Of critical importance to the university are the impressions people have of the institution. The reputation (image) of the campus can significantly affect who enrolls and who persists. Information on these topics can ultimately lead to discussions that can improve university programs and practices.
All respondents were asked to rate their level of agreement to the following question, “If choosing a university again, I would choose CSUDH.” Overall, three quarters of our alumni showed agreement with this statement as indicated by combining the ratings of “Strongly Agree” and “Agree.” Analyzing the breakdown of this question by sample subpopulations or degree level shows high levels of agreement between categories in each of these groups. Therefore, whether graduating recently, a long time ago, with a bachelor’s, master’s, or credential, the majority of our alumni would still choose CSUDH if they could do it again. The identified ethnic groups were fairly similar in their willingness to choose CSUDH again. There were some small differences by ethnicity. About three quarters of African-Americans (79.5%), Hispanics (78.6%), and Whites (75.8%) indicated they would choose CSUDH again. The level of agreement from Asians/Pacific Islanders (69.4%) was just slightly lower.
The Alumni Survey asked all respondents if they would recommend CSUDH to prospective students. This item is another strong indicator of how alumni viewed CSUDH. Nine out of ten respondents indicated that they would recommend CSUDH, with only small differences between the identified sample subpopulations (87.8% to 93.1%), degree levels (88.7% to 93.5%), or ethnic groups (88.2% to 92.9%). This feedback is very positive, especially since it is so widely agreed upon by each of the comparison categories listed above.
This question was also analyzed for those respondents that indicated they would not select CSUDH if choosing a university again. The results show that, despite the fact that they felt this way, a large minority (37%) of this subgroup would still recommend CSUDH to prospective students. There were marked differences by degree level, although they result from a small number of cases (103). Nevertheless, it is worth noting some of the observations provided in this analysis. For instance, 29.4% of the undergraduate respondents who would not choose CSUDH again still recommend this campus to prospective students. This figure was even higher for graduate alumni (46.4%). This may indicate that some respondents surveyed felt very positive about our campus, but looking back, they would have chosen a different career path which would not have included a CSUDH education. This may be a reflection of their academic program choices rather than how they perceived CSUDH. Another possibility is that, after looking back, they feel they personally could have competed at a higher academic level. There were also differences by subpopulation; the more recent alumni respondents who would not choose CSUDH again were more apt to still recommend this campus to prospective students (42.9%) than were those graduating over five years ago (31.6%) or those from distance learning programs (33.3%). A breakdown by ethnicity shows that about half of the African-American respondents and a third of each of the other identified groups indicated that they would still recommend CSUDH to prospective students, even though they would not choose CSUDH again themselves. Although these figures may serve as a very interesting point of discussion, they should be viewed with caution since further research is necessary to determine the extent to which we can depend on these findings as conclusive.
Alumni that graduated over five years ago (“older alumni”) were asked two questions to determine if their impressions about CSUDH have changed since they were enrolled as students. First, they were asked to rate their overall impression of CSUDH while they were attending the campus. Then they were asked if their overall impressions have changed since graduating.
Three quarters of these older alumni claimed they had favorable impressions of our campus while they were attending, as indicated by their ratings of either “Very High” or Above Average.” Very few (3.5%) indicated unfavorable impressions. Since graduating over five years ago, the majority (61%) of these alumni feel about the same about our campus as they did while enrolled. However, for 35% of these older alumni, their overall impressions are more favorable now than when they were enrolled, while only 4% indicated any decline in their impressions.
These findings are fairly consistent among degree levels but slightly less consistent between the identified ethnic groups. For instance, both African-Americans and White respondents reported nearly the same positive impressions of CSUDH while they were enrolled (77.9% and 78.1% respectively). However twice as many African-Americans (50.5%) than Whites (24.9%) indicated that their impressions have improved since graduating. The figures for Hispanics were 26.3% and 32% for Asian/Pacific Islanders. Some of these differences may be a sign of a greater affinity from those who live in the immediate community of CSUDH.