Reviewers' Notebook: Assessing Student Outcomes: Survey of Alumni Majors
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As part of the external review process, we conducted a survey of alumni who graduated in the last 10 years. The survey is more fully described in Appendix Q.
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Introduction
An alumni survey was conducted in Summer 2007. Alumni were invited via email to participate in a web-based survey. The 121 invitations received yielded 34 responses, a response rate of 28%.
The survey provides some evidence of success in our learning outcome goals for majors, notably, that graduates have found themselves well-prepared for satisfying careers, that graduates are more than competent at solving problems using multiple problem-solving paradigms, and that graduates are very well prepared to apply fundamental principles. Although graduates report they are able to communicate effectively, there is room for the computer science department to do more here. Finally, although many graduates report being well-prepared to work effectively in team-based development projects, some did not; there may be room for improvement here as well.
The majority of the respondents were positive about their experiences, and two were not.
Careers and skills
A majority of the respondents have worked in the computing field: software development, information technology, technical support, management, teaching, and other computing-related professions. A third have pursued graduate studies: 7 in computer science and 5 in other fields. Many respondents have held multiple jobs or both worked and pursued further education.
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, the majority (19) said they were well prepared, while a few (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, the majority (4) said they were well prepared and one said he or she was not as well prepared; one indicated that he or she was stronger in theory but weaker in systems. A few (5) responded that they were not sure.
In response to the question, "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), presumably due to Grinnell's multiparadigm approach. A few responses specifically mentioned functional programming, imperative programming, or object-oriented programming. In accordance with theory as a strength of the department, 6 respondents cited the strong theoretical basis of their knowledge. Other skills mentioned in more than one response included problem solving, abstraction, analytical skills, software design, and project management.
Specific learning goals
The survey posed the following question regarding specific skills we hope students will acquire.
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, and others linked communication with teamwork. 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.
Summary
In summary, students have generally found themselves well prepared for work or further schooling, perhaps with less specific knowledge than their peers but with a deeper understanding of fundamental principles. The strongest skills of Grinnell alumni seem to be learning new languages quickly (likely due to the multiparadigm approach), applying fundamental principles, and writing and analyzing algorithms. The program seems to be moderately successful at teaching skills for teamwork, design of medium-sized software projects, and challenging assumptions; however, there may be room for improvement. Many alumni reported that teaching communication skills did not seem to be a focus of the computer science program.
