The majority of UCLA seniors say they are satisfied with their academic and social opportunities, but found problems with class size and racial interaction on campus, according to results of the annual senior survey scheduled for release today.
The survey, which was conducted last spring and questioned the graduating class of 2006, focuses on three main areas: campus life, academic life and plans after graduation.
In the academic area, the survey showed that more than 90 percent of seniors are satisfied with their academic experience and more than 80 percent said they were challenged by new ideas at UCLA.
“The students’ overall satisfaction continues to be very high. Students are really challenged intellectually and this is what we hope to see at the university,” said Judith Smith, vice provost for undergraduate education.
But the survey also showed students were dissatisfied with the limited number of seminar classes offered within their departments. Thirty-five percent of those surveyed said they were dissatisfied or very dissatisfied with the access to small classes, such as seminars that satisfy their major requirements.
“It’s just really hard to get into seminars because of enrollment times and there just aren’t enough offered,” said Lisa Chang, a fourth-year psychology student who was not able to enroll in a seminar she wanted to take.
Smith said the university is continuing to work on providing more seminar options for students. “The survey can help us see that students are dissatisfied,” she said.
Since UCLA is a research-based school, there are many opportunities for students to take part in research projects throughout their undergraduate career, and most of those surveyed said doing so enhanced the academic experience. Eighty-seven percent of the students surveyed said participating in research helped them better understand concepts in related courses.
The survey shows that students who participate in research “get more engaged and bring in thinking and concepts into the classroom,” Smith said.
The survey also suggested that overall, students were pleased with campus life at UCLA. More than 90 percent of students said they were satisfied with student and campus life and 70 percent said they felt part of the UCLA community.
“Students have a very positive view of the campus community. The diverse student body provides a good academic setting,” Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Janina Montero said.
But the survey noted that 38 percent of students had guarded or cautious interactions with students from different racial, ethnic or religious groups than their own.
Montero said the university plans to look for ways to address the issue. For example, she said the university might create focus groups to try to further understand what students are experiencing. Also, she said it might engage different parts of the university that work with students from different backgrounds, such as offering more workshops and activities on the residential Hill.
While some administrators have expressed concern about the guarded interactions between students with different backgrounds, others have said they do not see this as an issue.
“I’ve noticed it, but I don’t consider it a problem. People do that everywhere,” Chang said.
Heather Feenstra, a fourth-year psychobiology student, said she is grateful UCLA is more diverse than where she grew up.
“I really enjoy hanging out with others from different cultures,” she said. “My roommate is Korean, I have Asian friends, I have Persian friends, etc.”
The survey also showed that more than 90 percent of the students plan to pursue post-baccalaureate studies in various fields.
The survey, which was conducted for the first time in the 2005-2006 academic year, produced similar results to last year. “The purpose is to connect, annually, data from students who are graduating,” Smith said.
Montero said the survey provides the university with feedback administrators can use to make changes. “Part of this is to learn as accurately as possible the perception of students,” she said.
Within the next few years, Montero said they hope to create an alumni survey, similar to the senior survey, to see what students do after graduation.
Visit the Senior Survey Web site and see the results published by UCLA.