2010 Surveys of Juniors and Graduating Seniors
Findings of Note

Graduating seniors continue to report high rates of involvement in student organizations (85%) and community service (82%) during their time at the university. Additionally, 60% of seniors report holding leadership roles in student organizations. It is estimated that Marquette undergraduates spend 402,000 hours of service in the community each year.
The future plans for graduating seniors at the time the survey was completed were similar to last year, although still markedly different from 2008 (all three surveys were conducted in April – one month prior to graduation). The rate of graduating seniors applying for full-time employment was the same as the previous year (57%), but still down from the 2008 rate (64%). Graduating seniors had also been offered jobs at the same rate as the previous year (26%) and that figure was also down from 2008 (42%). The rate of graduating senior applications to graduate or professional degree programs was roughly equivalent to the previous years (34% in 2010; 36% in 2009; 32% in 2008) and application rates for full-time service positions were also between where they had been in previous years (13% in 2010; 16% in 2009; and 8% in 2008).
A series of questions asked graduating seniors about their participation in high impact learning experiences. Not surprisingly, the most marked impact came from experiences with significant duration and intensity (study abroad, international experiences, internships, practicum/co-op/clinical/field experiences, and research with a faculty member beyond course requirements). When factoring for both rates of participation as well as level of perceived impact, participation in a student organization continues to be the greatest source of impact on undergraduate students of the all the co-curricular learning opportunities measured by the survey. Also of note on the list of high impact learning experiences, over the past three years the percentage of graduating seniors reporting participation in a culminating academic experience (capstone course) has risen to 79% in 2010 (up from 70% in 2009 and 57% in 2008).
Related to the Core of Common Studies, gains have been made in the impact of the Core on student’s reported improvement with mathematical and statistical concepts. The percentage of juniors who reported “marked” or “moderate” improvement in their ability to apply mathematical and statistical concepts as a result of the Core of Common Studies increased this year to 43% (up from 33% last year). Likewise, the percentage of juniors who reported “marked” or “moderate” improvement in their ability to understand mathematical and statistical concepts increased to 42% (up from 35% last year).
Students continue to report very high rates of satisfaction with their Marquette education. 89% of graduating seniors would chose to attend Marquette again if starting over and 87% would recommend their major area of study to a new Marquette student. 96% indicated that their Marquette education met their overall goals “well” or “very well” and 90% reported that they were completing their degree as quickly as they had planned.