Inaccurate CT headline 4.2.09
Collegiate Times headline of 4.2.09, page 3, regarding survey of graduates is inaccurate and misleading
The Collegiate Times ran an article on 4.2.09, page 3, with a headline that is factually incorrect and misleading.
The subject of the article is the annual Post-Graduation Survey of all new graduates who completed undergraduate degrees (bachelor's and associate's degrees). The purpose of the survey is to learn what graduates are doing following graduation: specifically whether they are employed, continuing education, or still pursuing options.
We appreciate the CT's interest in the Post-Graduation Survey and Report, and we are happy to speak with CT reporters who call us; but we are concerned about the disservice to students of the misleading and inaccurate headline.
A statement within the article includes accurate information, but the headline contradicts this statement. The article states, in reference to the latest report, for the 2007-2008 cohort: "Of those reporting, (xx) percent found jobs after graduating, staying level with numbers from the 2006-2007 report." That is accurate: the percentage of 2007-2008 respondents reporting employment was level with the prior year.
The article does not give the correct statistic. The correct percentage is 59%.
The headline states: "recent graduates follow jobless trends, survey finds." The survey found no such thing. The last two survey cohorts reported the same level of employment, and those levels were higher than the levels reported by respondents for the previous three years.
The pertinent data from the last five years clearly shows that the percentage of respondents reporting employment and the percentage of respondents reporting continuing education have both increased. The percentage of respondents still considering options (which might include the "jobless") has decreased over the five year period.
The pertinent statistics are below and are contained in the five year highlights (pdf).
| Graduates of academic year: | 2007-2008 | 2006-2007 | 2005-2006 | 2004-2005 | 2003-2004 |
| Response rate of grads to Post-Grad survey: | 69% | 73.7% | 59% | 56% | 56% |
| Status after graduation: (after time off, if taking) | |||||
| Employed total | 59% | 59% | 53% | 55% | 48% |
| Service work (included in employed total) | 2% | 1% | 1% | 1% | 1% |
| Self-employed (included in employed total) | 2% | 2% | 2% | 2% | 2% |
| Continuing education | 26% | 25% | 24% | 22% | 22% |
| Still seeking / considering options at last response | 14% | 14% | 17% | 17% | 22% |
An inaccurate and misleading headline is a disservice regardless of the content. This inaccuracy is particularly unfortunate if it has the effect of inappropriately discouraging students and new graduates. All of us are aware of reliable sources of information that inform us that the unemployment rate has risen over the last year and that certain segments of the economy are not thriving. All of us also have access to reliable sources of information about sectors of the economy where hiring is still occuring.
No one needs false bad news.
What will best serve students at this time are several things:
- Increased support for students to be diligent and thorough in the job search, not relying on single sources;
- Support for students to hone their job search skills and conduct;
- Increased diligence by each student who is seeking employment or graduate school admission;
- Good advice about what students CAN do to improve their post-graduation outcomes; see what grads wished they had done differently (pdf).
We in Career Services, and our colleagues in the academic departments throughout campus, offer this support, information, and advice to students, and we see diligent students doing amazing things and finding success. We encourage all students not to resign yourselves to some foregone conclusion of disappointment based on an inaccurate headline or any other information that does not stand up to scrutiny.
Related information:
Career-related news in the world.
About the Post-Graduation Survey and Report
Includes links to multi-year summaries and each annual report.
Five-year highlights (pdf)
Shows percentages of respondents who reported employment and continuing education.
How employed grads found their jobs, by college, five years (pdf)
What grads wished they had done differently (pdf)
PDF files open in a new browswer window.
Related Qs:
Quality of employment?
So employment stayed level for the last two graduation years, and those levels were higher than the three years prior. But what about the quality of the employment?
In the five-year highlights (pdf), see "employment related to career goals" and "employment related to major." Those stats are steady or show improvement over time.
PDF files open in a new browswer window.
Next grad cohort?
What about the 2008-2009 grads?
Those graduates are being surveyed. See about the Post-Graduation Survey and Report for details on who is surveyed and when.
Did we communicate with the CT?
Yes. We sent a letter to the Collegiate Times editorial staff on 4.3.09 clarifying the accurate information and sharing the same data as containged on this page. No acknowledgement or response has been received as of 4.13.09.