When they apply for graduation, students complete a survey indicating their goals at the college, their satisfaction with college services, and their plans for the future. Findings from the survey provide particularly useful feedback because of a high response rate (nearly 100 percent), the respondents’ extensive experience with the college, and the currency of their opinions as they finish their programs at the college. Surveys were completed by 504 applicants for graduation during FY2014.

What goals did the students achieve at the college?

In order of frequency, the students achieved the following goals at Carroll:

• earned a college degree or certificate (100%),
• prepared for transfer to a baccalaureate institution (75%),
• gained self-enrichment (75%),
• prepared for entry into their first career (60%),
• updated skills for their current job (42%), and
• prepared for a career change (40%).

Graduates rated their experiences at the college highly. On a five-point satisfaction scale, means for all items evaluated were above 4.2. The overall value of their Carroll education received the highest rating, with a mean of 4.53. This was followed closely by the overall quality of their Carroll experience, with a mean rating of 4.49. Other aspects of the college were also rated highly: quality of academic advising (4.43), overall quality of instruction (4.42), selection of courses offered (4.39), student activities program (4.31), career planning assistance (4.27), transfer planning assistance (4.26), and availability of classes at convenient times (4.26).

Three-fifths of this year’s graduates plan to transfer to a four-year college or university within a year; four-fifths of these students intend to enroll as full-time students at their transfer destination. Another 25 percent of the graduates plan to transfer in the future. Only 14 percent of the graduates lacked transfer plans. The most popular intended destinations were Towson, Stevenson, and UMBC.

Twenty-seven percent of the graduates planned to be working in a job related to their Carroll major upon completion of their degree. Forty-one percent expected to be employed but in fields unrelated to their college program. Three-fifths of those expecting to be employed anticipated working in Carroll County. Other intended employment locations were Baltimore County (15%) and Baltimore City (10%).

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