2007 COOPERATIVE INSTITUTIONAL RESEARCH PROGRAM CIRP FirstYear Student

2007 COOPERATIVE INSTITUTIONAL RESEARCH PROGRAM (CIRP) First-Year Student Survey Profile Administered August 2007 West Chester University of Pennsylvania

TRUE or FALSE?

Most incoming WCU first-year students do not identify themselves by religious group.

FALSE!!! At WCU 37% Roman Catholic 5. 1% Baptist 4. 4% Lutheran 5. 3% Methodist 4. 8% Presbyterian 2. 9% Jewish Nationally 25. 2% Roman Catholic Only 17. 8% claimed to have no preference both at WCU and Nationally

Most incoming first-year student family’s income at WCU is 60 k or less.

FALSE!!! 68% make $60, 000 or better 21. 1% make between $100 K - $150 K Nationally, 57. 6% make $60 K or better

Incoming students worry about funding their college education.

TRUE!!! 51. 3% believe they will have “Some” concerns 4. 7% have “Major” concerns regarding their college funding.

Most incoming WCU first -year students are from divorced/blended families.

FALSE!!! At WCU, 71. 3 % live with both parents Nationally, 67. 4% live with both parents

WCU is a first generation campus.

TRUE!!! At WCU 52. 3% mothers 52. 4% fathers Nationally 56. 4% mothers 59. 9% fathers DON’T have a college degree.

95% of incoming WCU first-year students are from public high schools.

FALSE!!! 81. 4% came from a public school 12. 2% came from private religious schools 1. 9% came from private schools Nationally, 87. 2% of college students come from public schools

Incoming first-year students attending WCU are from mostly white neighborhoods.

TRUE!!! 81% came from white neighborhoods 20. 6% of that were from completely white neighborhoods Nationally… 77. 7% came from white neighborhoods 25. 8% of that were from completely white neighborhoods

Most incoming first-year students did not use tutors in high school.

FALSE!!! 52. 8% had tutoring in high school – 19. 3% of that number needed Math tutoring the most 50. 1% of students nationally had tutoring in high school

Most incoming first-year students do not think they will need tutors at WCU.

FALSE!!! 93% feel that you will need tutoring – The highest need is Math/Science 81. 3% of students nationwide feel that they will need tutoring

Most of WCU's incoming class had a B+ average in High School.

TRUE!!! 71. 4% had a B+ or higher Nationally, 61. 6% had a B+ or higher

Incoming first-year students preferred studying in groups in high school.

TRUE!!! Here at West Chester 76. 6% of men and 89. 6% of women studied in small group settings. Nationally 79. 7% of men and 88. 4% of women studied in small group settings.

All of incoming first-year students used the internet for research in high school.

FALSE!!! Here at West Chester 75. 2% of students have used the internet for research or homework Other four year Public colleges 71. 1% of students have used the internet for research or homework

50% of incoming WCU first-year students looked up scientific articles and resources in high school.

FALSE!!! At WCU – 20. 7% have looked up scientific research and resource articles The rest of the U. S. – 17. 9% have looked up scientific research and resource articles

On average, incoming first-year students studied 6 -10 hours per week in high school.

At WCU FALSE!!! 51% of incoming students studied TWO HOURS a week or LESS 44% of incoming students studied between 3 -10 hours a week THIS MEANS THAT 96% studied less than 10 hours per week Nationally 51% of incoming students studied TWO HOURS a week or LESS

On average, incoming first-year students partied 1 -2 hours per week in high school.

FALSE!!! At West Chester University, 38. 3% of incoming students partied between 3 and 10 hours a week in high school At other four year public schools, only 32. 6% of incoming students partied between 3 and 10 hours a week in high school

On average, incoming first-year students worked 10 hours per week at an outside job in high school.

FALSE!!! At WCU – 36. 8% of new students worked 11 or more hours a week – 38. 3% worked more than 16 hours a week!!! – 76. 8% are working 10+ hours a week Nationally – 53. 5 % worked 11+ hours a week

Most of incoming WCU first-year students believe they are in the top 10% of all students academically.

TRUE!!! At West Chester – 63. 2% believe they are in the TOP 10% Nationally – 57. 1% believe they are in the TOP 10%

Cost is the number one factor in choosing WCU.

FALSE 59. 4% said academic reputation #1 50. 8% said job placement #1 42. 3% said their campus visit #1 Where is cost as a factor? – 48. 6% said cost was an important factor

Most WCU first-year students say WCU was their first or second choice.

TRUE!!! West Chester University was first or second choice for 91. 6% of new first-year students – 61. 6% said WCU was their 1 st – 30% said WCU was the 2 nd

Most incoming WCU first -year students thought their parents were too involved in their college selection process.

FALSE!!! 86. 2% of new students believe their parents were involved the “RIGHT AMOUNT” in their decision.

Most incoming first-year students live within 100 miles from campus.

TRUE!!! At WCU – 84% of new students live within 100 miles Nationally – 64. 1% of new students live within 100 miles

Incoming WCU first-year students are not considering graduate or professional school upon graduation.

FALSE!!! Here at West Chester – 51. 9% plan to get Master’s Degree – 13. 6% plan to get Ph. D. – 7. 4% plan to get M. D. , D. O. , D. D. S. , D. V. M. , or J. D. Total: 72. 9% are thinking about an advanced degree

Few incoming first-year students consider WCU for graduate school.

TRUE!!! 78. 2% of new students AREN’T considering West Chester for graduate school

Most incoming first-year students think they will stay in their majors.

TRUE!!! At WCU – 19. 5% believe they will change majors Nationally – 14. 2% believe they will change majors

Most incoming first-year students are not considering study abroad.

TRUE!!! At WCU – 23. 5% plan on studying abroad (437 students are considering studying abroad) At other four year public schools – 19. 2% plan on studying abroad

Most incoming first-year students think same sex couples should not have the right to marry.

FALSE!!! 69. 3% of students agree with same-sex marriage Only 19. 4% believe there should be laws prohibiting homosexual relationships

Most incoming first-year students are not concerned with the environment.

TRUE!!! 80. 5% of new students believe that the government is not doing enough to control pollution

“So-what? ” What do we do with the data? Who do we share the CIRP with? How can this impact staff training? How can we make this information available to faculty? How can this enhance learning? How can this enhance programming?

“So-what? ” A few examples to think about… Middle States Ally Training Recycling Program Study Groups Technology assumptions