Despite the troubling economic times, a recent survey conducted by the American Council of Education (ACE) found college alumni are overall satisfied with their college experience and believe their degrees to be worth the expense and time.
Four hundred students from 22 two-year and four-year colleges and universities were surveyed and of the randomly selected students, 89 percent said the time and money required to achieve the degree was worth it.
Respondents were broken into two groups based on age; one group consisted of 35 to 39 year olds and the other consisted of subjects ages 25 to 34.
The national study yielded results stating 62 percent of alumni feel that colleges prepare students for the workforce.
When asked what they thought was the most important role colleges and universities play in shaping young professionals lives, 31 percent of alumni stated it was to teach students to learn and think critically, while 28 percent believed the role was to prepare students for employment.
Despite increasing costs of attending institutions of higher education, 76 percent of the surveyed alumni thought that the prices of their institutions were fair.
“Students should prepare in advance for their entrance into the job market after graduation,” said Jeff Silver, the director of Career Services at the University of Massachusetts in an e-mail interview.
Silver went on to explain that UMass students should take advantage of the internship and co-op programs at the University.
“Students at UMass are very fortunate that the University has a vibrant internship and co-op program,” said Silver. “UMass students are also very fortunate that most arts and science majors can earn up to 18 credits of internship credit during their undergraduate years. Students can also accept full-time, paid positions during the semester and maintain their student status by having their position classified as a co-op.”
Silver also explained that UMass surveys its graduates in a way similar to that of the ACE surveys.
According to Silver, students are surveyed at the time of graduation, three months after graduation, and six months after graduation. “Students who have done several top quality internships or co-ops do feel that they were well prepared to enter the job market and a happier with their career choice,” he said
Silver also commented on the common conception that some career paths have a higher demand for young college graduates than others in this economy.
“Obviously students in the high demand majors such as computer science and accounting have an easier time finding jobs after graduation,” Silver said.
Silver attributed students’ successes in other fields with less of a demand for new hires to the opportunities available at UMass.
“I have found that students who have networked, had high quality internships and have good grades have an easier time finding employment after graduation than the student who has just gone to classes and had the usual summer jobs,” he said.
“UMass taught a lot of theories which are useful to my current occupation, but without hands-on learning and the internship I had last summer, it would have been much more difficult [for me in my field]. Theories are great, but I am a hands-on learner,” said UMass communication disorders graduate Courtney Duffy. She graduated in 2010.
“I really recommend using Career Services and any other help that the University offers,” said UMass resource economics graduate Randy Swank. “Myself, my peers and my friends did not utilize this as much as we should have,”
“I wish UMass had been more persistent on mandating internships and working more hands on with companies to reserve internships and working more hands on with companies to reserve internships,” he continued. “I really like how Northeastern University does this, because internships are important to getting jobs and are very difficult to get at the same time.”
Duffy agreed that mandating internships could be beneficial to students.
“I think the most important [resource] a school could provide is hands-on learning and opportunities for internships,” he said. “You learn a ton while working, and they provide great references and opportunities for employment upon graduation.”
Though Swank wishes he had utilized opportunities available at UMass for internships or field experience, his opinion falls in line with the respondents of the ACE survey.
“UMass was definitely worth the time and the money,” he said. “During these tough economic times, UMass is one of, if not the best, schools for the price.”
Swank also disagreed with Silver’s opinion that students with more demanding degrees typically find it easier to access a job after graduation,.
“To be honest, I haven’t noticed any majors having an easier or more difficult time getting jobs,” he said. “Finding a job right now takes a lot of patience and can be very frustrating no matter what you graduated with.”
Ashley Berger can be reached at [email protected].
