McGraw-HillEduca/on
2016Workforce
ReadinessSurvey
PreparedbyHanoverResearch
June 2016
©2016 McGraw-Hill Education.
INTRODUCTION,SUMMARY,&KEYFINDINGS
2
©2016 McGraw-Hill Education.
TableofContents
Sec/onI
IntroducAon
P4
Sec/onII
Summary
P5
Sec/onIII
KeyFindings
P6
Sec/onIV
CareerPreparedness
P9
Sec/onV
SkillsLearned&TechnologyUsed
P14
Sec/onVI
CareerPlanning
P23
Sec/onVII
CareerPercepAon&Preferences
P27
Sec/onVIII
CollegeReflecAons
P35
Sec/onXI
Demographics
P43
Sec/onX
Appendix
P46
3
©2016 McGraw-Hill Education.
Introduc/on
This report presents findings from the McGraw-Hill EducaAon 2016 Workforce Readiness Survey.
The primary goal of the survey is to provide a picture of how students are faring as they near
graduaAon and prepare to enter the workforce.
In some cases, this survey compares and contrasts results from March 2016 and similar surveys
conducted in March 2015 and March 2014 (when possible). The report also includes insighPul
results of the 2016 survey segmented by collegiate status, gender, and field of study. **When applicable, this document will indicate if there are staAsAcally significant differences between survey years 2014-2016. For the 2016
segmentaAon analysis, the staAsAcal significant tesAng evaluates if result are significantly different across segmentaAon categories. StaAsAcal
significance means that two results obtained from either sample are real and profoundly different from each other (i.e. it is likely that these two
results do not just differ by random chance). Please refer to the appendix for a more detailed explanaAon on staAsAcal significance tesAng.
4
©2016 McGraw-Hill Education.
Summary
Overall,
only 21 percent of college students feel very prepared for a professional career, mirroring
results
from 2015. While the difference in preparedness across years is minimal, differences
among student groups are more apparent:
§  Unsurprisingly, respondents who have been in college longer tend to feel more prepared for a
professional career. More mature students (grad students) value a marketable degree, while
underclassmen (freshmen and sophomores) emphasize grades/GPA and internship
experience.
§  There is a sizeable difference between genders, as 24 percent of male, but only 19 percent of
female, respondents feel very prepared for the workforce. This may be due to males being less
concerned about having a job that is beneficial to society, giving them more opAons postgraduaAon.
§  Arts and humaniAes majors also tend to feel less prepared for a career than students from
other majors. This may be Aed to their pessimism with ge^ng a job upon graduaAon (along
with social science majors, they are the least opAmisAc among all respondents).
Respondents believe that interpersonal skills are most likely to improve their job prospects.
Students also believe that using workforce related technology improves their employment odds.
However, respondents indicate that the use of study technology has decreased significantly over
the past year. 5
©2016 McGraw-Hill Education.
KeyFindingsI
§
§
§
§
Only21%ofrespondentsfeel“veryprepared”foraprofessionalcareer.Whenaskedhowtheyfeltaboutbeingprepared
foracareer,only21percentofrespondentsstatedtheyfelt“very”preparedtojointheworkforce.
Workforcereadinessdiffersbycollegiatestatus,gender,andfieldofmajor.Similarto2015results,respondentswhohave
beenincollegelongertendtofeelmorepreparedforaprofessionalcareer.Forexample,47percentofgraduatestudents
feelverypreparedforacareer,whileonly15percentoffreshmanfeelthesameway.Thereisalsoasizeabledifference
betweengendersas24percentofmale,butonly19percentoffemale,respondentsfeelverypreparedfortheworkforce.
Artsandhumani/esmajorsalsotendtofeellesspreparedforacareerthanstudentsfromothermajors.
Respondentsfeelthattheirworkforcereadinesscouldbeimprovedthroughmoreinternships,moreAmeforcareer
preparaAon,andbe_eraccesstopreparaAontools.Slightlymorethantwo-thirdsofrespondents(67%)feelthatmore
professionalexperiencewouldhaveimprovedtheircareerreadiness.Fi]y-nineand47percentofrespondentsstatedthat
theyshouldhavehadmore/meforcareerplanningandbe^eraccesstoprepara/ontools,respec/vely.Aroundathirdof
respondentslistedmorenetworkingandbe^erstudytechnologyasimportantcomponentstoprepareforaprofessional
career.Nevertheless,thevastmajorityofrespondents(89%)feelthatcollegehasbeenatleastsomewhathelpfulin
preparingthemforaprofessionalcareer.Overall,theseresultscloselymirror2015findings.
AmajorityofrespondentslearnedhowtomulAtask,holdpresentaAons,anduseworkplacerelatedtechnologywhile
a_endingcollege.Againmirroringresultsfrom2015,aroundtwo-thirdsofstudents(66%and63%respec/vely)learned
mul/taskingandpresenta/ontechniqueswhileincollege.Usingworkplacerelatedtechnologyisthethirdmostmen/oned
skills,acquiredby55percentofrespondents.
6
©2016 McGraw-Hill Education.
KeyFindingsII
§
§
§
Respondentsbelievethatinterpersonalskills,degreemarketability,grades,andinternshipsmakeagoodjobcandidate.
Thevastofmajorityofrespondents(78%)believeinterpersonalskillsareessen/alforagoodjobcandidate.Slightlymore
thantwo-thirdsofrespondentsalsobelievethatamarketabledegree(67%)andgoodgrades(67%)helpimprovejob
chances.
RespondentstendtousecareerresourcesandgenerallyperceivethemtobeeffecAve.Eighty-sixpercentofrespondents
thinkthatavailablecareerresourcesareatleastsomewhateffec/ve,andmorethanthree-quartersofrespondents(78%)
usedavailablecareerresourceswhena^endingcollege.Respondentsrepor/nguseofcareerresources“alot”hasincreased
significantlyfrom2015(14%)to2016(21%).
Students feel largely opAmisAc about their career prospects. More than two-thirds of respondents (70%) feel either
somewhat orveryop/mis/cabouttheirjobprospects,withonly39percentagreeingthey are uncertain their major will
secure a job a]er gradua/ng. In general, STEM major respondents are the most op/mis/c about future job prospects,
especiallycomparedtorespondentsstudyingarts,humani/es,orsocialsciences.
7
©2016 McGraw-Hill Education.
KeyFindingsIII
§
§
§
Overthree-quartersofstudentspreferdoingwhattheyloveoverbeingpaidwell.Similarly,57percentofstudentsprefer
to have a job that pays less but has a beneficial impact on society over a well paying job with no beneficial impact on
society.Outlierswhoindicatepreferencesforwellpaying,ratherthansocietallybeneficial,jobsincludegraduatestudents
respondents(55%),males(52%),andbusiness/economicsmajorrespondents(52%).
Ingeneral,respondentsaresaAsfiedwiththeircollegeexperience. Morethanthree-quartersofrespondents(79%)are
eithersomewhatorverysa/sfiedwiththeircollegeexperience,asignificantincreasefrom2015(75%).Femalerespondents
indicatehighersa/sfac/on(82%)comparedtomalerespondents(74%).
Academics,cost,andvaluearethemostimportantfactorsrespondentsconsiderwhenchoosingacollege.Overhalflist
eithercost(32%)oracademics(20%)astheirmostimportantconsidera/on.Fi]eenpercentofrespondentsperceivevalue–
thequalityofacademicsatthebestprice–asthemostimportantfactorwhenmakingadecision.Studentlife,reputa/on,
jobplacement,andflexiblecourseop/onsarelessimportantinstudentdecisionmaking.
8
©2016 McGraw-Hill Education.
CAREERPREPAREDNESS
9
©2016 McGraw-Hill Education.
CareerPreparedness
Justoverone-fi]h(21%)ofrespondentsfeelverypreparedforaprofessionalcareera]ercomple/ngcollege,aonepercentincreasefrom
2015.
75%
60%
45%
30%
21%
20%
2016(n=1,360)
2015(n=983)
15%
0%
Howprepareddoyoufeelforyourprofessionalcareer?
Percentagesreflectrespondents’topchoice(“veryprepared”).
10
©2016 McGraw-Hill Education.
CareerPreparedness,bySegment2016
Respondentswhohavebeenincollegelongertendtofeelmorepreparedforaprofessionalcareer.Forexample,47percentofgraduate
studentsfeelverypreparedforacareer,whileonly15percentoffreshmanfeelthesameway.Thereisalsoasizeabledifferencebetween
genderas24percentofmalebutonly19percentoffemalerespondentsfeelverypreparedfortheworkforce.Arts,humani/es,andsocial
sciencesmajorsalsotendtofeellesspreparedforacareerthanstudentsfromothermajors.
CollegiateStatus
Notatallprepared
Onlyali_leprepared
Somewhatprepared
Veryprepared
Freshman(N=362)
12%
31%
42%
15%
Sophomore(N=409)
5%
26%
49%
20%
Junior(N=291)
4%
21%
56%
19%
Senior(N=243)
5%
16%
53%
27%
Inamastersordoctorateprogram
(N=55)
Gender
0%
9%
44%
47%
Notatallprepared
Onlyali_leprepared
Somewhatprepared
Veryprepared
Female(N=932)
7%
24%
50%
19%
Male(N=427)
6%
24%
47%
24%
FieldofMajor
Notatallprepared
Onlyali_leprepared
Somewhatprepared
Veryprepared
Artsandhumani/es(N=100)
18%
24%
47%
11%
Businessandeconomics(N=500)
5%
22%
51%
23%
SocialSciences(N=112)
4%
26%
56%
13%
STEMfield(N=304)
5%
31%
44%
20%
Other(N=344)
8%
20%
49%
24%
Howprepareddoyoufeelforyourprofessionalcareer?
Figuresinredfontindicatesta/s/callysignificantdifferentresultswithinsegmentsatp<.05
11
©2016 McGraw-Hill Education.
CareerPreparedness
38percentofrespondentsfeltthatcollegehasbeen“veryhelpful”inpreparingthemforaprofessionalcareer..
75%
60%
45%
38%
35%
30%
15%
0%
2016(n=1,360)
2015(n=983)
Howhelpfulhasyourcollegeeduca5on/experiencebeeninpreparingyouforaprofessionalcareer?
Note:Responsereflectsrespondents’topchoice(“veryprepared”).
12
©2016 McGraw-Hill Education.
CareerPreparedness
From2015-2016,moreprofessionalexperienceandaddi/onalcareerprepara/oneffortsremainmostimportantforhelpingstudentsfeel
workready.Slightlyovertwo-thirdsofrespondents(67%)feelthatinternshipswouldhaveimprovedtheirworkreadiness.Morecareer
prepara/on,be^eraccesstocareertoolsandnetworkinghaveincreasedslightlyinimportanttostudentsfrom2015to2016.
67%
67%
Moreinternshipsandprofessionalexperience
59%
58%
More/metofocusoncareerprepara/on
47%
45%
Be^eraccesstocareerprepara/ontools
2016(n=1,360)
2015(n=983)
38%
35%
Studytechnologythathelpedmelearnmoreefficientlyand
effec/vely#
34%
33%
Networkingwithalumni
22%
22%
Choosingamorerelevantmajor/concentra/on
0%
15%
30%
45%
60%
75%
Whatwouldhavemadeyoufeelmorepreparedforyourprofessionalcareer?Selectallthatapply.
13
©2016 McGraw-Hill Education.
SKILLSLEARNED&TECHNOLOGYUSED
14
©2016 McGraw-Hill Education.
SkillsLearned–2015&2016
Mul/taskingandmanagemul/plepriori/esatoncecon/nuestobethemostreportedskilllearnedatcollege,followedbygivinga
presenta/oninfrontofanaudience.
2016(n=1,360)
2015(n=983)
66%
67%
Howtomul/task/managemul/plepriori/esatonce
63%
62%
Howtogiveapresenta/ontoanaudience
55%
57%
Howtousetechnologythatiscommoninmostworkplaces
51%
49%
Howtowritearesume
42%
44%
Howtoconductmyselfinajobinterview
41%
42%
Howtonetworkand/orsearchforajob
31%
35%
Howtoplanpersonalfinancesand/ormanageabudget
Noneoftheabove
0%
0%
7%
15%
30%
Whichofthefollowingskillshaveyoulearnedatcollege?Selectallthatapply.
45%
60%
75%
15
©2016 McGraw-Hill Education.
SkillsLearned–JobCandidate
Respondentsin2016con/nuetoemphasizetheimportanceofinterpersonalskills,degreemarketability,grades,andinternshipstobecoming
agoodjobcandidate.Seventy-eightpercentofrespondentsbelievethatinterpersonalskillsareimportantforjobcandidacy.Most
differencesaresta/s/callysignificantbetween2014and2015/2016(therearenosignificantdifferencesbetween2015&2016).However,
the2014and2015&2016itera/onsdifferinanswerop/ons,whichsomewhatlimitsthecomparabilityofresults.
Interpersonalskills
70%
Adegreeinamarketablefield
78%
77%
67%
68%
55%
67%
67%
62%
Grades/GPA
2016(n=1,360)
60%
60%
56%
Internshipexperience
2015(n=983)
2014(n=607)
41%
44%
37%
Extracurricularac/vi/es
36%
39%
36%
Yourschool'snameorreputa/on
52%
Useoftechnologyinclassesorstudy*
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
Whichofthefollowingpartsofyourcollegecareer,ifany,doyoubelievewillmakeyouagoodjob
candidate?Selectallthatapply.
*Notananswerop/onin2014&2015
Note:Figuresinredfontaresta/s/callysignificantdifferentatp<.05
16
©2016 McGraw-Hill Education.
SkillsLearned–JobCandidate,byCollegiateStatus
Graduatestudentsdiffersignificantlyintheirpercep/onsofwhatmakessomeoneagoodjobcandidate.Undergraduatesputmoreemphasis
ongradesandinternshipexperiencethangraduatestudents,whoperceiveadegreeinamarketablefieldasmoreimportant.Notably,with
eachsuccessiveyearofcollegeexperience,respondentsperceivegrades/GPAandinternshipexperienceaslessimportantforjobcandidacy.
2016
Freshman(N=362)
Sophomore(N=409)
Junior(N=291)
Senior(N=243)
Inamastersor
doctorateprogram
(N=55)
Interpersonalskills
77%
81%
77%
79%
71%
Adegreeinamarketable
field
64%
66%
69%
67%
82%
Grades/GPA
75%
68%
65%
60%
49%
Internshipexperience
62%
62%
61%
56%
45%
Extracurricularac/vi/es
45%
40%
40%
43%
27%
Yourschool'snameor
reputa/on
34%
33%
37%
42%
38%
Useoftechnologyinclasses
orstudy
51%
56%
52%
49%
55%
Whichofthefollowingpartsofyourcollegecareer,ifany,doyoubelievewillmakeyouagoodjob
candidate?Selectallthatapply.
17
Note:Figuresinredfontindicatesta/s/callysignificantdifferentresultsacrosscollegiatestatusatp<.05©2016 McGraw-Hill Education.
SkillsLearned–JobCandidate,byFieldofMajor
Businessandeconomicsmajorsplaceastrongemphasisonadegreeinamarketablefield,whileSTEMmajorsfocusongrades/GPA.Artsand
humani/esmajorsplaceahigherpriorityoninterpersonalskillsasimportantfactorsforimprovingjobcandidacycomparedtoothermajors.
ArtsandhumaniAes
Businessand
(N=100)
economics(N=500)
2016
SocialSciences
(N=112)
STEMfield(N=304)
Other(N=344)
Interpersonalskills
84%
79%
79%
74%
79%
Adegreeinamarketable
field
57%
75%
51%
67%
64%
Grades/GPA
65%
62%
71%
72%
69%
Internshipexperience
61%
59%
52%
65%
59%
Extracurricularac/vi/es
45%
39%
46%
46%
38%
Yourschool'snameor
reputa/on
38%
38%
33%
38%
33%
Useoftechnologyinclasses
orstudy
45%
54%
41%
54%
54%
Whichofthefollowingpartsofyourcollegecareer,ifany,doyoubelievewillmakeyouagoodjob
candidate?Selectallthatapply.
Note:Figuresinredfontindicatesta/s/callysignificantdifferentresultsacrossfieldofmajoratp<.05
18
©2016 McGraw-Hill Education.
TechnologyUsed
Responsessuggestthattheuseofstudytechnologyhasdecreasedfrom2015to2016.Thenumberofrespondentsusingstudytechnologyall
the/medecreasedfrom39percentin2015to29percentin2016.Alargerpropor/onofrespondentsin2016reportusingstudytechnology
onoccasion(28%)comparedto2015(23%).Thenumberofstudentswhohaveneverusedstudytechnologyincreasedfromsixto11percent
duringthesame/meperiod.Thesereportedchangesaresta/s/callysignificant.
2016(n=1,360)
2015(n=983)
29%
Iusestudytechnologyallthe/me
39%
32%
Iusestudytechnologyfrequently
32%
28%
Iusestudytechnologyonoccasion
23%
11%
Ihaveneverusedstudytechnology
6%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
Howmuchdo/didyouusestudytechnologyincollege?Studytechnologyisdefinedasanydigital/online
programorapplica5onthatallowsyoutolearnclassroomconcepts.
Note:Figuresinredfontaresta/s/callysignificantdifferentatp<.05
50%
19
©2016 McGraw-Hill Education.
TechnologyUsed,byFieldofMajor
Studytechnologyisusedmostfrequentlybybusinessandeconomicsmajors(65%)andSTEMmajors(61%).Onlyhalfofartsandhumani/es
majorsreportfrequentuseofstudytechnologyincollege.
75%
65%
61%
60%
STEMfield(N=304)
Other(N=344)
57%
60%
50%
45%
30%
15%
0%
Artsandhumani/es(N=100) Businessandeconomics
(N=500)
SocialSciences(N=112)
Howmuchdo/didyouusestudytechnologyincollege?Studytechnologyisdefinedasanydigital/onlineprogramor
applica5onthatallowsyoutolearnclassroomconcepts.
Note:Percentagesreflectrespondents’“top2”choices(“Iusestudytechnologyallthe/me”and“Iusestudy
20
technologyfrequently”).
©2016 McGraw-Hill Education.
Figuresinredfontaresta/s/callysignificantdifferentatp<.05
TechnologyUsed
Agreementwiththestatement,“Thefrequentuseoftechnologyinmycourseworkandasastudyaidwillmakemeastrongercandidatefor
employment”hasincreasedsignificantlyfrom2015(80%)to2016(85%),sugges/ngthatrespondentscon/nuetoseethevalueof
technologyincourseworkandjobcandidacy.
100%
85%
80%
80%
60%
40%
20%
0%
2016(n=1,213)
2015(n=927)
Pleaserespondtothefollowingstatement:Thefrequentuseoftechnologyinmycourseworkandasastudy
aidwillmakemeastrongercandidateforemployment.
Note:Percentagesreflectrespondents’“top2”choices(“Stronglyagree”and“Somewhatagree”).
21
Respondentsrepor/ngtheyneverusedstudytechnologydidnotseethisques/on.
©2016 McGraw-Hill Education.
Figuresinredfontaresta/s/callysignificantdifferentatp<.05.
TechnologyUsed,byCollegiateStatus&FieldofMajor
Graduatestudentsdiffersignificantlyintheiragreementwithfrequentuseoftechnologyfromundergraduatestudents.Nearlyallgraduate
students(96%)agreethatfrequenttechnologyusewillposi/velyimpactcandidacyforemployment.Businessandeconomicmajorsalso
reporthighagreement(88%),whilesocialsciencemajorsreportsignificantlyloweragreement(78%).
96%
100%
87%
85%
81%
82%
84%
80%
88%
84%
83%
STEMfield
(N=271)
Other(N=303)
78%
60%
40%
20%
0%
Freshman
(N=315)
Sophomore Junior(N=272) Senior(N=215) Inamastersor Artsand
(N=362)
doctorate
humani/es
program(N=49)
(N=86)
CollegiateStatus
Businessand SocialSciences
economics
(N=95)
(N=458)
FieldofMajor
Pleaserespondtothefollowingstatement:Thefrequentuseoftechnologyinmycourseworkandasastudy
aidwillmakemeastrongercandidateforemployment.
Note:Percentagesreflectrespondents’“top2”choices(“Stronglyagree”and“Somewhatagree”).
22
Respondentsrepor/ngtheyneverusedstudytechnologydidnotseethisques/on.
©2016 McGraw-Hill Education.
Figuresinredfontindicatesta/s/callysignificantdifferentresultswithinsegmentsatp<.05
CAREERPLANNING
23
©2016 McGraw-Hill Education.
CareerPlanning
Livingawell-rounded,happylifecon/nuestobethemostimportantplanningprioritytorespondentsin2016.Inaddi/on,social
responsibility/givingbackisbecominglessofaprioritytorespondents.
2016
2015
2014
Livingawellrounded,happy
life
93%
Livingawellrounded,happylife
92%
Livingawellrounded,happylife
89%
Findinga
rewardingjob
91%
Findingarewarding
job
91%
Findingarewarding
job
90%
Findingawellpayingjob
Social
responsibility;
givingback
N=1,360
87%
72%
0% 20%40%60%80%100%
Findingawellpayingjob
86%
Findingawellpayingjob
Beingagoodci/zen
83%
Beingagoodci/zen
N=983
0%
50%
100%
N=600
85%
79%
0%20%40%60%80%
100%
Howimportanttoyouisplanningforeachofthefollowingwhileyouareincollege?
Note:Percentagesreflectrespondents’“top2”choices(“Extremelyimportant”and“Veryimportant”).“Beinga
24
goodci/zen”in2014&2015waschangedto“Socialresponsibility;givingback”in2016.Figuresinredfontare
©2016 McGraw-Hill Education.
sta/s/callysignificantdifferentatp<.05
CareerPlanning–byGender
Overall,femalesplacesignificantlyhigherimportanceonallplanninga^ributescomparedtomales.
Female(N=932)
100%
94%
89%
93%
89%
Male(N=427)
88%
84%
76%
80%
64%
60%
40%
20%
0%
Livingawell-rounded,happylife
Findingarewardingjob
Findingawell-payingjob
Socialresponsibility;givingback
Howimportanttoyouisplanningforeachofthefollowingwhileyouareincollege?
Note:Percentagesreflectrespondents’“top2”choices(“Extremelyimportant”and“Veryimportant”).
Figuresinredfontaresta/s/callysignificantdifferentatp<.05
25
©2016 McGraw-Hill Education.
CareerPlanning
Similarto2015,86percentofrespondentsbelieveavailablecareerresourcesattheircollegesareatleastsomewhateffec/ve.Morethan
three-quartersof2016respondents(78%)alsouseavailablecareerresources,with21percentindica/ngtheyhaveusedthem“alot,”a
significantincreasefrom2015.Onlyafi]hofrespondentsin2016havenotusedtheircollegecareerresourcesatall.
EffecAveness of Career Resources
2016(n=1,360)
Usage Frequency of Career Resources
2016(n=1,360)
2015(n=983)
27%
Veryeffec/ve
59%
Somewhateffec/ve
11%
61%
20%
22%
N/A-Therearen'tanycareer
resourcesavailableatmy
college
3%
3%
15%
57%
Ihaven'tusedthematall
11%
0%
14%
I'veusedthemali^le
57%
Veryineffec/ve
21%
I'veusedthemalot
29%
Somewhatineffec/ve
2015(n=980)
30%
45%
60%
75%
Howeffec5vearethecareerresourcesavailableatyourcollege?
3%
2%
0%
15%
30%
45%
60%
75%
Towhatdegreehaveyoutakenadvantageofthecareerresources
availableatyourcollege?
26
©2016 McGraw-Hill Education.
CAREERPERCEPTIONS&PREFERENCES
27
©2016 McGraw-Hill Education.
CareerPercep/on
Thenumberofrespondentswhoagreewiththestatement“I’mhappywithmymajor,butI’mnotsureitwillgetmeajobwhenIgraduate”
con/nuestodecreasewitha13percentdifferencebetween2014&2016anda3percentdifferencebetween2015&2016.Thissuggests
thatrespondentsarenowmorelikelytobelievetheirmajorwillhelpthemwithjobprospectscomparedtopreviousyears.
2016(n=1,360)
2015(n=983)
2014(n=607)
11%
11%
Stronglyagree
14%
28%
Somewhatagree
30%
38%
30%
Somewhatdisagree
28%
23%
31%
30%
Stronglydisagree
25%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
Pleaserespondtothefollowingstatement:I’mhappywithmymajor,butI’mnotsureitwillgetmeajob
whenIgraduate.
Note:Figuresinredfontaresta/s/callysignificantdifferentatp<.05
50%
28
©2016 McGraw-Hill Education.
CareerPercep/on
Slightlylessthantwo-thirdsofrespondents(65%)believetheircurrentmajorwillhelpthemsecureajoba]ergradua/onbecausethereare
opportuni/esinmanydifferentcareerfieldsforgraduatesoftheirmajor.
Thereareopportuni/esinmanydifferentcareerfieldsforgraduatesof
mymajor
65%
Skillsinmymajorareinhighdemand
41%
Mymajorhasanestablishedcareerpathatmycollegeoruniversity
25%
Companieso]enrecruitgraduatesofmymajordirectlyoutofcollege
20%
7%
Other
0%
15%
30%
45%
60%
75%
MycurrentmajorwillhelpmegetajobaKergradua5onbecause…
Note:Ques/onnotin2014&2015itera/on.
29
Respondentsthatselected“Somewhatagree”orStronglyagree”tothestatement,“I’mhappywithmymajor,butI’m
©2016 McGraw-Hill Education.
notsureitwillgetmeajobwhenIgraduate”wereaskedtoanswerthisques/on.N=532
CareerPercep/on,ByCollegiateStatus&FieldofMajor
Juniorsreportcareeropportuni/esintheirmajorwillbethebiggestfactorina^ainingajob.Businessandeconomicmajors,alongwithsocial
sciencemajors,sharethesamethought,whileSTEMmajorsplacesignificantlymoreemphasisonthehighdemandforskillsintheirmajor.
CollegiateStatus
Freshman(N=134) Sophomore(N=158)
Junior(N=110)
Senior(N=106)
Inamastersor
doctorateprogram
(N=24)
Thereareopportuni/esinmanydifferent
careerfieldsforgraduatesofmymajor
60%
62%
74%
70%
50%
Skillsinmymajorareinhighdemand
48%
43%
36%
35%
33%
Mymajorhasanestablishedcareerpathatmy
collegeoruniversity
Companieso]enrecruitgraduatesofmy
majordirectlyoutofcollege
30%
25%
20%
22%
29%
24%
21%
15%
22%
17%
7%
9%
4%
8%
8%
SocialSciences
(N=58)
STEMfield(N=105)
Other(N=122)
Other
FieldofMajor
ArtsandhumaniAes
Businessand
(N=51)
economics(N=196)
Thereareopportuni/esinmanydifferent
careerfieldsforgraduatesofmymajor
65%
72%
69%
64%
52%
Skillsinmymajorareinhighdemand
35%
40%
21%
49%
47%
Mymajorhasanestablishedcareerpathatmy
collegeoruniversity
Companieso]enrecruitgraduatesofmy
majordirectlyoutofcollege
27%
23%
19%
31%
24%
10%
24%
7%
30%
17%
6%
5%
10%
4%
13%
Other
MycurrentmajorwillhelpmegetajobaKergradua5onbecause…
Note:Respondentsthatselected“Somewhatagree”orStronglyagree”tothestatement,“I’mhappywithmy
30
major,butI’mnotsureitwillgetmeajobwhenIgraduate”wereaskedtoanswerthisques/on.
©2016 McGraw-Hill Education.
Figuresinredfontindicatesta/s/callysignificantdifferentresultswithinsegmentsatp<.05
CareerPercep/on
Themajorityofrespondentscon/nuetofeeleithersomewhatorveryop/mis/cabouttheirjobprospectsin2016(70%).
2016(n=1,360)
2015(n=983)
34%
I'mveryop/mis/c
30%
36%
I'msomewhatop/mis/c
38%
16%
I'mneitherop/mis/cnorpessimis/c
17%
11%
I'msomewhatpessimis/c
12%
3%
I'mverypessimis/c
3%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
31
HowwouldyourateyourfeelingsregardingyourownprospectsofgeMngagoodjobonceyougraduate? ©2016 McGraw-Hill Education.
CareerPercep/on
Op/mismissignificantlyhigheramongSTEMmajors(72%)thanartsandhumani/esmajors(61%)aswellassocialsciencemajors(61%).
73%
75%
72%
69%
61%
61%
60%
45%
30%
15%
0%
Artsandhumani/es(N=100) Businessandeconomics
(N=500)
SocialSciences(N=112)
STEMfield(N=304)
Other(N=344)
HowwouldyourateyourfeelingsregardingyourownprospectsofgeMngagoodjobonceyougraduate?
Note:Percentagesreflectrespondents’“top2”choices(“Veryop/mis/c”and“Somewhatop/mis/c”).
Figuresinredfontaresta/s/callysignificantdifferentatp<.05.N=1,360
32
©2016 McGraw-Hill Education.
CareerPreferences
In2016,anarrowmajorityofrespondents(57%)preferajobthatpayslessbuthasabeneficialimpactforsocietyoverajobthatpayswell
withnobeneficialimpactforsociety.Similarly,aroundeightypercentofrespondentspreferajobtheyloveoverbeingpaidwell.
Jobthatpayswellwithnobeneficialimpactonsociety
Jobthatdoesnotpaywell,buthasabeneficialimpactonsociety
Beingpaidwell
DoingwhatIlove
100%
100%
79%
80%
76%
80%
57%
60%
43%
55%
60%
45%
40%
40%
21%
24%
20%
20%
0%
0%
2016(n=1,360)
Whichofthefollowingwouldyouprefer?
2015(n=983)
2016(n=1,360)
2015(n=983)
Whichismoreimportanttoyoupersonally?
33
©2016 McGraw-Hill Education.
CareerPreferences,bySegment2016
Femalerespondentsaresta/s/callydifferentfrommalerespondentsintermsofjobpreferences.Sixty-onepercentofwomenwouldprefera
jobthatdoesnotpayswellbutisbeneficialtosocietyascomparedto48percentofmen.Femalesalsoplaceahigheremphasisondoing
whattheyloveversusgeyngpaidwell.Businessandeconomicsmajors,aswellasgraduatestudents,arethemostlikelytopreferajobthat
payswellwithnobeneficialimpactonsociety.Respondentsstudyingbusinessputalsolessemphasisondoingwhattheylovecomparedto
othermajorssuchasartsandhumani/es.Similarly,graduatestudentsplaceahigherimportanceonincomethanundergraduates.
2016
Whichofthefollowingwouldyouprefer?
Whichismoreimportanttoyoupersonally?
Jobthatdoesnotpaywell,but
hasabeneficialimpactonsociety
Jobthatpayswellwithno
beneficialimpactonsociety
Beingpaidwell
DoingwhatIlove
58%
56%
60%
58%
42%
44%
40%
42%
19%
21%
22%
21%
81%
79%
78%
79%
45%
55%
35%
65%
Gender
Jobthatdoesnotpaywell,but
hasabeneficialimpactonsociety
Jobthatpayswellwithno
beneficialimpactonsociety
Beingpaidwell
DoingwhatIlove
Female(N=932)
Male(N=427)
61%
48%
39%
52%
18%
26%
82%
74%
FieldofMajor
Jobthatdoesnotpaywell,but
hasabeneficialimpactonsociety
Jobthatpayswellwithno
beneficialimpactonsociety
Beingpaidwell
DoingwhatIlove
Artsandhumani/es(N=100)
66%
34%
9%
91%
Businessandeconomics(N=500)
48%
52%
28%
72%
SocialSciences(N=112)
71%
29%
20%
80%
STEMfield(N=304)
59%
41%
21%
79%
Other(N=344)
62%
38%
15%
85%
CollegiateStatus
Freshman(N=362)
Sophomore(N=409)
Junior(N=291)
Senior(N=243)
Inamastersordoctorate
program(N=55)
Q.1Whichofthefollowingwouldyouprefer?
Q.2Whichismoreimportanttoyoupersonally?
Figuresinredfontindicatesta/s/callysignificantdifferentresultswithinsegmentsatp<.05
34
©2016 McGraw-Hill Education.
COLLEGEREFLECTIONS
35
©2016 McGraw-Hill Education.
CollegeReflec/ons–HighSchool
Asignificantlysmallermarginofrespondentsin2016reportbeingadequatelypreparedtomeetchallengesposedbytheircollege/university
coursesbasedontheirhighschoolexperiencecomparedto2015responses.
2016(n=1,360)
2015(n=983)
61%
Well-Iwasadequatelypreparedtomeetthechallengesposedbymy
college/universitycourses
65%
25%
Notwell-Iwasnotadequatelypreparedtomeetthechallengesposedby
mycollege/universitycourses
24%
6%
Notatall-Iwascompletelyunpreparedtomeetthechallengesposedby
mycollege/universitycourses
6%
7%
Notapplicable
5%
0%
15%
Howwelldidhighschoolprepareyouforyourcollegeoruniversityprogram?
Figuresinredfontaresta/s/callysignificantdifferentatp<.05
30%
45%
60%
75%
36
©2016 McGraw-Hill Education.
CollegeReflec/ons-Sa/sfac/on
Reportedsa/sfac/onwithcollegeexperiencecon/nuestosignificantlyincreasein2016(79%)comparedto2015(75%).
100%
80%
79%
75%
60%
40%
20%
0%
2016(n=1,360)
2015(n=983)
Overall,howsa5sfiedareyouwithyourcollegeexperience?
Note:Percentagesreflectrespondents’“top2”choices(“Verysa/sfied”and“Somewhatsa/sfied”).
37
©2016 McGraw-Hill Education.
CollegeReflec/ons–Sa/sfac/onbyGender
Femalesreportsignificantlyhighersa/sfac/onwiththeircollegeexperiencecomparedtomales.
100%
82%
80%
74%
60%
40%
20%
0%
Female(N=932)
Male(N=427)
Overall,howsa5sfiedareyouwithyourcollegeexperience?
Note:Percentagesreflectrespondents’“top2”choices(“Verysa/sfied”and“Somewhatsa/sfied”).
Figuresinredfontaresta/s/callysignificantdifferentatp<.05.N=1,360
38
©2016 McGraw-Hill Education.
CollegeReflec/ons-Cost
Morethanhalfofrespondents(52%)statetheywouldhavea^endedcommunitycollegefirstiftwoyearsoffreecommunitycollegewere
offereda]erhighschool.Seventy-twopercentofrespondentsin2016considercosttobeoneofthebiggestfactorsindeterminingwhereto
a^endcollege,withasignificantlylargermarginof2016respondents(36%)sta/ngcostis“veryimportant”comparedto2015.
2016(n=1,360)
A^endedcommunitycollege
beforeenrollinginyourcurrent
collegeoruniversity
52%
A^endedcommunitycollege
insteadofyourcurrentcollegeor
university
2015(n=983)
Veryimportant:Itwasthebiggest
factorindeterminingwhereIa^ended
college
36%
30%
Somewhatimportant:Itwasoneofthe
biggestfactorsindeterminingwhereI
a^endedcollege
10%
36%
40%
19%
Notveryimportant:Iconsideredcost,
butitdidn’theavilyimpactmydecision
Donenothingdifferently
38%
0%
15% 30% 45% 60% 75%
Iftwoyearsoffreecommunitycollegewereofferedtoyouwhenyou
graduatedfromhighschool,youwouldhave:
Note:Respondentswhodidnota^endacommunitycollegewere
askedtoanswerthisques/on.N=947
21%
9%
Notatallimportant:Costwasnota
factorinmakingmycollegechoice
9%
0%
15%
30%
45%
60%
75%
Howimportantwascosttoyouwhendecidingwhichcollegeyou
wouldaOend?
Figuresinredfontaresta/s/callysignificantdifferentatp<.05
39
©2016 McGraw-Hill Education.
CollegeReflec/ons–byGender
Morethanhalfoffemales(56%)wouldhavea^endedcommunitycollegebeforeenrollingintheircurrentcollege/universitya]ergradua/ng
highschool.Malesaresignificantlymorelikelytoreportnotchanginganything.
Female(N=631)
Male(N=315)
56%
A^endedcommunitycollegebeforeenrolling
inyourcurrentcollegeoruniversity
A^endedcommunitycollegeinsteadof
yourcurrentcollegeoruniversity
44%
10%
11%
35%
Donenothingdifferently
45%
0%
15%
30%
45%
60%
75%
Iftwoyearsoffreecommunitycollegewereofferedtoyouwhenyougraduatedfromhighschool,youwouldhave:
40
Note:Respondentswhodidnota^endacommunitycollegewereaskedtoanswerthisques/on.
©2016 McGraw-Hill Education.
Figuresinredfontaresta/s/callysignificantdifferentatp<.05
CollegeReflec/ons–CostbyCollegiateStatus&
Gender
Graduatestudentsseemtoa^achlessimportancetocostswhendecidingwheretogotocollege.Costwasanimportantfactorfor60percent
ofgraduatestudents,significantlylessthansophomores(73%)andjuniors(76%).Costisalsosignificantlylessimportanttomales(64%)than
females(75%).
100%
80%
72%
73%
76%
75%
68%
64%
60%
60%
40%
20%
0%
Freshman(N=362) Sophomore(N=409)
Junior(N=291)
Senior(N=243)
Inamastersor
doctorateprogram
(N=55)
Female(N=932)
CollegdiateStatus
HowimportantwascosttoyouwhendecidingwhichcollegeyouwouldaOend?
Note:Percentagesreflectrespondents’“top2”choices(“Veryimportant”and“Somewhatimportant”).
Figuresinredfontindicatesta/s/callysignificantdifferentresultswithinsegmentsatp<.05.N=1,360
Male(N=427)
Gender
41
©2016 McGraw-Hill Education.
CollegeReflec/ons
Respondentscon/nuetoa^achthehighestimportancetoacademics,costandvaluewhendecidingwhichcollegetoa^end.Studentlife,
reputa/on,andjobplacementratesarelessimportanttostudentdecisionmaking.
2016(N=1,359)
1-Most
Important
2
3
4
5
6
7-Least
Important
Academics
20%
23%
22%
18%
10%
6%
2%
Cost
32%
18%
12%
9%
9%
10%
10%
15%
20%
23%
16%
14%
9%
4%
13%
13%
13%
11%
14%
15%
20%
9%
12%
10%
16%
17%
19%
17%
Jobplacementrates/Internshipavailability
6%
8%
13%
19%
21%
24%
9%
Studentlife
6%
6%
8%
10%
15%
17%
38%
Value:Thequalityofacademics
atthebestprice
FlexiblecourseopAons
(e.g.remote,part-Ame,weekends)
PresAgeandreputaAonofthecollege
and/ordegreeprogram
2015(N=983)
1–Most
Important
2
3
4
5
6–Least
Important
Academics
24%
28%
23%
14%
8%
3%
Cost
27%
18%
13%
13%
13%
15%
23%
22%
22%
16%
11%
5%
12%
12%
16%
17%
23%
19%
Jobplacementrates/Internshipavailability
8%
10%
16%
25%
28%
13%
Studentlife
6%
9%
10%
15%
16%
44%
Value:Thequalityofacademics
atthebestprice
PresAgeandreputaAonofthecollege
and/ordegreeprogram
WhichofthefollowingfactorswasimportanttoyouwhenchoosingacollegetoaOend?Pleaserankin
descendingorderfrommostimportanttoleastimportant.
Note:Scalesandanswerop/onsdifferfrom2015to2016.Tablessortedbymeanresponse.
42
©2016 McGraw-Hill Education.
DEMOGRAPHICS
43
©2016 McGraw-Hill Education.
Demographics–2016&2015Itera/ons
Whatisyourcollegiatestatus?
2016(N=1,360)
Freshman
27%
Sophomore
30%
Junior
21%
Senior
18%
Inamastersordoctorateprogram
4%
Inwhatfieldisyourmajor?
2016(N=1,360)
Artsandhumani/es
7%
Businessandeconomics
37%
Socialsciences
8%
STEMfield(science,technology,engineering,ormath)
22%
Other(pleasespecify)
25%
Whattypeofcollegeoruniversitydoyoua_end?
2016(N=1,305)
2-yearassociate'sprogramortechnicalschool(notpartofacommunitycollege)
4%
2-yearcommunitycollege
27%
4-yearpublicuniversity
48%
4-yearprivatefor-profituniversity
9%
4-yearprivatenon-profituniversity
11%
44
©2016 McGraw-Hill Education.
Demographics–2016&2015Itera/ons
Whatisyourgender?
2016(N=1,359)
Female
69%
Male
31%
Roughlyhowmanyundergradsareenrolledatyouruniversity?
2016(N=1,359)
Under5,000
23%
5,000to9,999
27%
10,000to19,999
21%
20,000to39,999
20%
40,000ormore
9%
Whatbestdescribesyourethnicity?
2016(N=1,359)
AmericanIndianorAlaskaNa/ve
1%
Asian
12%
Black
16%
HispanicorLa/no
15%
Mul/racial
4%
Na/veHawaiianorOtherPacificIslander
1%
White
51%
45
©2016 McGraw-Hill Education.
APPENDIX
46
©2016 McGraw-Hill Education.
MarginofError
When interpreAng the results it is important to keep in mind the underlying margin of errors, which depend on
the sample size, the confidence interval, and the populaAon the sample is drawn from. Hanover uses the
standard confidence interval of 95 percent and assumes an underlying populaAon of 150,000 , which leads to
the following margin of errors.
IteraAon
SampleSize
Marginoferror(rounded)
2014
607
4%
2015
983
3%
2016
1,360
3%
Margin of error with a significance level of 95 percent means that there is a 95 percent chance that the correct
answer (i.e. the true but unobserved populaAon parameter) is within the margin of error of the result obtained
from the sample. Therefore, the true populaAon proporAon is 95% likely to fall within +-3 percent of the
observed proporAon from the 2016 and 2015 surveys. For the 2014 survey, the correct result will likely be within
+-4 percent of the sample result. The 2016 and 2015 surveys are more precise in esAmaAng the true parameters
due to their larger sample sizes.
47
©2016 McGraw-Hill Education.
Sta/s/calSignificanceTes/ng
Hanover uses the two-proporAon z-test to do staAsAcal significance tesAng. The z-test is appropriate to test for staAsAcal
significant differences across the 2014-2016 students populaAons because the three surveys consist of large, randomly
drawn samples. In addiAon, it is feasible to assume that both samples are independent of each other and are normally
distributed.
The starAng point of the test is the null hypothesis, which states that the difference between the 2014-2016 unobserved
populaAon proporAons equals zero.
Null hypothesis: P1 – P2 = 0 à P1=P2
AlternaAve hypothesis: P1 – P2 ≠ 0 à P1 ≠P2
To test if the null hypothesis holds true, one subtracts the proporAon obtained from the first sample by the proporAon
taken from second sample and divide the difference by the combined standard error of the sampling distribuAons. Z-score=(p1 – p2) / standard error
The higher the z-score the lower the p-value. If the p-value is below the standard significance level of 5 percent, than one
can reject the null hypothesis. The proporAons are therefore staAsAcal significant different at the 5 percent significance
level. This means the probability is 95 percent that there is a real and profound difference between two sample
proporAons from the samples. Put differently, it is unlikely that the two observed sample proporAons just differ by
random chance. Consequently, there should also be a significant difference between the actual, but unobserved,
populaAon proporAons, i.e. students from 2016 should have real different preferences than students from 2015 based on
the fact that the esAmated (observed) sample proporAons are staAcally significant different from each other. Vice versa, if the p-value is larger than 5 percent, one cannot reject the null hypothesis and it is likely that the observed
difference between two sample proporAons just occurred by random chance.
48
©2016 McGraw-Hill Education.
Contact:
TylerReed
Director,Communica/ons
Tyler.Reed@mheduca/on.com
(646)766-2951
www.mheduca/on.com
©2016 McGraw-Hill Education.