Research Report 2002-03 Survey of Graduating Masters and Doctoral Students Summer 2002 – Spring 2003

Items With the Highest Correlations  To the extent that graduating respondents rated highly the availability of research facilities in their graduate program, they also rated highly the

Office of Planning and Institutional Effectiveness

Institutional Research

Hope, Knowledge, and Opportunity

Research Report 2002-03 Survey of Graduating Masters and Doctoral Students

Summer 2002 – Spring 2003

University Park Campus

PC 543 Miami, FL 33199 Telephone: (305) 348-2731 Fax: (305) 348-1908

www.fiu.edu/~opie/cqis/index.htm

Office of Planning & Institutional Effectiveness

The Graduating Masters and Doctoral Student Survey is one of a series of Continuous Quality Improvement Surveys instituted by Florida International University’s Office of Planning and Institutional Effectiveness This is the fourth survey report from the Graduating Masters and Doctoral Student Survey The information in these Continuous Quality Improvement Survey Reports will be distributed to members of the university community and will be used by the appropriate departments to enhance continuous quality improvement efforts

Every effort has been made to ensure that the data contained in this document is accurate For further information about this and other Continuous Quality Improvement Survey Reports, visit

our website at www.fiu.edu/~opie/cqis/index.htm, or contact Institutional Research at

irsurvey@fiu.edu or 305-348-2731, (FAX) 305-348-1908, or visit us at University Park PC 543

Table 2 Comparison of Response Rates By College/School 2002-2003 6

II Primary Findings from the Fall 2002 – 2003 Survey

D Strongest Correlates of Overall Satisfaction With Graduate Program 8

III Ten Principal Indicators of Overall Satisfaction With FIU (A graphical analysis) 9

Figure 10: Faculty Availability to Collaborate On Graduate Student Research 13

IV Four-Year Comparison of Ten Principal Indicators of the Graduating Masters

1

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY OF THE GRADUATING MASTERS AND DOCTORAL

STUDENT SURVEY SUMMER 2002 – SPRING 2003

This report summarizes the main findings from the Summer 2002 – Spring 2003 Florida

International University Graduating Masters and Doctoral Student Survey, a Continuous Quality

Improvement study conducted by the Office of Planning and Institutional Effectiveness This survey was adapted from a prototype survey developed by the SUS Accountability Committee

on Survey Activity (Legg, Final Report, 1992) The survey was designed to measure graduates’ satisfaction with and attitudes about Florida International University The survey design assured respondents of their anonymity in an attempt to facilitate candor

The Graduating Masters and Doctoral Student Survey was distributed to 2,051 individuals who

were members of the graduating classes of Summer 2002, Fall 2002 and Spring 2003 The survey was returned by 240 graduates, for a response rate of approximately 12% The

comprehensive survey asked questions about the graduates’ satisfaction with Florida

International University in various domains such as the quality and availability of faculty in theirmajor, the quality of research produced in the graduate program, the quality and availability of academic advising by university advising staff and faculty members, and the quality of the libraries The survey also questioned graduates about the frequency of use and quality of

services such as Counseling and Psychological Services, Recreational Services, and Health Services

Ten principal indicators have been singled out as the most reliable measures of the graduates’ satisfaction with FIU and have been summarized below

 Overall Satisfaction With Graduate Program: 90% of the graduates indicated that they

were satisfied with their graduate program (31% very satisfied, 59% satisfied)

 Overall Academic Experience: 86% of the graduates rated positively their overall

academic experience (33% excellent, 53% good ratings)

 Challenged: 89% of the graduates agreed that they had been challenged to do the best

that they could (58% most of the time, 31% some of the time)

 Recommend FIU: 89% of the graduates reported that they would recommend FIU to a

friend or relative considering their graduate program (48% without reservations, 41% with reservations)

 Satisfaction with Department of Major: 68% of the graduates were satisfied with the

department of their major (21% strongly agreed, 47% agreed)

 Professors Were Good Teachers: 81% of the graduates agreed that their professors were

good teachers (39% strongly agreed, 42% agreed)

 Research Facilities Available in Graduate Program: 69% of the graduates rated

positively the availability of research facilities in their graduate program (19% excellent, 50% good)

 Professors Were Good Researchers: 67% of the graduates agreed that their professors

were good researchers (29% strongly agreed, 38% agreed)

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 Quality of Research in Graduate Program: 73% of the graduates rated positively the

quality of research performed in their graduate program (20% excellent, 53% good)

 Faculty Available to Assist Graduate Student Research: 78% of the graduates rated

positively the availability of the faculty to assist them in their research (37% excellent, 41% good)

Items With the Highest Correlations

 To the extent that graduating respondents rated highly the availability of research

facilities in their graduate program, they also rated highly the research quality in their

program (r = 74, p < 001)

 To the extent that graduating respondents rated highly the research quality in their

graduate program, they also rated highly the availability of research facilities in their

graduate program (r = 74, p < 001)

 To the extent that graduating respondents believed that their professors at FIU were good

teachers, they also rated highly the quality of instruction at FIU (r = 68, p < 001)

Strongest Predictors of Overall Academic Experience

 Extent of agreement that they were satisfied with how their major department met its

goals and objectives (r = 65, p < 001)

 Extent of agreement that they would be likely to recommend FIU to a friend or

relative considering their graduate program (r = 62, p < 001)

 Extent of agreement that the faculty were good teachers (r=.60, p < 001)

Positive responses to the ten principal indicators of satisfaction remain relatively high, with positive responses of over 75% for six of the principal indicators Positive responses to the ten principal indicators of student satisfaction increased, in general, compared to the responses from students who graduated in Spring 2001 Positive responses increased for four principle

indicators and remained about the same for an additional two principal indicators

Positive responses to the ten principal indicators of student satisfaction generally were stable or increased across the four-year period (1999-2003) Four-year positive responses increased for overall satisfaction with their graduate program, agreement that their professors were good teachers, ratings of the availability of research facilities in the graduate program, ratings of the quality of research in the graduate program Four-year positive responses remained about the same for agreement that they had been challenged to do the best that they could and ratings of satisfaction with the department of their major

I SUMMARY OF THE RESPONSES TO THE GRADUATING MASTERS AND

DOCTORAL STUDENT SURVEY SUMMER 2002 – SPRING 2003

3

It is vitally important that student feedback is elicited by an institution of higher learning on a comprehensive range of topics involving the university community One such avenue of

feedback is to request graduates to look back on their time at Florida International University and

to provide faculty and administrators feedback on their thoughts and attitudes about their

experiences at FIU Therefore, a Continuous Quality Improvement survey is distributed to graduating students each semester to give each individual an opportunity to have a voice in relaying his or her observations and experiences during his or her matriculation at FIU

This report summarizes the main findings from the Florida International University Graduating

Masters and Doctoral Student Survey, a Continuous Quality Improvement study conducted by

the Office of Planning and Institutional Effectiveness This survey was adapted from a prototypesurvey developed by the SUS Accountability Committee on Survey Activity (Legg, Final Report,1992) This survey was designed to measure graduate satisfaction with and attitudes about Florida International University The survey design assured respondents of their anonymity in anattempt to facilitate candor

METHODOLOGY

Sampling Design The Registrar’s Office provided an exhaustive list of all graduate students

who had filed intent to graduate forms for the Summer 2002, Fall 2002 and Spring 2003

semesters These students were e-mailed a letter from the survey coordinator and the Provost of Planning and Institutional Effectiveness Two e-mail reminders followed up this initial letter before the end of the semester Two-hundred and forty graduate students who were expected to graduate at the end of the Summer 2002, Fall 2002 or Spring 2003 semesters

Vice-responded to the survey out of a graduating class of 2,051, a response rate of 12% Table 1 shows the number of graduates by college, percentage of graduates by college, and response rate

by college Table 2 shows the response rates for the Summer 2000- Spring 2001 data collection

compared to the Fall 2000-Spring 2001 data collection Appendix A provides the Graduating

Masters and Doctoral Student Survey, with tabulated responses for each question

Statistics The data were analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS)

version 11.5 In general, a three to five point scale was used for the survey items, with higher scores indicating more positive attitudes A variety of simple statistics are reported such as percentages and frequency Correlations (also called bivariate relationships) are used to describethe relationships between two variables The degree of correlation is denoted by “r” (Pearson Product Moment Correlation) A positive correlation indicates that as scores increase for one variable, they also increase for another variable (or both scores decrease)

4

Table 1: Return Rates of Summer 2002, Fall 2002 & Spring 2003 Graduating Masters and Doctoral Students by College/School

Headcount Population of Graduating Class Returned Surveys Return Rate

(% of all returned) minus (% of class)

College/School #

% of graduatin

g class # returned % of all % %

Based upon the response rate patterns, it is believed that the respondents were not representative

of the Summer 2002, Fall 2002 and Spring 2003 graduating class The response rates from each

college varied widely from 8% percent in the College of Architecture and in the College of Journalism to approximately 30% for the College of Business Respondents from the College of Hospitality Management were over represented in the survey responses These respondents returned 23% of all surveys, but they represented about 1.7% of the graduating class

Respondents from the College of Education were under represented in the survey responses These respondents constituted 20% of the graduating class, but they returned only 10% of all surveys

5

Table 2: Comparison of Response Rates by College/School 2002-2003

FIU College/School

Return Rate of Surveys Summer 2002- Spring 2003

Return Rate of Surveys Fall 2000- Spring 2001

Average Return Rate 2000-2001

6

II PRIMARY FINDINGS FROM THE SUMMER 2002 – SPRING 2003

A Principal Indicators of Satisfaction with FIU

Introduction Ten principal indicators have been singled out as the most reliable measures of the

graduates’ satisfaction with FIU These measures include: their overall satisfaction with their graduate program, whether or not they would recommend FIU to a friend or relative considering their graduate program, whether or not they felt challenged at FIU, their satisfaction with the department of their major, the quality of research in their program, and the quality of the researchfacilities in their program In general, FIU graduates reported very positive attitudes toward the University Overall satisfaction with the graduate program at FIU increased by approximately two percentage points from Spring 2001 (90% compared to 88% in Spring 2001) Ratings of academic experience increased by five percentage points from Spring 2001 (87% compared to 82%) These differences were not statistically significant The following is a summary of the graduates’ responses to the ten principal indicators A more descriptive analysis can be found onpage ten

(You will find the percentage change from the Spring 2001 survey findings in parentheses The responses were rounded to the nearest percent.)

 Overall Satisfaction With Graduate Program: 90% of the graduates indicated that they

were satisfied with their graduate program (31% very satisfied, 59% satisfied) (+2)

 Overall Academic Experience: 86% of the graduates rated positively their overall

academic experience (33% excellent, 53% good ratings) (-3%)

 Challenged: 89% of the graduates agreed that they had been challenged to do the best

that they could (58% most of the time, 31% some of the time) (=)

 Recommend FIU: 89% of the graduates reported that they would recommend FIU to a

friend or relative considering their graduate program (48% without reservations, 41%

with reservations) (-4%)

 Satisfaction with Department of Major: 68% of the graduates were satisfied with the

department of their major (21% strongly agreed, 47% agreed) (=)

 Professors Were Good Teachers: 81% of the graduates agreed that their professors were

good teachers (39% strongly agreed, 42% agreed) (+3%)

 Research Facilities Available in Graduate Program: 69% of the graduates rated

positively the availability of research facilities in their graduate program (19% excellent,

50% good) (+2)

 Professors Were Good Researchers: 67% of the graduates agreed that their professors

were good researchers (29% strongly agreed, 38% agreed) (-8)

 Quality of Research in Graduate Program: 73% of the graduates rated positively the

quality of research performed in their graduate program (20% excellent, 53% good) (+2)

7

 Faculty Available to Assist Graduate Student Research: 78% of the graduates rated

positively the availability of the faculty to assist them in their research (37% excellent,

41% good) (-1)

B Items with the Highest Correlations

 To the extent that graduating respondents rated highly the availability of research

facilities in their graduate program, they also rated highly the research quality in their

program (r = 74, p < 001)

 To the extent that graduating respondents rated highly the research quality in their

graduate program, they also rated highly the availability of research facilities in their

graduate program (r = 74, p < 001)

 To the extent that graduating respondents believed that their professors at FIU were good

teachers, they also rated highly the quality of instruction at FIU (r = 68, p < 001)

 Graduating respondents who rated highly the availability of faculty to collaborate on graduate student research alsorated highly the opportunity to interact with faculty

members in their graduate program (r = 66, p < 001)

C Strongest Correlates of Overall Academic Experience

 Extent of agreement that they were satisfied with how their major department met its

goals and objectives (r = 65, p < 001)

 Extent of agreement that would be likely to recommend FIU to a friend or relative

considering their graduate program (r = 62, p < 001)

 Extent of agreement that the faculty were good teachers (r = 60, p < 001)

D Strongest Correlates of Overall Satisfaction With Graduate Program

 Positive ratings of overall academic experience (r = 52, p < 001)

 Likelihood of recommending FIU to a friend or relative considering their graduate

program (r = 51, p < 001)

 Extent of agreement that their major department met its goals and objectives (r = 50,

p < 001)

 Positive ratings of the quality of courses in their major (r = 46, p < 001)

III TEN PRINCIPAL INDICATORS OF OVERALL SATISFACTION WITH FIU

8

(A graphical analysis)

Overall Satisfaction With Program

Overall Academic Experience

The findings in Figure 1 indicate that 90% of graduating respondents were satisfied overall with their graduate program at FIU: 31% of respondents reported that they were very satisfied and 59% were satisfied Ten percent of graduating respondents reported that they were dissatisfied with their overall graduate program at FIU

Correlations: To the extent that graduating respondents were satisfied overall with their graduate program at FIU, they also rated highly their overall

academic experience (r = 52, p < 001), would

recommend their graduate program to a friend or

relative considering their graduate program (r = 51,

p < 001), agreed that they were satisfied that their

major department met its goals and objectives (r

= 50, p < 001), and were satisfied with the quality of courses in their major (r = 46, p < 001)

The findings in Figure 2 indicate that 86% of graduating respondents reported a positive overall academic experience at FIU: 33% rated their academic experience as excellent while 53% rated their academic experience as good Fourteen percent of respondents reported that their academic experience at FIU was negative: 11% rated their academic experience as fair and 3% rated their academic experience as poor

Correlations: To the extent that graduating respondents rated their overall academic experiencehighly, also agreed that they were satisfied with how their major department met its goals and

objectives (r = 65, p < 001), would be likely to

recommend FIU to a friend or relative considering

their graduate program (r = 62, p < 001), reported that the faculty were good teachers (r = 60,

p < 001) and rated highly the quality of instruction in their graduate program (r = 60, p < 001)

9

Challenged to Do Their Best

Seldom

Never

Satisfaction with Department of Major

The findings depicted in Figure 3 indicate that 89%

of graduating respondents reported that they were challenged to do their best at FIU: 58% reported that they were challenged to do their best most of the timeand an additional 31% reported that they were challenged sometimes Eleven percent of respondents reported that they were not challenged to

do their best at FIU: 10% reported that they were seldom challenged and another 1% reported that they had never been challenged at FIU

Correlations: To the extent that graduating respondents were challenged to do their best at FIU, they also believed that the professors in their program

were good teachers (r = 49, p < 001), reported that

they would be likely to recommend FIU to a friend or

relative considering their graduate program (r = 49,

p < 001),rated highly their overall academic

experience (r = 48, p < 001), and rated highly the quality of instruction at FIU (r = 45, p < 001)

The findings depicted in Figure 4 indicate that 89% of respondents would recommend their graduate program to a friend or relative considering graduate school: 48% would recommend FIU without reservations and 41%

would recommend FIU with reservations

Approximately 7% of respondents reported that they probably would not recommend their graduate program and 4% reported that they wouldnot recommend FIU under any circumstances

Correlations: To the extent that graduating respondents reported that they would be likely to recommend FIU to a friend or relative considering their graduate program, they also rated highly their

overall academic experience (r = 62, p < 001) and

agreed that they were satisfied that their major

department met its goals and objectives (r = 60, p

< 001) Graduating respondents who would

The findings in Figure 5 indicate that 68% of graduating respondents were satisfied with the department of their major at FIU: 21% of respondents strongly agreed that they were satisfied and 47% agreed Twenty-seven percent of respondents were not satisfied with the department of their major at FIU: 19% of respondents disagreed that they were satisfied and 8% strongly disagreed Another 5% of respondents were not sure whether they agreed

or disagreed

Correlations: To the extent that graduating respondents agreed that they were satisfied that their major department met its goals and objectives,they also rated highly their overall academic

experience at FIU (r = 65, p < 001),agreed that

faculty were good teachers (r = 61, p < 001),

reported that they would recommend FIU to a

recommend FIU to a friend or relative also reported that they were satisfied overall with their graduate

program at FIU (r = 51, p < 001) and agreed that faculty were good teachers (r = 51, p < 001).

10

Professors Were Good Teachers

Availability of Research Facilities in Graduate Program

The findings in Figure 6 indicate that 81% of graduating respondents at FIU believed that the professors in their graduate program were good teachers: 39% strongly agreed and another 42% agreed Four percent of respondents at FIU believed that the professors in their major were notgood teachers: 3% of respondents disagreed and 1% strongly disagreed Fifteen percent of respondents were not sure whether they agreed or disagreed

Correlations: To the extent that graduating respondents believed that their professors at FIU were good teachers, they also rated highly the

quality of instruction at FIU (r = 68, p < 001),

were satisfied that their major department met its

goals and objectives (r = 61, p < 001), were

satisfied with their overall academic experience at

FIU (r = 60, p < 001), and agreed that the faculty were good researchers (r = 57, p < 001).

The findings in Figure 7 indicate that 69% of graduating respondents rated highly the availability of research facilities in their graduate program: 19% rated the availability as excellent and an additional 50% rated the availability as good Thirty-one percent of respondents assigned low ratings to the availability of research facilities

in their graduate program: 21% rated the availability as fair and 10% rated the availability

as poor

Correlations: To the extent that graduating respondents rated highly the availability of research facilities in their graduate program, they also rated highly the research quality in their

program (r = 74, p < 001), reported that they

were satisfied with the preparation given to

graduate students for teaching (r = 44, p < 001),

were satisfied with their overall academic

experience (r = 43, p < 001), and rated highly the quality of instruction at FIU (r = 43, p < 001).

friend or relative considering their graduate program (r = 57, p < 001), and rated highly the quality of instruction at FIU (r = 61, p < 001).

11

Professors Were Good Researchers

Disagree Strongly Disagree Not Sure

Research Quality in Graduate Program

The findings in Figure 8 indicate that 67% of graduating respondents agreed that the professors

in their graduate program were good researchers: 29% strongly agreed and another 38% agreed Five percent of respondents disagreed that their professors were good researchers: 3% disagreed, while 2% strongly disagreed Another 28% of respondents were not sure if the professors in their graduate program were good researchers

Correlations: To the extent that the graduating respondents agreed that the professors in their graduate program were good researchers, they alsoagreed that their professors at FIU were good

teachers (r = 58, p < 001), were satisfied that

their major department met its goals and objectives

(r = 51, p < 001), rated highly the quality of instruction in their program (r = 50, p < 001), and rated highly the quality of research (r = 50, p

< 001)

The findings in Figure 9 indicate that 73% of graduating respondents rated highly the research quality in their graduate program: 20% rated the quality as excellent, with another 53% giving the research quality a rating of good Twenty-seven percent of respondents rated negatively the research quality in their graduate program: 21% rated the quality as fair and 6% rated the research quality as poor

Correlations: To the extent that graduating respondents rated highly the research quality in their graduate program, they also rated highly the

availability of research facilities in their graduate

program (r = 74, p < 001), rated highly the quality

of instruction in their program (r = 58, p < 001),

reported that the professors in their program were

good researchers (r = 50, p < 001), and rated highly

the preparation given to graduate students for

teaching (r = 46, p < 001).

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Faculty Availability to Collaborate On Graduate Student Research

Figure 10: Faculty Availability to

Collaborate on Graduate Student Research

Excellent Good Fair Poor

The findings in Figure 10 indicate that 78% of graduating respondents rated positively faculty availability to collaborate on graduate student research: 37% rated faculty availability as excellent and 41% rated faculty availability as good Twenty-two percent of respondents rated negatively faculty availability to collaborate on graduate student research: 17% rated faculty availability as fair and 5% assigned a rating of poor

Correlations: Graduating respondents who rated highly the availability of faculty to collaborate on graduate student research alsorated highly the opportunity to interact with faculty members in

their graduate program (r = 66, p < 001), ), rated

highly the quality of instruction in their program

(r = 49, p < 001), were satisfied with how their

major department met its goals and objectives

(r = 51, p < 001), and reported that the professors in their program were good teachers

(r = 48, p < 001).

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IV FOUR-YEAR COMPARISON OF TEN PRINCIPAL INDICATORS OF THE

GRADUATING MASTERS AND DOCTORAL STUDENTS’ SATISFACTION WITH FIU

Florida International University began surveying its graduating students in the Spring of 1999 The survey for the Summer semester of 2002 through the Spring semester of 2003 is the forth data collection of this graduating survey While four data collections may not allow the

detection of overall trends, it is enough to allow us to establish baseline responses for each of thesurvey items

In this section of the report, the focus is on the survey items that have been established as the ten principal indicators of the graduating students’ satisfaction with the university Responses to these items have been divided into the categories of positive and negative responses

Please note that responses may not add up to 100%; some respondents did not answer every question.

Overall Satisfaction with Graduate Program at FIU

Graduating respondents at FIU reported increasing levels of overall satisfaction with their graduate program at FIU from 1999 to 2003 Respondents who reported that they were ‘Very Satisfied’ (25%, 31%, 32%, and 31%, respectively) or ‘Satisfied’ (57%, 54%, 56%, and 59% respectively) increased from 82%-90% for the four-year period Respondents who reported that they were ‘Dissatisfied’ (13%, 11%, 10%, and 8%, respectively) or ‘Very Dissatisfied’ (4%, 4%,0%, and 2%, respectively) decreased from 10%-17% for the four-year period

14

Overall Academic Experience

Graduating respondents at FIU reported varying levels of positive ratings toward their overall academic experience at FIU from 1999 to 2003 Respondents who reported ‘Excellent’ (23%, 33%, 37%, and 33%, respectively) or ‘Good’ (61%, 49%, 50%, and 53%, respectively) ratings ranged from 82-87% for the four-year period Respondents who reported ‘Fair’ (16%, 13%, 8%,and 11%, respectively) or ‘Poor’ (0%, 5%, 5%, and 3%, respectively) ratings ranged from 13-18% for the four-year period

Challenged to Do Their Best

15

Graduating respondents at FIU reported that they were challenged to do their best at FIU at decreasing levels from 1999 to 2003 Respondents who reported that they are challenged ‘Most

of the time’ (45%, 58%, 61%, and 58%, respectively) or “Sometimes’ (48%, 32%, 28%, and 31%, respectively) decreased from 89-93% for the four-year period Respondents who reported that they were challenged to do their best ‘Seldom’ (2%, 7%, 10%, and 10%, respectively) or

‘Never’ (4%, 3%, 1%, and 1%, respectively) ranged from 6-11% for the four-year period

Recommend Graduate Program to a Friend or Relative

Graduating respondents at FIU have increasingly reported that they would recommend FIU to a friend or relative considering their graduate program Respondents who reported that they would

‘recommend FIU without reservations’ (54%, 53%, 50%, and 48%, respectively) or would

‘recommend with reservations’ (35%, 34%, 43%, and 41%, respectively) ranged from 87-93% for the four-year period Respondents who reported that they would ‘probably not recommend

FIU’ (11%, 9%, 5%, and 7%, respectively) or ‘definitely would not recommend FIU’ (0%, 4%,

1%, and 4%, respectively) ranged from 6-13% for the four-year period

16

Satisfaction with Department of Major

Please note that the wording of the item was slightly different in 1999, than for 2000 and 2001

Graduating respondents at FIU reported varying levels of satisfaction with the department of their major at FIU from 1999 to 2003 Respondents who ‘Strongly Agreed’ (21%, 21%, 22%, and 21%, respectively) or ‘Agreed’ (48%, 58%, 46%, and 46%, respectively) that they were satisfied with the department of their major ranged from 67-79% for the four-year period Respondents who ‘Disagreed’ (18%, 10%, 16%, and 19%, respectively) or ‘Strongly Disagreed’ (5%, 5%, 11%, and 8%, respectively) ranged from 15-27% for the four-year period

Respondents who made a response of ‘Not Sure’ ranged from 4-6% for the four-year period

Professors Were Good Teachers

Graduating respondents at FIU reported increasing levels of agreement with the statement “My professors were good teachers” from 1999 to 2003 Respondents who ‘Strongly Agreed’ (16%, 41%, 48%, and 39%, respectively) or ‘Agreed’ (61%, 45%, 41%, and 42%, respectively) that their professors were good teachers and ranged from 76-89% for the four-year period

Respondents who ‘Disagreed’ (5%, 7%, 6%, and 3%, respectively) or ‘Strongly Disagreed’ (4%, 5%, 4%, and 1%, respectively) ranged from 4-12% for the four-year period Respondents who made a response of ‘Not Sure’ ranged from 1-15% for the four-year period

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Availability of Research Facilities in Graduate Program

Graduating respondents at FIU reported increasing levels of positive ratings toward the

availability of research facilities in their graduate program Respondents who reported

‘Excellent’ (6%, 22%, 24%, and 19%, respectively) or ‘Good’ (46%, 45%, 43%, and 50%, respectively) ratings increased from 52-69% for the four-year period Respondents who reported

‘Fair’ (32%, 24%, 21%, and 21%, respectively) or ‘Poor’ (16%, 9%, 9%, and 10%, respectively) ratings decreased from 48-31% for the four-year period

Professors in Graduate Program Were Good Researchers

Please note that this question was added to the Graduating Masters and Doctoral Student Survey

18

Graduating respondents at FIU reported declining levels of agreement with the statement “My professors were good researchers” from 2000 to 2003 Respondents who ‘Strongly Agreed’ (26%, 29%, and 29%, respectively) or ‘Agreed’ (49%, 46%, and 38%, respectively) that their professors were good teachers ranged from 67%-75% for the three-year period Respondents who ‘Disagreed’ (7%, 16%, and 3%, respectively) or ‘Strongly Disagreed’ (5%, 7%, and 2%, respectively) ranged from 5-23% for the three-year period Respondents who made a response

of ‘Not Sure’ ranged from 1-28% for the three-year period

Research Quality in Graduate Program

Please note that this question was added to the Graduating Masters and Doctoral Student Survey

Graduating respondents at FIU reported steady levels of positive ratings toward the research quality in their graduate program Respondents who reported ‘Excellent’ (25%, 24%, and 20%, respectively) or ‘Good’ (45%, 47%, and 53%, respectively) ratings increased slightly from 70-73% for the three-year period Respondents who reported ‘Fair’ (23%, 20%, and 21%,

respectively) or ‘Poor’ (7%, 5%, and 6%, respectively) ratings ranged from 25-30% for the three-year period

Faculty Availability to Assist Graduate Student Research

(Please note that this question was added to the Graduating Masters and Doctoral Student Survey

in 2000.)

19

Graduating respondents at FIU reported increasing levels of positive ratings toward the

availability of faculty in their graduate program to collaborate on graduate student research Respondents who reported ‘Excellent’ (34%, 38%, and 37%, respectively) or ‘Good’ (40%, 41%, and 41%, respectively) ratings ranged from 74-79% for the three-year period Respondentswho reported ‘Fair’ (18%, 16%, and 17%, respectively) or ‘Poor’ (8%, 3%, and 5%,

respectively) ratings ranged from 19-26% for the three-year period

Conclusions

When looking at data over time, it is helpful to keep several issues in mind When ratings are consistent over a time period, it is usually an indication that those ratings are a true measure of the item that is the measure is reliable However, when ratings are not consistent over time it

is possible to draw multiple conclusions One conclusion would be that the ratings are

inconsistent because of flaws in the representativeness of the sample over the time period A second conclusion would be that there have been true fluctuations in the graduating respondents’ experiences over the time period It is premature to discuss trends in the responses because the data exists over a four-year time period Typically, it is necessary to have data over a five to ten-year period in order to assess a trend

Positive ratings showed a mostly increasing trend over the four-year period for overall

satisfaction with their graduate program, satisfaction with their overall academic experience, reporting that they would recommend FIU to a friend or relative considering their graduate program, agreement that their professors were good teachers, the ratings of the research facilities available in their graduate program, for research quality in the graduate program, and availability

of faculty in their graduate program to collaborate on graduate student research Positive ratings showed a mostly decreasing trend over the four-year period for graduates’ reporting that they were challenged to do their best and that their professors were good researchers Positive ratingsfluctuated over the four-year period for the respondents’ satisfaction with the department of their major

20

VII CONCLUSIONS FROM THE 2002-2003 GRADUATING MASTERS AND DOCTORAL STUDENT SURVEY

Once again it is determined that the sample of graduating respondents is not representative of the graduating Masters and Doctoral student population Response rates remain low, dropping to an overall response rate of twelve percent for this time period (Summer 2002 – Spring 2003) The School of Hospitality Management had the highest response rate of about 23%, followed by the College of Health and Urban Affairs with 22% The School of Journalism had the lowest response rate of 4%, followed by the College of Education with about 6%

Positive responses to the ten principal indicators of student satisfaction varied somewhat compared

to the responses from students who graduated in Spring 2001 Positive responses increased for ratings of overall satisfaction at FIU, agreement that their professors were good teachers, facilities available in their graduate programs, and quality of research in their graduate program Positive responses decreased for overall academic experience, whether they would recommend FIU to a friend or relative considering their graduate program, agreement that their professors were good teachers, and agreement that faculty were available to assist graduate student research Positive responses remained about the same for whether respondents were challenged to do their best at FIU and satisfaction with the department of their major

Positive ratings showed a mostly increasing trend over the four-year period for overall

satisfaction with their graduate program, satisfaction with their overall academic experience,

reporting that they would recommend FIU to a friend or relative considering their graduate program, agreement that their professors were good teachers, the ratings of the research facilities available in their graduate program, for research quality in the graduate program, and availability of faculty in their graduate program to collaborate on graduate student research Positive ratings showed a mostlydecreasing trend over the four-year period for graduates’ reporting that they were challenged to do their best and that their professors were good researchers Positive ratings fluctuated over the four-year period for the respondents’ satisfaction with the department of their major

Although response rates to the survey continue to be low, it is important to note that the overall number of responses from students has increased from a total of 56 respondents in 1999 to the current total of 240 Currently, the survey administrator is utilizing the FIU email address to notify the student that the survey is available A greater effort needs to be made by the Administration, the Deans, and faculty members to get the students to activate and use the university email account (or atleast forward mail in this account to another preferred account) Online surveys are very cost-effective and will continue to be utilized for the foreseeable future A team effort by the Office of Planning and Institutional Effectiveness along with the Deans and Chairpersons will improve the response rates of the students

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APPENDIX A: GRADUATING MASTERS AND DOCTORAL

STUDENT SURVEY

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A Please indicate your graduate program

B What is the name of your program? # C Please indicate your graduate degree level %

• Hotel and Restaurant Management 3

• Industrial and Organizational Psychology 1 Very Satisfied 31.2%

• Master in Comparative Sociology 1

• Master in Computer Engineering 1

• Master in Public Health 1 E How did you rank your major program at

• Master in Social Work 1 the time you applied for graduate school

• Latin American and Caribbean Studies 1 Top or one of the top available programs 12.0%

• Master of Landscape Architecture 1 A good overall program at FIU 44.0%

• Master of Science Fast Track Program 1 The FIU program appears to be fairly good 14.9%

• M S in Industrial Engineering 1

F How important was each reason below in selecting your graduate program at FIU?

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