| What and why: |
| |
The Post-Graduation Report is based on our Post-Graduation Survey
of Virginia Tech students who were awarded undergraduate degrees (bachelor's or associate's degree) during
the academic year.
(Virginia Tech has one associate's degree program.)
The survey is conducted annually with the graduates for that academic
year. |
| |
2011-2012...... Dec. '11, May-sum '12 |
| |
2010-2011...... Dec. '10, May-sum '11 |
| |
2009-2010...... Dec. '09, May-sum '10 |
| |
2008-2009...... Dec. '08, May-sum '09 |
| |
2007-2008...... Dec. '07, May-sum '08 |
| |
2006-2007 graduates are those awarded degrees in December 2006, May 2007 & summer 2007. |
| |
2005-2006 graduates are those awarded degrees in December 2005, May 2006 & summer 2006 |
| |
2004-2005 graduates are those awarded degrees in December
2004, May 2005 & summer 2005. |
| |
2003-2004 graduates are those awarded degrees in December
2003, May 2004 & summer 2004. |
| |
The primary purpose of the survey is to learn the post-graduation
status or plans of graduates — whether they have accepted employment,
are continuing education (graduate or professional school, or other), or are in process of pursuing one
of these goals. We also ask graduates how they prepared for life after
college, and much more. |
| |
| Methodology: |
| |
An on-line survey is used that is opened about one month prior
to commencement and closes six months after commencement. |
| |
Each student must use his/her Virginia Tech PID and password to
log in to the survey to ensure that only students completing degrees
in the pertinent terms have access to the survey. |
| |
The December graduates' survey opens mid-November prior to commencement
and closes early-June. |
| |
The May and summer graduates' survey opens
mid-April prior to commencement and closes early-November. |
| |
All graduates with available e-mail addresses are e-mailed inviting
them to complete the survey.
Periodic reminders are sent to non-respondents. Associate deans, department heads, and other faculty and staff may ask their graduates to complete the survey. The survey is also continuously available via the home page of Career
Services' web site. |
| |
Students who report that their post-graduation status is not firm have opportunity to update their responses throughout the period of time the survey remains open. Periodic e-mail reminders invite them to do so. Students who update their responses do not have to re-enter their previous responses to survey items; they simply may update responses as needed. |
| |
The survey takes students an average of about five minutes to complete.
The survey branches; meaning it was designed so that a student's answer to a particular
question determines the next question asked; for example a student
who responded that she was admitted to graduate school was asked to
name the degree being pursued, but was not asked questions relating
to employment, which would not be applicable. |
| |
|
| History of the survey and report, and comparisons year-to-year: |
| |
This survey and report have origins in the 1970s. In those early years, the survey was conducted via in-person exit interviews with graduating seniors. Methods have changed since then. |
| |
Reports for 1995-1996 through 2002-2003 are archived online, accessible at
Post-Graduation Reports. The most recent of those reports gives
comparison data for multiple years. |
| |
For the 2003-2004 graduates, Career Services redesigned the online survey
instrument and data collection information systems in-house. This has been used for each academic year's graduates since 2003-2004.
Data in all reports beginning with 2003-2004 report can be easily compared. With publication of the 2011-2012 report in early January 2013,
we have nine years of data. Each of these reports is publicly accessible
at Post-Graduation
Reports. |
| |
See multi-year summaries to see trends for certain data from the nine latest completed reports. |
| |
|
| Return
to main report menu |
