Environmental Sciences Undergraduate Program Alumni Survey: [PDF]

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Table 1. Numbers of respondents by year of graduation. Graduation. Year. Number of ..... years since graduation with the Environmental Sciences BS degree and relatedness of degree .... and facilitation]; and (3) Computer and software use.
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES UNDERGRADUATE PROGRAM ALUMNI SURVEY: WHAT BECOMES OF OUR GRADUATES?

Results from a 2010 Survey

Compiled by Patricia S. Muir, Director, Environmental Sciences Undergraduate Program March 2011

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Contents Background ................................................................................................................................................... 2 Attributes of Respondents ............................................................................................................................ 3 Academic fields of interest within environmental sciences as undergraduates .......................................... 4 Current employment or educational status ................................................................................................. 6 Relationship of employment or post-college education to major.............................................................. 10 Utilization of OSU services .......................................................................................................................... 13 Value of OSU education .............................................................................................................................. 13 Interest in continued involvement with OSU ............................................................................................. 16 Participant comments ................................................................................................................................. 17 Summary – Key findings .............................................................................................................................. 18 Acknowledgements..................................................................................................................................... 19 Appendix i. Cover memo sent by email soliciting participation in the Environmental Sciences Alumni survey .......................................................................................................................................................... 20 Appendix II. Word version of Alumni survey, 2010 ................................................................................... 21

Background As is true for many academic programs, the Environmental Sciences Undergraduate Program needs information on the fate of its graduates. How many go on to work in full time positions that relate to their major? How many go on to pursue post-college education, and what degrees have they obtained? What specialization areas within the Environmental Sciences major are selected by students, and do certain of these seem to prepare students particularly well for career or post-college education? How do students perceive the utility of their education in terms of preparing them for their future career or educational aspirations? To address these questions, surveys were distributed electronically to 204 alumni of the Environmental Sciences Undergraduate Program who had graduated from Oregon State University in 2000 – 2007. We selected this range of graduation years as we anticipated that it often takes several years for graduates to settle on a career or graduate/professional school path, and we were particularly interested in responses from those who were past this transitional period.

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Surveys were sent in fall 2010, and results were compiled in late winter 2011. The surveyed population included all alumni from those graduation years for which OSU’s Alumni Office had email addresses; names and email addresses were furnished by that office. After eliminating those individuals for whom our message was returned, owing to an obsolete email address, and those who were alumni of the Environmental Sciences Graduate, rather than Undergraduate, Program, the surveyed population included 204 individuals; 56 responded, for a 27% response rate (Table 1). [The entire alumni population included ~ 466 graduates across those years, as indicated by Alumni Office records; email addresses were not available for more than half of this population.] We are grateful to those alumni who participated in this survey!! The survey was accessed by recipients through a web link, which was provided in a cover email message from Dr. Muir, Program Director, that encouraged participation in the survey. We used Survey Monkey © as the survey tool. The cover memo and the survey itself are included as appendices to this report. We requested responses within a month of receipt of the message that solicited participation, and followed up three weeks after the initial distribution to encourage participation. The second notice brought nearly as many responses as did the first. Data summarized below are based on respondents’ self-reporting. In some cases, respondents were inconsistent in their answers, so sums for particular response categories do not always add to 100%, sometimes being lower and sometimes being higher.

Attributes of Respondents Respondents represented alumni who graduated between 1999 and 2009, although the survey was intended to target those who graduated in 2000 – 2007 (Table 1). All but one of the respondents had graduated at least 3.5 years before taking the survey, with ~ 50% of respondents having graduated at least 8.5 years prior. Table 1. Numbers of respondents by year of graduation Graduation Number of Year respondents 1999

2

2000

6

2001

13

2002

8

2003

4

2004

7

2005

7

2006

2

2007

6

2009

1

TOTAL

56

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Sixty six percent of respondents were female and 34 percent were male. Sixty eight percent of respondents currently reside in OR, CA, WA or HI (29, 5, 4 and 2 respondents, respectively) while the remainder were currently located in CO, FL, ID, MA, MD, MI, NM, NY, TX, UT or Washington DC. Approximately 95% of respondents completed OSU coursework towards their Environmental Sciences degree on-campus, and ~7 % indicated that they completed the degree through OSU’s Ecampus or using a hybrid of on-campus and distance course work. One respondent self-identified as having been a post-baccalaureate student.

Academic fields of interest within environmental sciences as undergraduates Environmental Sciences majors are required to choose a pre-approved Option, Minor or Certificate as an area of specialization within the degree. Specializations completed by the respondents are summarized in Table 2. Because these are self-reported and the survey did not list by name all of the pre-approved Minors, Options, or Certificates, some of the areas reported below are difficult to interpret by name (indicated by “?” in Table 2); future surveys should ask participants to choose from a specified list of specialization areas to improve interpretability of responses. Some respondents completed more than one specialization.

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Table 2. Specialization areas completed by Environmental Sciences alumni respondents (93% response rate). “?” indicates self-reported specialization areas that are difficult to interpret by name. Specialization

Number of respondents

Applied Ethics Certificate

2

Aquatic Biology

3

Biochemistry

1

Biology (?)

1

Botany

4

Business Administration

2

Communications (?)

1

Dual Degree (used another major as specialization)

1

Geographic Information Sciences Certificate

1

Environmental Chemistry

4

Environmental Education

1

Environmental Geosciences

2

Environmental Health and Safety

2

Environmental Policy

1

Environmental Sociology

1

Fisheries and Wildlife

2

Forest Ecology

2

Marine Biology

1

Natural Resource & Env’l Law and Policy

4

Oceanography

3

Pre-education (Mathematics); also Chemistry Minor

1

Rangeland Management

1

Resource Economics

1

Social Sciences (?)

1

Soil Science, Ethics Certificate

1

Terrestrial Ecosystems

5

Water Science and Resources

1

Zoology

2

Total

52

These results emphasize the diversity of interests encompassed by Environmental Sciences undergraduates. If grouped loosely into life science, physical science, and ethics/policy/business/education interests, it is apparent that life science-related fields are most heavily subscribed (~ 49%), followed by ethics/policy/business/education (31%) and physical science fields (~ 20%).

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Sixteen respondents indicated that they had completed a second BS or BA degree in addition to the Environmental Sciences BS. These included: Biochemistry/Biophysics; Bioengineering; Biology, Botany, Business Administration, Chemistry, French, Geography, German, Philosophy, and Spanish.

Current employment or educational status For the first question in this section of the survey, participants were asked to indicate which choice about their current employment or educational status applies to them; because participants were asked to select all answers that applied to their present situation, totals do not sum to 100% (Table 3). The overall response rate to the question was 98%. Table 3. Current employment or educational status. Responses are ordered by decreasing percentages, and are based on the 55 individuals who answered the question Answer option

Response percent

Response count

Permanent

52.7

29

Full-time

47.3

26

Have completed graduate or professional school or another form of continuing education

21.8

12

In graduate or professional school

12.7

7

Part-time

9.1

5

Employed part-time or on a temporary basis but seeking full time or permanent employment

9.1

5

Temporary

7.3

4

Pursuing other education

3.6

2

Not employed for pay and not looking

1.8

1

0

0

10.9

6

Unable to find work but still seeking employment Other *

* “Other” included: Fellowship with US government, but will go permanent in 2011; Just returned home from Peace Corps; Participating in Jepson Herbarium workshops and taking classes of interest at the local community college; attending OSU for PhD but also working part-time for UCSB; Self-employed as a consultant plus part-time work in my field; Graduate certificate in sustainability

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We find it encouraging that the largest percentages are for alumni that are employed in a permanent or full time position, and for those who have either completed graduate or professional school or are currently enrolled in such programs. (Note that these categories are not mutually exclusive.) Respondents who completed the degree through Ecampus did not differ from those who completed the degree on-campus or by hybrid means in terms of their current employment or educational status; one Ecampus respondent indicated that he/she had completed graduate or professional school or another form of continuing education and another indicated that he/she was currently pursuing other education (but note contradictory reporting, below). Half of the respondents who are currently in full time or permanent positions had previously had temporary or part-time employment (22 of the 44 who answered this question), with ~ 48% not having had “transitional” work before obtaining their current full time or permanent position. The survey went on to ask, “If you have completed a graduate or other degree since graduating OSU, what degree(s) did you earn and in what field(s). Please indicate the name of the university (or universities) you attended.” Again, participants could select all answers that applied to them; 41% of respondents answered the question, while the remainder skipped it (Table 4). Table 4. Degrees completed after the BS in Environmental Sciences at OSU. Responses are ordered by decreasing percentages; response percentages are based on the 23 individuals who answered the question, with percentage of the entire population of 56 respondents indicated in parentheses. Degree

Response percent

Response count

MS

52.2 (21.4)

12

JD

13.0 (5.4)

3

PhD

8.7 (3.6)

2

MBA

4.3 (1.8)

1

MAT

0

0

Other *

21.7 (8.9)

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* Other included Master of Urban & Regional Planning (two individuals); LMT in Healing Arts; Doctor of Osteopathy; Graduate Certificate

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Respondents who had completed MS degrees listed the following degree areas (information on universities attended is available upon request): Marine, Estuarine & Environmental Science; Hydrographic Science; Environmental Science (two respondents); Environmental Management & Policy; Environmental Science, Ecology Option; Environmental Management and Economic Geography; Botany; History of Science; Oceanography; and Natural Resources and Environmental Management. All degree areas were related to the field of Environmental Sciences. Two respondents who indicated that they completed the degree through OSU’s Ecampus reported having completed MS degrees and one Ecampus alumnus reported having completed an MBA [note these numbers contradict those reported earlier, where one such student indicated having completed graduate/professional school or another form of continuing education and one indicated current enrollment in such]. No Ecampus participants reported having completed PhD or JD degrees. Respondents who completed JD degrees earned their degrees at Lewis & Clark Law School and at Willamette University (two respondents). Respondents who completed PhD’s listed these degree areas: Structural and Computational Biology and Molecular Biophysics; Environment. We asked those who have not enrolled in or completed graduate or professional school (or some other form of continuing education) to rate the likelihood of their doing so in the future; 46% of participants (26 individuals) responded to this question. This represents all of those who are in this situation [23 have completed + 7 currently in graduate or professional school + 2 enrolled in other educational opportunity = 32 to whom the question should not have applied; 2 thus apparently answered inappropriately in one place or another]. Of the 26 who responded, 23% said that they were “Planning to enroll;” 35% considered themselves “Quite likely to do so;” 31% rated themselves “Unlikely to do so;” and 12 % selected “Unsure.” If all who indicated that they are planning to enroll do so, and complete a post-college education, that would bring the total number of respondents who had completed such education to 29, or 52% of respondents; add in some of the “Quite likely to do so,” and the percentage would be even higher. The survey also asked participants to identify their current place of employment or educational pursuit. “Current job title or Degree being pursued or Degree earned (please provide all that apply.)” Most reported affiliations with universities or community colleges (student/faculty/research staff), or have positions in the business/industrial sector, or with Federal, state, or county governments (Table 5). The response rate to this question was 91%.

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Table 5. Current place of employment or educational pursuit of alumni. Responses are grouped by category, and are ordered by decreasing percentages. Numbers of respondents are indicated; percentages of those who responded to the question are in parentheses Type of Employer or Institution

Number of respondents (%)

Universities

9 (18)

Businesses/Industry

9 (18)

Federal government

8 (16)

State government

7 (14)

County government/Watershed Councils and related

6 (12)

Consulting firms

4 (8)

Medical schools

2 (4)

Law Schools

1 (2)

Community colleges

1 (2)

Public school system

1 (2)

City government

1 (2)

Community health organization (non-gov.)

1 (2)

Federal government employers included US Forest Service, US Fish & Wildlife Service, NOAA, USDOE (Bonnneville Power Administration) and the US Navy. State government employers included OR Dept. of Fisheries and Wildlife, ID Department of Environmental Quality, CA State Parks, HI Department of Health, OR Department of Human Services and OR Housing and Community Services. Employment with country governments and water shed councils included a county Watershed Management Division, Public Health Departments, a District Attorney’s Office, working as a contractor for a Watershed Council, and working for a county Soil & Water Conservation District. Business/industrial employers were heterogeneous, ranging from Pacific Gas and Electric to engineering firms and spas. The survey asked people for information on their starting monthly salaries and current monthly salaries. Response percentages were 70% and 79% for the two questions, respectively. Starting salaries ranged from $1,300 to $ 6,000 per month, with a mean of $3,228 per month. Current monthly salaries ranged from $1,400 to $ 8,400 per month, with a mean of $4,426. No systematic differences in salaries by degree of current primary job-relatedness to the major or specialization area were apparent; all categories of relatedness (directly related, somewhat related, and not related) encompassed wide ranges.

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Relationship of employment or post-college education to major Survey participants were asked whether their primary current job or post-college educational program is related to their major. Another question asked “If you completed an educational program after your BS in Environmental Sciences, was that program related to your Environmental Sciences major?” Another question asked about the relationship of their current primary job or post-college educational program to their area of specialization within Environmental Sciences (Minor, Option, or Certificate) and about the relationship of a postcollege educational program that they have already completed to their area of specialization; response percentages were 95% and ~ 50%, respectively, for questions about relationship of employment and completed post college education to the major or the specialization (Table 6). Table 6. Relationship of current employment or education, or completed education, to the Environmental Sciences major and to the specialization within Environmental Sciences. Data are response percentages; “N’s” given for each column are total number who responded to the question and are the numbers on which response percentages are based. Relationship to major Current situation Completed (employment or post-college post-college education education) N=29 N=53 Directly related Somewhat related Not related

43.4 34

34.5 48.3

Relationship to specialization Current situation Completed (employment post-college or posteducation college N=27 education) N=53 39.6 29.6 35.8 48.1

22.6

17.2

24.5

22.2

Approximately 75% of respondents indicated that their current employment or educational endeavor, or their completed post-college studies, were directly or somewhat related to their major and to their specialization; this percentage did not differ between on-campus and Ecampus alumni. (The sole post-bacc participant reported that their current situation was directly related to their major.) Both the major and the specialization apparently contributed directly to their post-college experiences, with almost no differences between relatedness to major and to specialization within the major. No clear patterns regarding utility of various specializations to subsequent career or educational opportunities are apparent (Table 7). Sample sizes within specialization areas are, however, small, limiting inference. Similarly, no clear patterns emerged concerning the relationship of years since graduation with the Environmental Sciences BS degree and relatedness of degree to subsequent career or educational experiences (Table 8). We had anticipated that proportions currently employed or studying in related fields would increase with years since graduation, but this sample does not suggest that this is the case; again, however, sample sizes within each graduation year are relatively small, limiting inference.

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Table 7. Relatedness of specialization area (Minor, Option or Certificate) to current employment or educational pursuit. Numbers in parentheses after specialization name are numbers of respondents. “?” indicates self-reported specializations that are difficult to identify. Numbers in relatedness columns are numbers of respondents in each category. Note that these data cannot be directly compared with those in Table 2, as some respondents did not answer the question about relatedness of specialization to current situation.

Specialization Applied Ethics Certificate (2) Aquatic Biology (3) Biochemistry (1) Biology (?) (1) Botany (4) Business Administration (2) Communications (?) (1) Geographic Information Sci. Certificate (1) Environmental Chemistry (4)* Environmental Education (1) Environmental Geosciences (2) Environmental Health and Safety (2) Environmental Policy (1) Environmental Sociology (1) Fisheries and Wildlife (2) Forest Ecology (2) Marine Biology (1) Natural Resource & Env’l Law and Policy (4) Oceanography (3) Rangeland Management (1) Resource Economics (1) Soil Science, Ethics Certificate (1) Terrestrial Ecosystems (5) Water Science and Resources (1) Zoology (2)

Directly related 1

Somewhat related 2 1

1

1 1 1 1 1

1

1

3 1 1 1 1

Not related

2 2 1 1 2 2 1 1 1 1

2 1

1

1 1

2 1

1 2

1

* One reported Chemistry and Applied Ethics Certificate; response here recorded under the latter.

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Table 8. Relatedness of Environmental Sciences degree to current employment or educational pursuit. Totals by graduation year do not always match those in Table 1, as some respondents did not answer questions about relationship of their current situation to their degree. Numbers in relatedness columns are numbers of respondents in each category. Grad. Year Directly related Somewhat related Not related 1999 2 2000 2 1 3 2001 3 6 5 20023 3 3 2 2003 2 2 2004 2 2 2 2005 6 2006 1 1 2007 3 2

Participants were asked “If your job or graduate school program is (or was, in the case of a completed post-undergraduate degree) not related to your major, is that because you…” with various answer options provided. Nineteen individuals responded to this question, which corresponds approximately to the number who indicated that their employment or schooling was not related to the major or the specialization (Table 6). Of these, 26 % indicated that they could not find work or a graduate program that was related; 60% indicated that they chose another area for personal reasons (geographic constraints, needs of family, personal interests, etc.); 5% reported that they found that salaries or benefits for jobs related to their major were inadequate; and 10% indicated other reasons, which were highly variable. We find these data encouraging – most (60%) respondents who indicated that their employment or post-college educational activities were not related to the major had personal reasons for making the career/educational choice that they made, rather than being strictly constrained by lack of appropriate and related opportunities. The survey also asked whether people perceived that the internship or other “observational experience” that they completed as part of their Environmental Sciences degree was helpful in obtaining their current position. Ninety five percent of participants responded to this question, although 28 % of those selected “not applicable” as their answer; this left a total of 38 participants who actually responded to the question. Half (50%) of those 38 respondents replied “Yes;” 39% replied “No;” and the remainder (~ 10%) indicated “Not sure.” (For Ecampus alumni, which are included in the percentages reported above, 75% (N = 3) replied “Yes” with one (25%) indicating “Not applicable.) Specialization areas completed by those who indicated that their internship/observational experience was helpful ranged widely; only three areas had more than one “Yes,” response – Botany (3); Aquatic Biology (2); and Fisheries & Wildlife (2). Sample sizes by specialization area are, however, too small to allow robust inference. We anticipated that internships would have been more useful in obtaining subsequent relevant employment or schooling than these numbers suggest, although we are pleased that half of those who considered the question relevant did find such experiences helpful.

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Utilization of OSU services Participants were asked whether they utilized OSU’s Career Services as part of preparing for job searches or for assistance in finding a job. Of the 96% who responded to this question, 18.5% reported having used these services, while 81.5% reported that they did not. The only students who reported having used OSU’s Career Services had completed the Environmental Sciences degree on-campus (as opposed to through Ecampus). The survey asked whether participants had established a lifetime email account through OSU. Of the 52 individuals who responded to this question, only 7 (~14%) have done so, with 4 indicating “I am not sure” and one indicating that they have not but would like to. Responses were similar to the question, “Are you still subscribed to ENSCASSO, the Environmental Sciences listserv?” Of the 52 people who responded to the question, only 6 (~12%) are still subscribed, with 3 being “Not sure;” the remainder said “No,” with one indicating that “I’ve not heard of it before.”

Value of OSU education The survey asked, “If you are not working or seeking employment in a field related to Environmental Sciences, you might, nevertheless, value the education that you received at OSU and in the Environmental Sciences Program. To what extent do you value the education that you received?” Two thirds (66%) of respondents answered this question; in retrospect, we realize that the wording should have addressed more clearly both the students that are working or seeking employment in a field related to Environmental Sciences and those who are not; we suspect that most of the ~ 33% who did not respond skipped the question because they are working or seeking employment in such a field. Nevertheless, none of the respondents selected “Do not value” as their answer choice, with 23 and 14 respondents (62 % and 38% of those who did answer the question, respectively) placing “High value” or “Moderate value” on their OSU education. We asked participants about their perception of the value of knowledge, skills, and abilities acquired at OSU. This question asked them to (1) rate the frequency of use of specified knowledge, skills and abilities and (2) the quality of preparation in each of these areas provided by their OSU education (Table 9).

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Table 9. Perceptions of frequency of use and OSU preparation in knowledge, skills, and abilities. Frequency of use scores: 1 = often, 2 = sometimes, 3 = never, 4 = no response; OSU preparation scores: 1 = excellent, 2 = good, 3 = fair, 4 = poor, 5 = no response. FREQUENCY OF USE Answer Options Technical writing Public Speaking Interpersonal Communication Team work and facilitation Conflict resolution Computer and software use Statistics Mathematical concepts or modeling Critical thinking Interpretation of information Synthesis of information Skills and knowledge specific to your specialization within Environmental Sciences

1

2

3

4

Response Count

27

14

6

4

51

14

29

6

2

51

39

7

0

5

51

37

10

0

4

51

21

22

4

4

51

38

7

4

2

51

8

21

18

4

51

7

23

17

4

51

35

10

3

3

51

38

4

2

5

49

30

10

4

5

49

20

16

10

4

50

1

2

3

4

5

Response Count

11

22

12

4

1

50

8

16

15

8

3

50

9

19

16

4

2

50

12

19

12

5

2

50

3

14

20

6

7

50

12

15

14

5

4

50

11

18

8

5

8

50

10

15

10

8

7

50

OSU PREPARATION Answer Options Technical writing Public Speaking Interpersonal Communication Team work and facilitation Conflict resolution Computer and software use Statistics Mathematical concepts or

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modeling Critical thinking Interpretation of information Synthesis of information Skills and knowledge specific to your specialization within Environmental Sciences

21

16

9

2

2

50

17

21

5

3

3

49

17

19

8

3

2

49

17

18

9

3

3

50

Frequency of use: Knowledge, skills or abilities cited as most frequently used can be grouped into three general categories: (1) Thinking [critical thinking, interpretation of information, and synthesis of information]; (2) Communication [technical writing, interpersonal communication, and teamwork and facilitation]; and (3) Computer and software use. Of those who did not choose “no response,” > 53% reported that these areas were used “Often,” while > 73% fell into either the “Often” or “Sometimes” categories. Two of the communication skills (interpersonal communication and teamwork and facilitation) were unique in that no respondents indicated that these were “Never” used. Another communication skill, which was not commonly ranked as used “Often” stood out in its frequency of being ranked “Sometimes;” this was public speaking (59% of respondents gave it this ranking). Knowledge, skills or abilities cited as least frequently used were basically quantitative skills: Statistics and Mathematical concepts or modeling (38 and 36% “”Never,” respectively; 47 and 49% “Sometimes,” respectively; and 17 and 15% “Often,” respectively. Knowledge, skills or abilities related to the student’s area of specialization also received relatively high marks for frequency of use: 44% “Often,” and 23% “Sometimes.” Twenty-two percent of respondents indicated that such skills were never used; these are likely people who are not working in related fields. OSU preparation: Respondents gave highest rankings to their OSU preparation in the area of critical thinking, which was also cited as a frequently used skill (see above); 44% rated their OSU preparation in this area as “Excellent,” with another 33% rating it as “Good.” Respondents most commonly gave “Good” or “Excellent” rankings to their OSU preparation in most other areas that they cited as using often in their current positions, as summarized below (data are percentages of those who did not select “no response” for their answer): Communication skills:   

Technical writing Interpersonal communication Team work and facilitation

Good 45 40 40

Excellent 22 19 25

Fair 22 33 25 15

Thinking skills:   

Interpreting information Synthesizing information Critical thinking

Computer and software use:

46 40 33

37 36 44

11 17 19

33

26

30

For quantitative skills, which were less often cited as being used “Often” or “Sometimes,” relative to other skills, knowledge and abilities, respondents most commonly selected “Good” for their OSU preparation (43% and 35% for statistics and mathematical concepts/modeling, respectively), with 26% and 23% rating their preparation in these areas as “Excellent,” and 19% and 23% rating their preparation in these fields as fair. OSU preparation in knowledge, skills and abilities related to respondent’s area of specialization received generally high ratings: 36% “Excellent,” 38% “Good,” and 19% “Fair.” In general, few respondents rated their OSU preparation as “Poor.” Highest percentages of this ranking were given for public speaking (17%) and for mathematical concepts/modeling (19%). (Public speaking was cited by 88% of respondents as used “Often” or “Sometimes,” while 64% gave such rankings to their current use of mathematical concepts/modeling.) Perhaps OSU’s changed Baccalaureate Core requirements, which will mandate student participation in a Communication class, will help to remedy the relatively poor perception of OSU preparation in this area [51% “Excellent” or “Good,” 32% “Fair,” and, as noted above, 17% “Poor”]. Other categories received “Poor” rankings from between 4% (critical thinking) and 14% (conflict resolution) of respondents.

Interest in continued involvement with OSU Participants were asked, “Would you be interested in contributing to our efforts to recruit students into the Environmental Sciences program or to help current students find relevant internships or employment (e.g., by furnishing us with interesting stories about what you are doing, sending us notices of internship or job opportunities that you know of, etc)?” Eighty six percent of participants responded to this question, with 52% of those indicating “Yes,” they would like to continue their involvement. (One clarified that he/she would like to help with time and information, but not financially!) The survey then went on to ask in what areas they might want to contribute. Forty five percent of participants responded to this question. Detailed responses are available upon request. Most indicated that they would be interested in communicating with students about summer jobs or internships that are available through their current employer; in providing advice on applying to graduate or law school or on seeking careers; in sharing their post-college experiences and providing “tips,” or in assisting with recruiting. The responses were encouraging, and a next important step for the Environmental Sciences Program staff is to follow up with these people and engage them in whatever ways they want to participate; some indicated clearly that they would likely to be able to provide internships.

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Participant comments The survey asked, “Please comment on how your education (classroom, internship, other) at OSU could have been improved to enhance your career or post-college educational opportunities.” Sixty two percent of participants offered comments. The verbatim responses are available upon request; we attempt to summarize them in broad terms, below. These are ordered by the frequency with which related comments were provided (most to least – numbers in parentheses indicate number of respondents with a related comment.) Comments that appeared to be unique to a particular student’s experience are not included – e.g. problems with their academic advisor or with feelings of isolation at the Cascades Campus.  

 

       

Place more emphasis on the utility of internships, provide more information on internship opportunities, encourage participation in off-campus internship opportunities (5) Offer more help with career placement, interviewing skills, information on government hiring methods. Be sure to include private sector opportunities rather than focusing on NGO’s and government work (5; two of these respondents noted that OSU’s Career services was not helpful to them) Provide more practical, hands-on skills-based courses in specializations, with a focus on those required in the work place [laboratory work, business classes, computer applications, use of GIS/GPS technologies, courses in project design] (4) Require course in computer data management (Access or Excel) and more rigorous statistics and quantitative analysis training, particularly for those who are graduate school-bound. The GIS certificate should require a course in programming (e.g., Pythong) (4) Require a long project or thesis (related – require an applicable technical writing class – grant writing, project proposal writing) (2) Increase rigor of course work in specializations (2) Don’t change advising staff so frequently (2) Provide more information on the need for graduate school and how to apply (1) Require a class in social aspects of environmental issues (environmental justice or racism) (1) Offer more field-based classes (1) Provide more emphasis on students building relationships with other students and with faculty (1) Provide more individually-tailored opportunities for students who have returned to school after years in the work force [e.g., credit that experience and focus on building on it] (1)

Almost all of the comments raised issues that we are aware of and have improved on in recent years or are striving to improve on. For example, our emphasis on internships and ability to convey information about internship opportunities has been greatly enhanced in recent years, via the Environmental Sciences website and our weekly job and internship postings over the Environmental Sciences listserv. As another example, while the advising staff situation was “dynamic” during some of the participants’ tenures here (mid-2000’s), it has been relatively stable for several years by now. We have goals of offering seminars or workshops that will address: (1) career searching and preparedness and (2) opportunities and needs re information on graduate school opportunities and procedures. We are aware that students in interdisciplinary majors, such as Environmental Sciences, have difficulty establishing a community with other students in their major, and these seminars and workshops may help with that. We are also developing a Facebook site, and are exploring additional ways to foster 17

community, particularly for the far-flung Ecampus students. In terms of the comments that relate to curriculum, we are largely dependent on the Departments that offer courses that our students enroll in, but, through communications with our Faculty Specialization advisors (faculty who advise in particular Minors, Options, or Certificates), we can try to encourage the curricular changes that students believe would enhance their training and educational experience. We wish that we could offer a capstone, research- or project-based course, however, staffing constraints limit our ability to do so at this time.

Summary – Key findings Findings are based on the sample of 56 individuals who responded to the survey, which was sent to 204 individuals (27% response rate). [The entire alumni population for the years 2002 – 2007 comprised ~ 466 graduates; email addresses were not available for over half of these people.]  



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Areas of specialization selected by the respondents indicated that life science-related fields were most heavily subscribed (~ 49%), followed by ethics/policy/business/education (31%) and physical science fields (~ 20%). Large percentages of respondents are currently employed in a permanent (53%) or full time (47%) position, have completed graduate or professional school (22%) or are currently enrolled in such programs (13%). [Note that these categories are not mutually exclusive.] Twenty respondents (~ 36%) have completed MS, JD, PhD, DO, MBA or Master of Urban & Regional planning degrees, with large percentages of the remaining population indicating that they either plan to enroll or are quite likely to enroll in graduate or professional programs in the future. All MS degrees were in fields related to Environmental Sciences, as was one PhD. Current employers were most commonly universities or community colleges (student/faculty/research staff), the business/industrial sector, and Federal, state, or county governments. Current monthly salaries of the alumni respondents ranged from $1,400 to $ 8,400 per month, with a mean of $4,426 per month. Approximately 75% of respondents indicated that their current employment or educational endeavor, or their completed post-college studies, were directly or somewhat related to their major and to their specialization within the major. Most (60%) respondents who indicated that their employment or post-college educational activities were not related to the major had personal reasons for making the career/educational choice that they made, rather than being strictly constrained by lack of appropriate and related opportunities; another 26% of these reported that they have been unable to find related work or educational opportunities. While small sample sizes within graduation year and specialization area limit inference, no patterns in current employment or educational status were apparent in relation to either of those potential predictors. Approximately 82% of respondents reported that they did not utilize OSU’s Career Planning service.

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Knowledge, skills or abilities cited as most frequently used in current employment or education fell into three general categories: (1) Thinking [critical thinking, interpretation of information, and synthesis of information]; (2) Communication [technical writing, interpersonal communication, and teamwork and facilitation]; and (3) Computer and software use. Knowledge, skills or abilities related to the student’s area of specialization also received relatively high marks for frequency of use. Knowledge, skills or abilities cited as least frequently used were basically quantitative skills: Statistics and Mathematical concepts or modeling. Respondents gave highest rankings to their OSU preparation in the area of critical thinking, which was also cited as a frequently used skill; 44% rated their OSU preparation in this area as “Excellent,” with another 33% rating it as “Good.” Respondents also most commonly gave “Good” or “Excellent” rankings to their OSU preparation in other areas that they often use in their current positions. In general, few respondents rated their OSU preparation as “Poor;” highest percentages of this ranking were given for public speaking (17%) and for mathematical concepts/modeling (19%). Approximately 45% of respondents indicated that they are interested in assisting the Environmental Sciences Undergraduate Program with recruiting efforts, internship placements, or career and graduate school advice. No consistent complaints about the Program or OSU were offered in respondent comments, and Program staff was already aware of and working to re-dress many of the areas cited as needing improvement (e.g. access to and information about internships and careers). Some are not under our control, as they relate to courses offered by other departments.

In short, it appears that the Environmental Sciences Undergraduate Program is doing a good job in preparing graduates for subsequent careers or educational opportunities, and that a large proportion of graduates have found suitable employment in their fields. There is always room for improvement, and results of this survey will inform our efforts to do so!

Acknowledgements The participation of many was required to make this survey possible. Hilary Rogers from OSU’s Alumni Office patiently pulled contact information for alumni from the requested years (and reworked the lists as needed); Cori Hall and Dawn Marie Gaid provided valuable comments on early drafts of the survey; Torri Givigliano helped clean up alumni records; and Jennifer L. Krebs created the survey instrument in Survey Monkey, created Excel files summarizing findings, and carried out the cross-tabulations that made parts of this report possible. Our questions about knowledge, skills and abilities used in current employment and OSU training in these were based closely on those used in a graduate survey conducted by OSU’s Dept of Fisheries and Wildlife (April 2003). Last but not least, we are grateful to all of the alumni who took time to participate in this endeavor!

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Appendix i. Cover memo sent by email soliciting participation in the Environmental Sciences Alumni survey

November 17, 2010 Greetings from the Environmental Sciences Program at O.S.U.! We hope that “life after graduation” has been great for you, and we’d like to hear about it. As you know, we are very interested in what happens to our graduates, as this gives us insight into how well the Program is preparing people for employment or further education. You probably remember wondering, “What will this degree do for me?” when you were a student – current and prospective students, of course, wonder the same thing! The brief survey at the following link – which should take you no longer than 10 minutes to complete! -- will help us to compile information on this important question. Link to survey: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/osuesgradsurvey Please take just a few moments to fill in and return the survey – and please do respond even if you’re not working or attending school in a field related to your major. All fields are optional – if you prefer not to respond to one or more question, that is fine – the responses that you do provide will still be helpful! We would appreciate receiving your response within 2 weeks, but the survey will remain open for 1 month from today. We plan to send a gentle reminder to those who haven’t responded within 3 weeks. When results are compiled we will send them out to each person who responds so that you can see a snapshot of what is happening with other alumni who graduated in 2000 - 2007. We will not report individual information; only aggregate information will be reported. Thank you very much for taking time to help the Environmental Sciences Program in this way! Sending you our very best. Patricia Muir, Program Director and advising staff, Cori Hall and Dawn Marie Gaid.

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Appendix II. Word version of Alumni survey, 2010 1. General Information Name (last, first): Year Degree Earned (e.g. 2005): What was your specialization (Minor, Option, or Certificate) for the Environmental Sciences Degree? Did you also complete another BS degree, Minor, or Option while at OSU? (Yes/No) If so, in what field (Please list):

2. Did you complete your OSU coursework towards the Environmental Sciences degree (select all that apply): On campus Through OSU's Ecampus (i.e. distance education) Through a hybrid of on campus and distance work As a post-baccalaureate student

3. Current email address: CURRENT EMPLOYMENT/EDUCATION DESCRIPTION (WHETHER PERMANENT OR TEMPORARY) 1. Current Employment or Educational Status: (select all that apply) Permanent Temporary Part time Full time Employed part time or on a temporary basis, but seeking full time or permanent employment Unable to find work but still seeking employment Not employed for pay and not looking In graduate or professional school 21

Have completed graduate or professional school or another form of continuing education Other (please specify)

2. If you have completed a graduate or other degree since graduating OSU, what degree(s) did you earn and in what field(s)? Please include the name of the university (or universities) you attended. (For example, MS in Natural Resources at University of Wisconsin) MS MAT PhD JD MBA Other

3. Current job title or Degree being pursued or Degree earned (please provide all that apply) 4. Company/Agency/School Name 5. Location (city, state) 6. Starting Salary per month (e.g. $2,500.00): 7. Current Salary per month (e.g. $2,500.00): QUESTIONS RELATED TO YOUR EMPLOYMENT OR EDUCATIONAL STATUS 1. Is your primary current job or graduate school program related to your major? Directly related Somewhat related Not related

2. If you completed an educational program after your BS in Environmental Sciences, was that program related to your Environmental Sciences major? Directly related Somewhat related Not related

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3. Is your primary current job or graduate school program related to your specialization within Environmental Sciences? Directly related Somewhat related Not related

4. If you completed an educational program after your BS in Environmental Sciences, was that program related to your specialization within Environmental Sciences? Directly related Somewhat related Not related

5. Did you utilize OSU’s Career Services as part of your preparation for a job search [e.g., resume writing assistance] or to help you find a job? (Yes/No) 6. If your job or graduate school program is (or was, in the case of a completed post-undergraduate degree) not related to your major, is that because you: Couldn't find work or a graduate program related to your major Chose another area for personal reasons (e.g., geographic constraints, interests, needs of family, etc. Found salaries or benefits for jobs related to your major to be inadequate Other (please specify)

7. If you are currently employed full time in a permanent position, did you have temporary or part-time employment before obtaining your current position? Yes/No

8. If you completed an internship or other "observational experience" while at OSU, was it helpful in procuring your present position? Yes/no/not sure/NA

9. If you are not working or seeking employment in a field related to Environmental Sciences, you might, nevertheless, value the education that you received at OSU and in the Environmental Sciences Program. To what extent do you value the education that you received? High Value Moderate value 23

Do not value No response

10. If you have not enrolled in or completed graduate or professional school, or some other form of continuing education, please rate the likelihood of your doing so in the future. Planning to do so Quite likely to do so Unlikely to do so Unsure

VALUE OF KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, AND ABILITIES ACQUIRED AT OSU: 1. For each of the following, please rate your frequency of use in your current position (1 = often, 2 = sometimes, 3 = never, 4 = no response) and the preparation provided by your OSU education (1 = excellent, 2 = good, 3 = fair, 4 = poor, 5 = no response.) FREQUENCY OF USE Technical writing Public Speaking Interpersonal Communication Team work and facilitation Conflict resolution Computer and software use Statistics Mathematical concepts or modeling Critical thinking Interpretation of information Synthesis of information Skills and knowledge specific to your specialization within Environmental Sciences OSU PREPARATION Technical writing 24

Public Speaking Interpersonal Communication Team work and facilitation Conflict resolution Computer and software use Statistics Mathematical concepts or modeling Critical thinking Interpretation of information Synthesis of information Skills and knowledge specific to your specialization within Environmental Sciences

KEEPING IN TOUCH: 1. Are you still subscribed to ENSCASSO, the Environmental Sciences listserve? (Yes/No)

2. Have you established a lifetime email account through OSU? (yes/no) 3. Would you be interested in contributing to our efforts to recruit students into the Environmental Sciences program or to help current students find relevant internships or employment (e.g., by furnishing us with interesting stories about what you are doing, sending us notices of internship or job opportunities that you know of, etc)? (yes/no) 4. If “yes” in what areas might you want to contribute and what is the best way for us to reach you? COMMENTS: 1. Please comment on how your education (classroom, internship, other) at OSU could have been improved to enhance your career or post-college

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