Reviewers' Notebook: Appendices: Survey of Alumni Majors
From CSWiki
An alumni survey was conducted in Summer 2007. Alumni who graduated in the last 10 years were invited via email to participate in a web-based survey. The 121 invitations received yielded 34 responses, a response rate of 28%.
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Survey Questions
The survey asked the following questions.
- Why did you major in computer science?
- What have you done since you graduated (jobs, graduate school, etc.)?
- What skills did you acquire from your major that helped you in your work after Grinnell? Are there additional skills you wish you had acquired?
- In comparison with your peers who were educated elsewhere, how well did Grinnell prepare you for your work or schooling?
- If all goes as you hope, what would you like to be doing in five years?
- What were the strengths of the computer science program?
- What were the weaknesses of the computer science program?
- What advice would you give to our current majors?
- How would you describe our program to prospective students?
- In the major, we try to prepare our students to (a) communicate effectively, (b) work in teams, (c) design medium-sized software projects, (d) apply fundamental principles in solving problems, (c) write and analyze algorithms, and (f) challenge assumptions. How well did we prepare you to do each of these things?
- Here are some distinguishing characteristics of Grinnell's computer science program. How important is each? Rank as "Very Important", "Somewhat Important", or "Not Very Important": group work, lab-based intro courses, multiparadigm (functional, object-oriented, imperative) approach, an emphasis on general principles over particular skills, deep requirements in mathematics. Please comment.
- Did you feel adequately supported and encouraged by the CS faculty and your fellow CS majors? Explain briefly.
- As the department reflects on how it might change in the next ten years, what advice do you have for us about what should be changed and what should be retained?
- What else would you like us to know about your experience?
Survey Responses
Why alumni chose computer science
When asked, "Why did you major in computer science?", reasons were given as follows. (Responses do not add up to 34 because many respondents gave multiple reasons.)
| Reason | Frequency |
|---|---|
| experience with computing prior to college | 10 |
| wanted a career in computing | 9 |
| fun | 7 |
| enjoyed CSC 151 and/or programming in Scheme | 7 |
| academic interest | 5 |
| seemed to be good at it | 5 |
| it was a backup plan | 5 |
| sense of accomplishment | 4 |
| wanted marketable skills | 3 |
| connection to math | 2 |
| had a positive summer research experience | 1 |
| fun people | 1 |
| wanted to make video games | 1 |
| TOTAL | 60 |
Alumni careers
The 34 respondents to the alumni survey question, "What have you done since you graduated?" gave the following responses. Some respondents have been involved in multiple activities since graduation.
| Response | Frequency |
|---|---|
| Software development | 16 |
| Information technology | 9 |
| Graduate school in computer science | 7 |
| Management | 3 |
| Technical support | 3 |
| Teaching related to computer science | 2 |
| Technical writing | 1 |
| Computing research | 1 |
| Graduate school in other fields | 5 |
| Other non-computing | 4 |
| TOTAL | 51 |
Nearly half (16) of the respondents have worked in software development, 9 in information technology, 3 in technical support, 3 in management, and 4 in other computing-related positions. A third have pursued graduate studies: 7 in computer science and 5 in other fields. Four mentioned other non-computing careers.
Preparation for careers
The alumni survey asked, "In comparison with your peers who were educated elsewhere, how well did Grinnell prepare you for your work or schooling?"
With respect to work, 19 said they were well prepared, while 4 said they were weaker in specific skills but stronger in underlying principles and the ability to learn new skills.
With respect to graduate school in computer science, 4 said they were well prepared and 1 said he or she was not as well prepared; 1 indicated that he or she was stronger in theory but weaker in systems.
Of the remaining responses, 5 said they couldn't tell and 1 defied categorization.
Skills obtained
The alumni survey asked, "What skills did you acquire from your major that helped you in your work after Grinnell?" The most common skill cited was the ability to learn new languages quickly (9 out of 34 responses). Six respondents cited the strong theoretical basis of their knowledge. Problem solving, software design, and object-oriented programming were each cited by 3 respondents.
The following skills were mentioned by two respondents: project management, common algorithms, abstraction, analytical skills, basic programming skills, functional programming, and Java.
The following skills were mentioned by one respondent: discipline, hard work, critical thinking, math, writing, finding and applying solutions from the literature, UNIX, software development tools, databases, networking.
The survey also posed the following question regarding specific skills.
In the major, we try to prepare our students to (a) communicate effectively, (b) work in teams, (c) design medium-sized software projects, (d) apply fundamental principles in solving problems, (e) write and analyze algorithms, and (f) challenge assumptions. How well did we prepare you do do each of these things?
The strongest response was to "(d) apply fundamental principles in solving problems," with 25 (out of 30) positive responses. Seven responses were strongly positive, saying that Grinnell performs "exceptionally well", that "this is one of the strongest points of the Grinnell curriculum," and that this skill is "invaluable" or "what I received best." No one responded negatively with regard to Grinnell's performance. Responses to "(e) write and analyze algorithms" were also generally positive, although there were fewer superlatives.
The weakest response was for "(a) communicate effectively." Many responses (11 out of 30) indicated that, while respondents learned this in their time at Grinnell, it did not seem to be an emphasis of the computer science program. Two responses mentioned class participation as a positive. Two responses indicated that the computer science program should do more, one specifically suggesting more presentations, code walkthroughs, and technical writing.
With respect to "(b) work in teams," a majority (16 out of 29) of the responses were positive, with one response saying "collaborative work was very effective." However, 7 responses were neutral, and 6 were negative. Of the negative responses, three said there was not much collaborative work. Three responses mentioned poor teamwork experiences, two saying specifically that work was not evenly divided. One response cited the difficulty of combining different skill levels, and another a lack of instructor involvement.
With respect to "(c) design medium-sized software projects," responses were split. There were 14 positive responses, 4 neutral, and 9 negative. Of the negative responses, a couple of respondents said they had only worked on small projects at Grinnell, while two others cited a desire for larger or "more real world" projects. One cited a lack of instructor involvement in project work. Two responses indicated a need for more instruction with respect to design; another wanted more emphasis on methodology. One indicated that few classmates were successful at completing the project in the compilers course. Finally, one response said this is an "overly ambitious goal" for our program.
There were many (17) positive responses to "(f) challenge assumptions." Of the remaining responses, a few were neutral (3), a few were negative (3), and a few did not understand the question or found it inappropriate (4). One response indicated that CSC 151 challenges the assumptions of those with programming experience, while another specifically mentioned Prof. Rebelsky's peanut butter & jelly activity used in this class. On the other hand, one response said there were "not many opportunities" to challenge assumptions and suggested the curriculum should do more to address the boundaries of computing. Another proposed the use of collaborative critiques.
Skills desired
The alumni survey asked, "Are there additional skills you wish you had acquired [at Grinnell]?" The most common skill desired was the ability to work with databases (7 out of 34 responses). Six respondents indicated a desire for experience with more marketable programming languages and tools; however, there was little agreement as to what language that should be. Specific languages and technologies mentioned include C++ (2), Flash (1), Visual Basic (1), and .NET (1). More experience with web technologies and user interface design were mentioned by 2 respondents each.
Each of the following was cited by one respondent: statistical analysis, machine learning, eliciting requirements, project management, contribution to a large existing system, and research experience.
Strengths of the program
The alumni survey asked, "What were the strengths of the computer science program?"
With respect to curriculum, responses cited theory (9 out of 32 responses), the blend of theory and practice (4), the multiparadigm approach or learning multiple languages (7), and group work (3). Rigor and challenge were each mentioned in three responses. Electives, guided readings, research opportunities, well-roundedness, and "interesting courses" were each mentioned in one response.
Outside of curriculum, strengths cited included a sense of community among the students (5 out of 32 responses), effective instruction (2), small classes (1), faculty availability (2), and a variety of other desirable faculty characteristics (7).
Weaknesses of the program
The alumni survey asked, "What were the weaknesses of the computer science program?"
With respect to curriculum, some wished more electives had been offered (4 out of 34 responses). Specific topics included databases (5), graphics or animation (1), and software engineering (1). In response to another question regarding advice for the department, several reiterated the desire for more electives; databases was again mentioned, as was distributed systems. Four suggested more interdisciplinary electives (art and business were specifically mentioned), and two indicated a desire for more design in the curriculum.
Two respondents thought that the architecture course should be required of all students, and one thought the systems courses should go into greater depth.
One suggested that 301 should be placed earlier in the curriculum.
Several responses indicated a desire for more practical experience: more projects (3) and more programming experience in general (1). One specifically mentioned version control and debugging as practical skills deserving more coverage. Five responses cited the use of unpopular languages as a weakness, and two cited a lack of marketable skills upon graduation. Two indicated a desire for more coverage of web technology.
Two responses reported that the curriculum was too inflexible to permit study abroad. In response to another question regarding advice for the department, one suggested increasing the flexibility of the program, and two others suggested we should seek out a particular university with a compatible computer science program as a study-abroad partner.
One response indicated that the mathematics requirements seemed unconnected to the computer science curriculum.
One respondent disliked Java, and another indicated a difficult transition from procedural to object-oriented programming.
With respect to careers, two respondents wished for more support in obtaining internships; one wished for more support in choosing a graduate program. Another cited the poor name recognition of the program. In response to another question regarding advice for the department, four indicated a need for more support for seeking jobs and internships, perhaps in cooperation with the Career Development Office.
In response to this question and others, four respondents indicated a concern that the department or the field as a whole was not welcoming to women.
Other weaknesses cited (each by one response) included small program size, scarcity of advisors, personal characteristics of faculty, overcommitted faculty, and problems with visiting faculty.
Importance of program characteristics
The alumni survey listed five characteristics that we believe distinguish the Grinnell computer science program and asked respondents to rate them as "very important," "somewhat important", or "not very important." The results are as follows.
| Very important | Somewhat important | Not very important | No response | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Group work | 21 | 10 | 2 | 1 |
| Lab-based intro courses | 23 | 8 | 1 | 2 |
| Multiparadigm approach | 26 | 5 | 2 | 1 |
| Emphasis on general principles over particular skills | 21 | 12 | 0 | 1 |
| Deep requirements in mathematics | 13 | 16 | 0 | 5 |
Respondents were also invited to comment on their responses; 19 respondents made comments.
Responses were generally positive, with a majority saying that each characteristic is very or somewhat important. The comments mainly reflected on "Emphasis on general principles over particular skills" and "Deep requirements in mathematics". The remaining comments included one indicating general approval, two reflecting on the form of the question, and one other comment.
One commenter approved of the lack of a vocational focus in the computer science program, while two others wished there were more emphasis on particular skills.
"Deep requirements in mathematics" was the most controversial: the only characteristic for which fewer than half of the responses were "very important", the characteristic most often left unanswered, and the characteristic most commented upon. Two comments disagreed with the premise of the question, saying that the Grinnell computer science program in fact has weak math requirements. Four commented that they did not see a connection between deep math and computer science. Two commented on the importance of math to graduate studies in computer science, while three commented on a lack of relevance to day-to-day work.
Support for students
The alumni survey asked, "Did you feel adequately supported and encouraged by the CS faculty and your fellow CS majors? Explain briefly." Responses were generally positive. 9 responses were a blanket "yes", 20 indicated that faculty were supportive and available, and 11 indicated that students were supportive. 3 reported a lack of support from the faculty and 5 a lack of support from other students, with one mentioning "some incidents of disrespect because [she] was a woman."
