Longitudinal
Surveys of Undergraduate Education and Development
First
Longitudinal Study 1989-92: Class
of 1992
Description
and Methodology
Reports
Questionnaires
Second
Longitudinal Study 1996-99: Class
of 1999
Description and Methodology
Reports
Questionnaires
Longitudinal
Study 1995-98 for the Office of the Dean of Students: Class of 1998
Description
Report
Questionnaires
First
Longitudinal Study: Class of 1992
Description and Methodology
The First Longitudinal Study was based on a sample of 20% of the
undergraduate class of 1992, 482 students. From their first year
(1989) to their last (1992), study participants responded to annual
questionnaires administered in the spring. In addition, personal
interviews with 100 to 150 students selected from the larger group
were conducted each year by University faculty and staff. Anticipating
some attrition within the sample of students, the designers of
the study selected a sample large enough to prevent modest losses
from invalidating the survey results. Of the original first-year
cohort of 482 students, 419 were still enrolled in spring 1992,
from whom we recovered 357 completed questionnaires and conducted
88 personal interviews. Eighty-one percent of our cohort graduated
in spring 1992. By spring 1993 this graduation rate rose to 92%,
slightly higher than the 90% five-year graduation rate of the entire
class of 1992. Both our cohort and the class of 1992 entered the
University with an average SAT score of 1220 (580 verbal, 640 math)
and graduated with a mean grade point average of 3.2 on a scale
of 4.0. Demographically, our cohort changed little from their first
year and, in the fourth year, still mirrored the demographic composition
of the entire class.
Our questionnaire consisted of more than 350 questions addressing
a broad array of topics, designed to provide depth as well as breadth.
The survey covered five major areas of the student experience: goals
and accomplishments; important decisions; academic work; extracurricular
activities; and personal life. We asked students what their educational
goals were, whether they saw themselves making progress toward these
goals, and whether they credited the University with helping them
attain their goals. We also asked them about the extent of their
satisfaction and level of involvement with academic matters, extra-curricular
and volunteer activities, student services, and their personal lives
and how they distributed their time among these activities. Finally,
we asked them about their choice of courses, major, and career,
and what influenced these choices.
For the most part, the questionnaire remained the same throughout
the four years. In the third year we added new sections asking students
to elaborate on their experiences with academic advising and the
general education area requirements. Also in the third year we added
a cohort of transfer students and increased the size of our cohort
of students in the transition program. All of these changes and
additions were retained in the fourth-year questionnaire, which
also included new sections asking students to explain their post-graduation
plans and to reflect on how well they felt prepared for life after
the University. Like the questionnaire, the interviews followed
the pattern of the first two years with some minor variations. While
the interview primarily involved a discussion of students’
learning experiences, interviewers were encouraged to allow students
to take the lead in the discussion. As in past years, interviewers
prompted students for discussion of a few specific topics if those
topics did not come forward naturally. These topics included faculty
contacts, academic advising, general education, and student civility.
Within this loosely structured format students told us much about
their lives and how their experiences at the University were changing
them.
First
Longitudinal Study 1989-1992: Class of 1992
Reports
First
Year
Second
Year
Third
Year
Fourth
Year
Table
of Contents
Introduction
Section
I: Educational Goals and Accomplishments
Section
II: The Three Lives of University Students
Section
III: The Important Decisions
Section
IV: Transition and Transfer Students
Section
V: Listening to Student Voices: Oral
Interviews andWritten Statements; and Conclusions
First
Longitudinal Study 1989-1992: Class of 1992
Questionnaires (.pdf)
Second
Longitudinal Study, 1996-99: Class of 1999
Description and Methodology
In the fall of 1995, the
University of Virginia’s Office of Institutional Assessment
and Studies (IAS) began a study with the general purpose of assessing
the effectiveness of undergraduate education at the University
of Virginia. The more specific goals of the study were to know
what undergraduate students learn and accomplish during their
years at U.Va., both in conjunction with and beyond the formal
curriculum, and to determine whether these outcomes correspond
with the University’s purposes. We also wanted to gain
some insight into how the University contributes to student development.
To answer these questions
we designed a longitudinal survey that we administered to a random
sample of undergraduate students who first arrived at the University
in fall 1995. Each spring, the students in our sample were sent
a questionnaire that asked them between 200 and 250 questions about
their experiences during the past academic year, their future academic
and career plans, and their opinions on university life.
The spring 1999 Questionnaire,
which was the fourth and final questionnaire of the study, included
questions about their :
- progress meeting general
educational goals over the past four years
- academic advising experiences
during the past academic year
- academic experiences
during the past academic year
- participation in extracurricular
activities during the past academic year
- involvement with university
organizations during the past four years
- satisfaction with academic
life during the past academic year
- satisfaction with student
life during the past academic year
- satisfaction with student
services during the past academic year
- satisfaction with their
courses during the past academic year
- post-graduation plans,
including plans for fall 1999.
The survey was administered
between March 2, 1999 and July 12, 1999 to the 623 students who
were part of our original sample and still were enrolled for
the spring 1999 semester. A total of 543 students completed the
questionnaire, for a response rate of 87%. The margin of error
for questions that were answered by all 543 respondents on the
Spring 1999 Questionnaire is ± 4.2%.
Second Longitudinal Study 1996-99: Class of 1999
Reports
Second Longitudinal Study 1996-99: Class of 1999
Questionnaires (.pdf)
Longitudinal
Study 1995-1998 for the Office of the Dean of Students: Class of
1998
Description
A longitudinal study of student participation and development was
conducted over four years for the class of 1998. ODOS wanted to
know the extent to which undergraduate students demonstrate certain
behaviors in accordance with four of its educational objectives:
1.
Students will pursue intellectual inquiry beyond the classroom.
2. Students
will demonstrate the skills to be citizens in a world of peoples
similar to and different from themselves.
3. Students
will recognize their responsibilities in regard to greater societal
needs and engage in activities for the benefit of their communities.
4. Students
will be accountable for their decisions by acknowledging the
positive and negative consequences of those decisions for themselves,
others, and their environment.
The office
also wanted to understand more clearly their influence—through
programs, services, and staff—on these behaviors. Ultimately,
the office wanted to know how it could better foster the intellectual,
personal, and social development of undergraduate students.
Longitudinal Study 1995-1998 for the Office of the Dean of Students: Class of 1998
Report
Summary of the results over four years (.pps)
Longitudinal Study 1995-1998 for the Office of the Dean of Students: Class of 1998
Questionnaires (.pdf)
Questions regarding the administration of the surveys,
the questionnaires, or the results can be directed to Jonathan Schnyer,
Assistant Director and Assessment Coordinator, Office of Institutional
Assessment and Studies, P.O. Box 400427, Charlottesville, VA 22904-4727
(telephone: 434/924-3417 or schnyer@virginia.edu).
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