UCLA gets high marks from new alumni

A majority of 2005’s graduating seniors reported high
satisfaction with their overall academic and college experience at
UCLA in what was the first comprehensive senior survey.

The survey was administered to students in the UCLA College last
May.

The web-based survey asked graduating seniors to evaluate the
curriculum, intellectual challenge, faculty accessibility, course
availability and several other factors.

Out of the 5,800 responses ““ an 80 percent response rate
““ two-thirds of respondents reported high satisfaction with
the intellectual challenges at the university and 88 percent of
respondents were satisfied or very satisfied with their major
curriculum. Of the 1,568 respondents who pursued minors, 93 percent
said they were satisfied or very satisfied with their minor
curriculum.

Janina Montero, vice chancellor of Student Affairs, and Judith
L. Smith, vice provost of undergraduate education, said the results
of the survey are being analyzed and will be given to individual
departments, the Academic Senate and the UCLA Alumni Association,
so they can set up focus groups to study possible improvements.

In the area of academics, 86 percent reported that they were
satisfied or very satisfied with faculty accessibility, and for
minors, the satisfaction was at 92 percent.

“We are heartened that our students expressed such strong
sentiments about their satisfaction with their academic
experiences,” Smith said, in response to the high
satisfaction in academic experience.

The areas of lowest satisfaction reported in the survey were in
academic counseling in majors with 76 percent, course availability
in majors with 62 percent satisfaction, and access to small classes
and seminars in majors with 61 percent satisfaction.

Smith and Montero said they were not surprised by the relatively
lower satisfaction in those areas, but this survey was the first
numerical support for its occurrence. The information will be given
to each department so attention can be called to evaluate
department course availability and counseling programs.

Respondents also reported higher satisfaction with their minor
than majors in all categories. Though the discrepancy may be due to
chance, Smith said students often minor out of love for a subject,
but feel more obligated to major in something that may lead to
future plans.

Majors are mandatory for graduation, so students may be
obligated to continue through the major in order to graduate, Smith
said.

The majority of respondents also reported satisfaction with
student services and campus climate. The survey revealed that 75
percent of the students believed that different political beliefs
are respected while 86 percent replied that different sexual
orientations are respected.

For no major category of student services did a majority report
dissatisfaction.

Overall, 71 percent said that they feel they are part of the
campus community, which Montero said was “a good testament of
a sense of belonging to the broader community.”

The survey also found that the majority of students engage in
in-depth conversations with people of other race or ethnicity,
religious belief, political belief and sexual orientation.

“I’m very, very pleased with the high marks for
cross-cultural experiences,” said Montero, who added that
cross-cultural experience was one of the most meaningful
experiences students can have at UCLA.

Both Montero and Smith also said that they were pleased with the
survey responses and felt that the school is moving in the right
direction.

“On the whole, students report having a good experience at
UCLA,” Montero said.

Smith added that students were intellectually challenged and
found the quality of teaching to be high.

The survey will be administered to 2006 graduates this May. New
questions that arose from the inaugural survey will be put on
future surveys to more deeply understand students’ feelings
about aspects of the university, officials said.

After a couple of years, the other colleges at UCLA may also be
included so students of all majors will be able to give their
responses.

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