Achieving Student Learning Outcomes
March 2013
Graduating seniors’ opinions about skills, abilities, and learning experiences
Nearly half of the students (47%, 334 students) who will earn bachelor’s degrees in May recently
responded to the Core Curriculum committee’s senior survey.
Caveats: Survey respondents are not a representative sample of the graduating class. Females and
students with higher G.P.A.s comprise a larger portion of the sample than they do the population of
students who will graduate in May.
Results are below.

The majority of respondents (80%) would attend Mines if they could make their college choice over
again, 12% are unsure if they would re-enroll, and 9% would not re-enroll.

Nearly one third (31%) of respondents have accepted an employment offer, 47% are seeking
employment, 12% have been accepted at graduate school, and 22% are in the process of applying to
graduate school.

Respondents gave high ratings to the usefulness of the courses in their majors and field camp.

Respondents gave high ratings to their abilities to retrieve and interpret technical information, write,
find new information and use it effectively, and think critically.
Which of the following most closely describes your immediate plans after
graduating from CSM? (Please select all that apply.)
Seeking employment
47%
Accepted an employment offer
31%
Applying to graduate/professional school
22%
Accepted at graduate/professional school
12%
Unsure
4%
Doing volunteer work
4%
Serving in the Armed Forces
2%
To what extent did your education at Mines contribute to your development of the
following skills/abilities?
Very
Much
Somewhat
Not
at All
Retrieve and interpret technical information
78%
21%
1%
Convey technical/scientific information, in writing, to a variety of audiences
69%
27%
5%
Find new information and use it effectively
62%
35%
3%
Communicate information graphically
61%
36%
3%
Think critically about a wide range of cross-disciplinary issues
59%
36%
5%
Orally communicate technical/scientific information to a variety of
audiences
58%
36%
6%
Adjust to an ever-changing professional environment
45%
48%
7%
Develop a commitment to enhance the profession through leadership and
service
41%
48%
10%
Appreciate diverse approaches to solving society’s problems
40%
47%
13%
Work effectively in a diverse work environment
40%
48%
12%
Appreciate diverse approaches to understanding society’s problems
36%
52%
12%
Be dedicated to stewardship of the environment
32%
52%
17%
Work effectively in an international environment
24%
43%
32%
Please indicate your level of agreement or disagreement with the following
statements.
Strongly
Strongly
Not
Agree Agree Neutral Disagree Disagree Applicable
My education prepared me to work/live in a
society that is experiencing rapid technological
change
30%
45%
18%
6%
2%
0%
Resources and facilities (research laboratories,
teaching labs, libraries, etc.) supported student
learning
29%
56%
10%
4%
1%
0%
Faculty provided opportunities to discuss
coursework outside of class
29%
53%
10%
5%
1%
1%
Faculty provided the support I needed to
succeed academically
27%
51%
14%
6%
3%
0%
My education prepared me to work/live in a
global society
24%
42%
25%
7%
2%
0%
My academic advisor assisted me with planning
my academic program
18%
27%
23%
14%
11%
7%
My education prepared me to work/live in a
diverse society
17%
43%
26%
11%
2%
0%
My academic advisor assisted me with exploring
career/graduate school options
15%
19%
26%
18%
15%
7%
How useful were the following experiences?
Very
Useful
Somewhat
Useful
Not
Useful
Not
Applicable
Courses in your major field of study
78%
21%
1%
0%
Field session/field camp
66%
26%
7%
1%
Internship
45%
17%
3%
36%
Opportunities to apply classroom learning to "real life"
issues
41%
46%
10%
4%
Laboratory experiences as a part of a course
41%
49%
9%
2%
Capstone experience/project (including senior design)
37%
47%
9%
8%
Interactions with faculty outside of class (excluding
research)
35%
44%
8%
13%
Courses in the core curriculum
26%
62%
12%
0%
Research with a faculty member
19%
13%
5%
64%
This newsletter is published by the assessment office:
Kay Schneider, Director
http://inside.mines.edu/assessment