Follow-Up of 1992 Graduates, Hagerstown Junior College (Includes Statewide Comparisons).

N

33

College Graduates; College Transfer Students; Community Colleges; Comparative Analysis; Education Work Relationship; Employer Attitudes; Graduate Surveys; Higher Education; Outcomes of Education; Participant Satisfaction; Program Effectiveness; Student Attitudes; Student Behavior; Student Characteristics; Student Educational Objectives; Success; Two Year College Students; Two Year Colleges; Vocational Followup

To evaluate the extent to which Maryland colleges helped graduates achieve their educational goals and to provide colleges with statewide comparative data, the Maryland Higher Education Commission surveyed all 1992 Maryland community college graduates in spring 1993. In addition, a separate questionnaire was sent to the employers of consenting graduates to help colleges evaluate instructional programs. A total of 412 students from Hagerstown Junior College (HJC) and 52 employers of HJC graduates were surveyed, with 224 students and 24 employers returning usable questionnaires. Study findings for HJC included the following: (1) 46.6% of the graduates reported that transfer was the single most important reason for attending HJC, while 14.8% indicated the attainment of an Associate of Arts degree; (2) when asked whether they would attend HJC if they had to do it over again, over 92% of the respondents indicated "definitely yes" or "probably yes"; (3) 74.4% of the graduates indicated that their primary goal had been achieved at HJC, 21.1% said that it had been partially achieved, and 4.5 stated that it had not been achieved; (4) graduates who had transferred to a four-year institution had completed a mean of 24.13 credit hours and reported a mean grade point average of 3.1; (5) 76% of the transfer students indicated that their transfer preparation had been "very good" or "good"; and (6) 54% of the employers were "highly likely" to hire another HJC graduate. Data tables detailing responses for HJC, average responses for HJC's six peer institutions, and averages for all Maryland community colleges are included. (PAA)

1994

ED362240