39,748 $45,124 $43,700 $43,597 $43,008

Salary differences between males and females are partly due to differences in career

choices. For example, more males choose engineering, which has relatively high salaries, and

more females choose education and healthcare/social welfare, which have relatively low salaries.

This may contribute to differences in overall salaries for males and females. Table 6 shows that

the smallest salary difference between male and female graduates was found in the College of

Education ($1,400). The largest disparity in salary amongst male and female graduates can be

seen in University College ($25,512), followed by the College of Fine Arts ($6,464) and the College

of Arts and Sciences ($6,630). The College of Communication was the only college to report a

higher mean salary amongst female graduates than male graduates with a difference of $4,440

between the two.

With respect to employer fields, the salary difference between males and females was

smallest for respondents reporting to work in the field of Communication ($1,601). The largest

gap in the salaries earned by males and females can be seen in those respondents employed in

Government, with the average male salary coming in at $10,207 more than that of the average

salary for females. In the fields of Health Care/Social Welfare and Non-Profit employment,

however, females recorded a higher mean salary than males by $5,951 and $5,527 respectively.


TABLE 6: MEAN SALARY BY SEX WITHIN COLLEGE AND EMPLOYER FIELD

College Females (n) Males (n)

Arts and Sciences $30,633 (72) $37,263 (57)

Business $44,135 (60) $47,947 (62)

Communication $41,717 (87) $37,277 (40)

Education $33,835 (57) $35,235 (12)

Engineering and Technology $43,750 (4) $49,230 (52)

Fine Arts $33,700 (8) $27,236 (11)

Health and Human Services $41,121 (112) $44,316 (29)

University College $30,481 (21) $55,993 (12)

Employer Field Females (n) Males (n)

Business 39,489 (139) 43,691 (151)

Communication 30,975 (20) 32,576 (22)

Education 33,781 (95) 36,797 (16)

Government 40,087 (14) 50,294 (17)

Health Care/Social Welfare 44,000 (86) 38,049 (17)

Non-Profit 30,777 (9) 25,250 (8)

Self-Employed (0) 24,000 (1)

LENGTH OF TIME TO FIRST JOB

Graduates were asked to report how long it took them to obtain work after completing

their degree at Ohio University (Table 7). The percentage of respondents securing work within

eight months of graduation stood at 74% in 2008, increased to 80% in 2009, and increased again

in 2010 to 85%. The 2010 percentage stands as the second highest over the course of the study

trailing only 2005 (89%). In 2010, 77% of the female and 80% of the male respondents said they

had obtained a job within eight months of graduation. More males (25%) than females (21%) said

they had obtained a job prior to graduation.


TABLE 7: LENGTH OF TIME TO FIRST JOB BY YEAR*

Length of Time 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010

Continued From Before Graduation 12% 10% 10% 11% 10% 11% 12%

Obtained Prior to Graduation 20% 33% 23% 23% 30% 19% 22%

Within 2 Months 16% 19% 17% 17% 13% 13% 16%

2 – 3 Months 15% 13% 13% 13% 11% 12% 13%

4 – 8 Months 13% 14% 12% 12% 11% 14% 15%

More Than 8 Months 8% 8% 10% 8% 5% 11% 7%

Not Seeking Employment 9% 7% 12% 13% 11% 2% 2%

Never Had Job/Seeking 6% 4% 3% 2% 7% 8% 5%

Had Job/Now Seeking 2% 1% 1% 1% 3% 10% 9% *Values may not total 100% due to rounding.

EMPLOYMENT AREA AND GRADUATION COLLEGE

Graduates were asked to indicate their current job titles. Job titles were then assigned to

general employment categories based on the Standard Occupational Classification Manual (U.S.

Department of Commerce). Table 8 lists Internet URL addresses where the results for the majors

in each college are presented. These results help assess the extent to which graduates are

employed in their fields of study.

TABLE 8: INTERNET ADDRESSES FOR RESULTS OF JOB TITLE CATEGORIES BY COLLEGE

College Internet Address

Arts and Sciences www.ohio.edu/instres/career/10ASJob.pdf

Business www.ohio.edu/instres/career/10BUSJob.pdf

Communication www.ohio.edu/instres/career/10COMJob.pdf

Education www.ohio.edu/instres/career/10EDUJob.pdf

Engineering and Tech www.ohio.edu/instres/career/10ENTJob.pdf

Fine Arts www.ohio.edu/instres/career/10FARJob.pdf

Health and Human Services www.ohio.edu/instres/career/10HHSJob.pdf

Honors Tutorial www.ohio.edu/instres/career/10HTCJob.pdf

University College www.ohio.edu/instres/career/10UNCJob.pdf

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Overall, it was found that in most academic colleges the most frequently indicated

employment categories were what would be expected for that college. For example, 80% of the

Education graduates' job titles were in the category entitled "Teacher, Librarian, Career

Counselor," 58% of the Engineering & Technology graduates' job titles were in the category

entitled "Engineering, Architects, Computer Science," and 78% of the College of Business

graduates were in the categories entitled “Management Related” (51%), “Sales/Marketing” (16%),

or “Executive, Administrator, Manager” (11%). The majority of respondents from the College of

Fine Arts were split between the categories of “Teachers, Librarians, Career Counselor” (39%) and

“Performing Artists” (26%), while the two largest job categories for Health and Human Services

graduates were “Health and Medical” (29%), and “Executive, Administrator, Manager” (19%). The

most prominent categories among Honors Tutorial graduates were “Graduate School” (29%) and

“Miscellaneous” (29%).

The job categories among graduates of the colleges of Arts and Science, Communication,

and University College were less specific to the college itself. Arts and Science saw its largest

categories in “Administrative Support/Clerical” (14%), “Executive, Administrator, Manager”

(11%), and “Management Related” (10%), while University College had its highest responses in

the categories of “Executive, Administrator, Manger” (17%), “Administrative Support/Clerical”

(17%), and “Teacher, Librarian, Career Counselor” (15%). The College of Communication saw the

majority of its respondents represented in the categories of “Executive, Administrator, Manager”

(19%), “Performing Artist” (15%), “Journalist/Telecommunications Professional” (12%), and

“Administrative Support/Clerical” (12%).

MEANS USED TO FIND PRESENT POSITION

Graduates were asked to indicate their most important overall source of job search

information (Table 9). In 2010, "Friend or Relative" was the most frequently reported most

important source of information. Over the seven-year study in each of the six previous years,

except for 2007, "Own Initiative" was most frequently reported as the most important source of

information for job leads. When comparing the responses of males and females, the responses

were similar; the largest differences occurred for "Internet" (males, 1%; females, 2%).


TABLE 9: MOST IMPORTANT INFO SOURCE OF JOB LEAD BY YEAR*

Most Important Source 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010

Own Initiative 27% 29% 30% 24% 28% 31% 25%

Internet 22% 25% 26% 27% 24% 16% 16%

Friend or Relative 20% 18% 18% 18% 15% 22% 28%

Career Services 6% 6% 6% 6% 10% 4% 5%

Previous Employment 5% 6% 6% 7% 7% 11% 10%

O.U. Faculty/Staff 5% 5% 4% 7% 7% 5% 4%

Other 8% 3% 4% 6% 5% 7% 9%

Newspaper Advertisement 5% 3% 3% 2% 2% 2% 2%

Employment Agency 1% 3% 2% 2% 2% 2% 1%

Self-Employed 1% 1% 1% 1% 1% 1% 1% *Values may not total 100% due to rounding.

For the colleges of Arts and Sciences, Communication, Education, as well as Health and Human

Services, the “Internet” was reported as the most important source of information when it came to

obtaining job leads. Respondents coming from the colleges of Engineering and Technology, Fine

Arts, and University College reported utilizing their “Own Initiative” as the being the most

important. While “Career Services” was consistently amongst the least utilized sources of

pertinent information throughout all of the colleges, in the case of the College of Business, it was in

fact the most important with 20% of respondents in that college reporting it as such.

JOB SATISFACTION

Graduates were asked to indicate how satisfied they were with their current position. In

2010, 95% reported that they were extremely satisfied (31%), very satisfied (38%), or somewhat

satisfied (26%) with their current position. This number is up from 92% in 2009.

SATISFACTION WITH MAJOR COURSE WORK

In 2010, 91% of respondents reported that they were extremely satisfied (19%), very

satisfied (41%), or somewhat satisfied (30%), with the course work in their major field of study.

The percentage of respondents who reported being extremely, very, or somewhat satisfied with

their major courses increased slightly from 2009 (90%).


PREPARATION FOR CAREER GOALS

With regard to preparation for achieving career goals, 96% of respondents indicated that

they were extremely (22%), very (47%), or somewhat (28%) satisfied with the job done by Ohio

University in 2010. This number remained the same year-to-year from 2009.

FIGURE 3: PERCENT SATISFIED BY YEAR

FURTHER EDUCATION

Graduates were asked if they were currently attending or enrolled in an academic program

of study since receiving their degree from Ohio University. Graduates could indicate either "Yes – I

am attending or enrolled," "No – I don't plan to attend," and "No, but I plan to attend in the future."

If their response was " Yes – I am attending or enrolled," they were asked to provide descriptive

information about the degree sought, program of study, name and location of the institution they

were attending, whether they were receiving financial assistance, and the type and amount of

assistance, if applicable. Graduates were also asked to rate how well Ohio University had

prepared them for further education and to indicate whether they were pursuing any professional

certification.

85%

87%

89%

91%

93%

95%

97%

99%

2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010

Current Position

Major Courses

Career Prep.


ENROLLMENT IN A COLLEGE OR UNIVERSITY

Since receiving a degree from Ohio University, the percentage of respondents enrolled in a

college or university for further education in 2010 was 26%. In 2010, 30% said they were not

enrolled and did not plan to attend; 44% said they were not enrolled but did plan to attend in the

future. The percentage of females in 2010 who said they were furthering their education was

29%, and the percentage of males was 22%. In 2010, 79% of all respondents furthering their

education said they were enrolled full-time, the highest percentage over the 7-year study (77% in

2009, 73% in 2008, 65% in 2007, 71% in 2006, 69% in 2005, and 78% in 2004).

Table 11 shows that in 2010 Honors Tutorial College (59%) had the highest further

education rate, followed by Arts and Sciences (41%), Health and Human Services (34%), Fine Arts

(33%), Education (20%), Engineering and Technology (19%), University College (17%),

Communication (13%), and the College of Business (10%).

TABLE 11: FURTHER EDUCATION BY COLLEGE AND YEAR*

College Attend? 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010

ART

Yes 44% 42% 43% 45% 44% 46% 41%

No 10% 11% 13% 13% 17% 14% 19%

Plan 46% 47% 44% 42% 37% 40% 40%

HHS

Yes 30% 33% 28% 39% 36% 32% 34%

No 18% 19% 24% 23% 19% 30% 26%

Plan 53% 48% 28% 39% 42% 38% 40%

EDU

Yes 24% 22% 26% 26% 30% 23% 20%

No 4% 4% 9% 7% 9% 10% 13%

Plan 73% 74% 65% 68% 61% 67% 67%

HTC

Yes 63% 27% 50% 53% 24% 21% 59%

No 11% 20% 25% 13% 12% 46% 11%

Plan 26% 53% 25% 33% 65% 33% 30%

UNC

Yes 18% 23% 24% 25% 20% 12% 17%

No 18% 23% 26% 20% 42% 40% 33%

Plan 64% 54% 50% 55% 38% 48% 50%


TABLE 11 (cont.): FURTHER EDUCATION BY COLLEGE AND YEAR* College Attend? 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010

COM

Yes 12% 21% 14% 11% 19% 17% 13%

No 37% 30% 35% 33% 33% 43% 42%

Plan 51% 49% 52% 56% 46% 41% 45%

FAR

Yes 24% 30% 19% 21% 18% 13% 33%

No 21% 11% 14% 18% 7% 32% 26%

Plan 55% 60% 67% 61% 75% 55% 41%

ENT

Yes 15% 23% 22% 16% 16% 27% 19%

No 27% 36% 42% 37% 35% 42% 56%

Plan 58% 41% 36% 47% 46% 31% 25%

BUS

Yes 16% 12% 9% 15% 10% 10% 10%

No 26% 29% 33% 35% 30% 36% 38%

Plan 58% 59% 58% 50% 60% 54% 51%

University-wide

Yes 25% 27% 26% 28% 28% 27% 26%

No 20% 20% 23% 22% 24% 29% 30%

Plan 55% 53% 51% 49% 48% 44% 44% *Values may not total 100% due to rounding.

EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTION ATTENDED

Of the respondents who stated that they were seeking to further their education, 55%

reported that they were doing so in the state of Ohio. This is down from 63% in both 2008 and

2009. The next most frequently reported states in 2010 were Pennsylvania (6%), followed by

Illinois (4%), Indiana and Florida (3% each). Of the respondents who stayed in Ohio, 26% were

attending Ohio University, and 8% were attending Ohio State University. 82% of nonresident

students reported attending out of state institutions, while 18% reported attending an Ohio

institution to further their education. Of the resident students, 42% reported attending out of state

schools while 58% chose to remain in Ohio to further their education.

DEGREE SOUGHT

In 2010, 26 % of the bachelor's degree respondents indicated that they were furthering

their education (Table 11). Table 12 shows this percentage consisted of graduates pursuing a


master's degree (15%), a doctoral degree (3%), a degree in law (1%), medicine (1%), or some

"other" (or unspecified) degree (2%). Most of those specifying "other" degrees were working

toward an associate’s or bachelor's degree, or were taking miscellaneous courses. From 2004 to

2010 the percentages of respondents seeking particular types of degrees were steady; the

master's degree was the most frequently sought degree each year.

TABLE 12: DEGREE SOUGHT BY YEAR*

Degree 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010

Master’s 16% 18% 18% 19% 17% 17% 15%

Doctorate 2% 2% 2% 2% 3% 2% 3%

Law 2% 2% 2% 2% 3% 3% 1%

Medical 2% 2% 1% 2% 2% 1% 1%

Other 2% 4% 3% 3% 3% 4% 6%

Total 24% 28% 26% 28% 28% 27% 26% *Values may not sum to total due to rounding.

PROGRAM OF STUDY

Graduates who indicated they were furthering their education were asked to indicate their

program of study (Table 13). Results from this question are categorized by the academic colleges

in which the programs reside. In 2010 the most frequently reported programs were found in the

categories of Health and Human Services (37%), Arts and Sciences (31%), and Education

programs (20%). The least often reported programs were seen in Communications (1%),

Engineering (3%), and Fine Arts (3%); programs in these three areas were the least often

reported programs throughout the course of the study.


TABLE 13: PROGRAM OF STUDY BY COLLEGE AND YEAR*

College 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010

ART 31% 34% 36% 36% 37% 32% 31%

HHS 26% 26% 29% 26% 25% 29% 37%

EDU 22% 21% 22% 24% 19% 23% 20%

BUS 12% 11% 6% 8% 9% 9% 5%

COM 3% 2% 2% 1% 6% 4% 1%

ENT 3% 3% 3% 2% 2% 2% 3%

FAR 3% 3% 2% 3% 1% 1% 3% *Values may not total 100% due to rounding.

FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE RECEIVED

Of the graduates who said they were furthering their education in 2010, 18% said they

were receiving assistantships or associateships, 17% said they were receiving fellowships or

scholarships, 62% said they were receiving some "other" form of financial assistance, and 3%

reported not receiving any financial assistance. Table 14 shows that the amount of financial

assistance increased overall from 2002 to 2010.

TABLE 14: FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE BY TYPE AND YEAR

Type 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010

Fellow/Scholarship $17,028 $12,217 $17,410 $15,319 $17,744 $17,545 $21,734

Other Assistance $16,183 $18,413 $19,310 $20,551 $19,972 $19,290 $20,266

Assist/Associateship $11,733 $12,051 $13,215 $11,646 $13,851 $16,879 $18,060

PROFESSIONAL CERTIFICATION

Graduates were asked to indicate what types of professional certification (e.g., teacher

certification, CPA, engineering registration, etc.) they completed or planned to complete within the

coming year. In 2010, 15% of the respondents indicated that they had completed professional

certification, 19% indicated that they were planning to complete certification, and 66% indicated

that they were not pursuing professional certification. Of those who had already completed or

were planning to complete some type of certification, the largest numbers of respondents were


seeking certification in such areas as teaching, health care, engineering, social work, accounting,

computer software/hardware, and financial services.

PREPARATION FOR ADDITIONAL COLLEGE OR UNIVERSITY WORK

Graduates who were enrolled in further education were asked to report how well Ohio

University had prepared them for additional academic work. Of the 2010 respondents, 99% said

they were extremely (33%), very (50%), or somewhat (17%) satisfied with the preparation they

received. From 2004 to 2010 the level of satisfaction with preparation for pursuing additional

academic work was steady, ranging from 97 percent in 2005 and 2008, to 99 percent in 2006,

2007, 2009 and 2010. On average females and males indicated about the same levels of

satisfaction with preparation for further education over the seven-year study.

ohio university career and further education …of study, degree sought, financial assistance,...

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