August, 1993AN IMPACT STUDY OF THE EDUCATIONAL EXPERIENCEON THE FINANCIAL, EMPLOYMENT AND EDUCATIONAL DEVELOPMENTOF GRADUATES OF THE DOUGLAS COLLEGEBUSINESS PROGRAMSbyHILARY D. CHEUNGB.Sc., University of British Columbia, 1977A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OFTHE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OFMASTER OF ARTSinTHE FACULTY OF GRADUATE STUDIESDepartment of Administrative, Adult and Higher EducationWe accept this thesis as conformingto the required standard© Hilary D. Cheung, 1993In presenting this thesis in partial fulfilment of the requirements for an advanceddegree at the University of British Columbia, I agree that the Library shall make itfreely available for reference and study. I further agree that permission for extensivecopying of this thesis for scholarly purposes may be granted by the head of mydepartment or by his or her representatives. It is understood that copying orpublication of this thesis for financial gain shall not be allowed without my writtenpermission.(Signature)Department of .A-avyitn-isk-activc -AGI1/4.0 I-k it --l-rtaher faUCCAA1 0 n, The University of British ColumbiaVancouver, CanadaDate DE-6 (2/88)iiABSTRACTDouglas College Business Program students have graduated forthe past twenty-two years. This study was undertaken to examinethree specific aspects of the 'impact' that the Douglas Collegeeducational experience has had on these business graduates.Impact, as defined by Alfred (1982), is the sum total of outcomes,changes and benefits produced by a college.Through the use of Astin's model of the components of theprocess of higher education, specific outcomes related toemployment, finances and further educational development wereinvestigated. A survey was conducted of graduates from selectedbusiness programs from the years 1981 and 1986. Analyses werecarried out to determine outcomes of having graduated from aDouglas College business program.It was found that the Douglas College business programgraduates experienced positive outcomes related to employment,finances, and pursuit of further education. Graduates perceivedthat the benefits related to employment were more important thanother benefits related to their educational experience.iiiTABLE OF CONTENTSABSTRACTTABLE OF CONTENTSTABLE OF FIGURES^ viTABLES^ viiACKNOWLEDGEMENTS^ viiiCHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION^ 1The Research Problem 1Purpose of the Research^ 1Background to the Problem 2Douglas College Within the Community College Context^3Graduation in the 1980s^ 5Purpose of the Study 7Questions Addressed in the Study^ 8Significance of the Study^ 11Outline of the Thesis 15CHAPTER II: REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE^ 16The Outcomes of Higher Education 16The Community College Context^ 24The Employment Outcome^ 25The Income Outcome 29Educational Development Outcomes^ 34Summary^ 40ivCHAPTER III: METHODOLOGY^ 41Overview^ 41Research Design^ 41Department Selection^ 41Program Selection 42Time Interval Selection^ 43Population Selection 441981 Graduates^ 451986 Graduates 45Data Gathering^ 46The Survey 46Program Mix of the Respondents^ 48Program Breakdown by Gender 49Limitation of the Research^ 51Analysis of the Data^ 52CHAPTER IV: FINDINGSOverview^ 54General Findings^ 54Age 54Gender 56Attendance^ 56Reasons for Choosing the Douglas College^57Business ProgramMost Important Result of the Educational^59ExperienceCertification^ 61Comments 63Employment Findings 65Financial Findings^ 70Educational Findings 72CHAPTER IV FINDINGS continuedReliving the college experience^ 76Recommendation of the program 77Value of the educational experience 78CHAPTER V: DISCUSSIONOverview^ 80^Question 1^ 81Question 2 89Question 3 92CHAPTER VI: SUMMARY AND RECOMMENDATIONSSummary^ 99Recommendations^ 103REFERENCES^ 112APPENDIX 1 117APPENDIX 2^ 119APPENDIX 3 120FIG 1.1FIG 1.2FIG 3.1TABLE OF FIGURES viThe Three Components of the Model (Astin) ^ 21The Three Dimensional Taxonomy^ 22Age of Respondents at time of survey^ 55FIG 3.2^The proportion of males:females for all respondentscombined, and 1981 and 1986 respondents separately. .56FIG 3.3^Highest educational credential achieved by allgraduates^ 61FIG 3.4^Highest educational credential achieved, 1981and 1986 63FIG 3.5 Relationship of employed graduates and currentposition and unemployed graduates with most recentposition - 1981 graduates^ 66FIG 3.6 Relationship of employed graduates and currentposition and unemployed graduates with most recentposition - 1986 graduates^ 67FIG 3.7^Current annual salaries as of time of survey(1991) for the 1981 graduation year^ 70FIG 3.8 Current annual salaries as of time of survey(1991) for the 1986 graduation year 71FIG 3.9^The nature of courses selected by those graduateswho have pursued further education since graduationfrom the Douglas College Business Program^ 73FIG 3.10 The nature of courses selected by 1981 and 1986graduates who have pursued further education sincegraduation from the Douglas College BusinessProgram^ 75FIG 4.1 Employment status within three months ofgraduation 85FIG 4.2 Current employment status of both graduationyears^ 86FIG 4.3^Percentage of graduates who found no relationshipbetween training and employment. Comparison fromThe Class of 82, (1986) and from B.C. ResearchThe Client Survey Project, (1991) ^ 88vi iTABLESTable 1.1^Labour Force participation estimates by educationalattainment, sex and age, Canada, (Dec 1986, May1991) ^ 26Table 1.2^Labour Force unemployment estimates by educationalattainment, sex and age, Canada, (Dec 1986, May1991) ^ 27Table 1.3^Selected educational groups and average employmentincome for Canadians (1986 Census) ^ 31Table 2.1^Number of Surveys Returned^ 47Table 2.2Table 2.3Table 3.1Table 3.2Program Mix of the graduate respondents ascompared to actual program graduates^ 48Breakdown of graduates of the program andof survey respondents by year and gender^ 51The single most important result of attendingDouglas College by graduates of 1981, N=24 and1986, N=63^ 60Average yearly salaries based on educationalattainment and age, (from Census Data, 1986 - themost recent available) and Statistics Canada, June1991 salaries based on occupation^ 72ACKNOWLEDGMENTS viiiI wish to thank those who have helped guide me through theprocess of this thesis. Especially I would like to thank theadministration of Douglas College, for assisting me in accessingstudent information and in conquering the computer programs thathelped me in this research. Special thanks to Mark Walsh for hispatience in helping to locate old student records and to Bob Cowanfor his invaluable help with the computer. Thanks to my graduateresearch committee who, in spite of interruptions along the way,waited patiently for the final thesis. Finally, I extend a warmthank-you to Dr. John Dennison, for without his gentle nudging,this thesis would not have been submitted.CHAPTER I - INTRODUCTIONTHE RESEARCH PROBLEMDouglas College has been in existence for twenty-two years.Thousands of students have graduated from the institution and havemoved into jobs, undertaken further education, and pursued a widevariety of career options. Of the few program-related follow-upstudies that have been undertaken, all have been performed withinmonths of graduation. The studies have focused on employment andperceptions of graduates about their programs of study. No follow-up study has considered the perceptions community college graduateshold of their educational experiences in relation to specificoutcomes many years after graduation. This study investigatedthree specific outcomes of select business program graduates fromthe graduation years 1981 and 1986. The outcomes of interest were:employment, salary, and educational development.PURPOSE OF THE RESEARCHThe purpose of this research study was to investigatespecific outcomes that contribute to the impact that participationin and graduation from the Douglas College business program has hadon a selected cohort of graduates. The definition of impact, forthis study, is based on one generated by R.L. Alfred (1982, p2).Impact is the sum total of outcomes, changes and benefits producedby the college, through its programs and services, in relation to2specific constituencies. While Alfred emphasizes the reciprocalnature of impact, between the college and external agencies thatshape its missions and goals, the emphasis of this research was onthe benefits and outcomes produced in those students who attendedthe college. Impact is defined more narrowly and more explicitlyfor the purposes of this study as the effect of attending andgraduating from the college business programs as perceived bygraduates in terms of three outcomes - employment, salary, andeducational development. That is, I sought to determine therelationship of graduation from Douglas Colleg Business Programswith each of three variables: employment, seven and twelve yearsfollowing graduation; current levels of income; participation invarious educational activities following graduation; and graduationfrom Douglas College business programs.BACKGROUND TO THE PROBLEMIt is important to consider the labour market into which 1981and 1986 community college graduates entered. Major changes wereoccurring economically and socially that would have direct impacton graduates. This necessitates a review of both the communitycolleges at these times and the societal and economic pressuresfacing graduates of the community college system.DOUGLAS COLLEGE WITHIN THE COMMUNITY COLLEGE CONTEXTCommunity Colleges in British Columbia arose in the mid 1960s3amid a society open to innovation and change and financially ableand willing to fund new ventures. Based on the blueprint providedin the report by John B. Macdonald, Higher Education in BritishColumbia and a Plan for the Future (1962), community collegedevelopment flourished. Missions of these newly emerging B.0colleges, similar to those in California were to be centered, asGleaser (1960) observed:around the education of the young, the continuingeducation of older citizens, and the general improve-ment of the community through beneficial and appro-priate educational and cultural services. (p.34)Each college was to develop its own goals and mission statementsand to generate a philosophy appropriate to its community.While each new B.C. community college was founded on theprinciples contained within the Macdonald report, each wasdistinctively shaped by local political, social and communityneeds. At their inception, all B.C. community colleges offeredcomparable programming, including university transfer, vocational,and career programs. In many areas of the province, the collegeprovided the highest level of educational opportunity (excludingdistance learning at the senior university level via the OpenLearning Institute, now renamed as the Open Learning Agency).Other communities used the college as a focus of both social andcultural community events. Macdonald's vision was that the collegewould play an increasingly important role in the life of both theindividual and the community.Douglas College opened on September 24, 1970, and was theseventh college to be established in the province. Over the last4twenty-two years, the institution has grown and evolved into alarge, complex community college. The college region initiallyincluded Burnaby, Coquitlam, Port Coquitlam, Port Moody, NewWestminster, Surrey, Delta, Langley and Richmond. In 1981, as thenumber of satellite centres and students increased, Douglas Collegewas officially split into two separate autonomous institutions -Kwantlen College and Douglas College. The new Kwantlen College wasto be responsible for educational services in all regions south ofthe Fraser River and Douglas College was to be responsible forservices in all regions north. Douglas College has one large maincampus in New Westminster, a small site in Maple Ridge anddevelopment is now underway for a large new campus in Coquitlam.The college had expanded from its initial enrolment in 1970 of1100 full-time and 450 part-time students, to enrolments in 1991 ofmore than 7100 full-time, 9400 part-time students and more than20,000 community program enrolments (these being non-credit, non-transferable, short courses or workshops).GRADUATION IN THE 1980SGraduates of the 1980s entered difficult times in Canada(Parliament, 1990; Picot and Wannell, 1987). The economic growthand expansion of the labour force during the 1970s were slowingconsiderably. The effects of the baby boom generation were beingfelt by the economy as large numbers entered the workforce. Duringthe 1980s several trends emerged from the labour force that would5have implications for graduates. The 1980s saw a steady increasein the number of women, particulary working mothers, in the workforce. The age of the work force also increased during the 1980s,primarily due to the proportion of baby boomers. Over this decadethe general population and the work force became more educated.The educational attainment of those completing their educationshifted from secondary school completion to post-secondarycompletion, "...thereby raising the overall educational level ofthe labour force" (Zsigmond et al. p 49). As reported from the1986 census document Schooling and Major Field of Study., "eachsucceeding generation of Canadians has attained a highereducational accreditation that the one preceding it" (p.viii).Each of these trends would have an effect on those graduating fromcommunity colleges. Specifically, employment became more difficultto obtain, due to both sheer numbers of individuals competing forjobs and escalating qualifications.The prospects for graduates entering the job market in theearly 1980s, were limited. The recession of 1981/82 resulted inrising unemployment, and almost all employment growth could befound in the service occupations which were not as heavily hit bythe recession. Graduates of the early 1980s were faced not onlywith a shrinking and shifting job market but also with stiffcompetition from the increasing number of qualified job seekers.During the early 1980s the numbers of community college graduatesin Canada continued to increase with numbers highest in thebusiness/commerce and data processing areas. The number of6graduates with college diplomas or trade certificates in the years1971-1981 increased ten fold. While job opportunities were limited(and rates of employment for college graduates were higher than forthose who had not graduated), once employment was secured collegegraduates could expect almost 18% greater salaries on average, thanthose with no post-secondary education.By the late 1980s, effects of the recession had diminished andwhile labour force participation rates were slowly increasing, therate of recovery was slower than that experienced through the1970s. Provincially, B.C. experienced greater growth in the labourforce than other provinces of Canada, with much of the growthoccurring in the service industries. The nature of work alsochanged over the decade, with part time work increasingproportionately with full time work.Meanwhile, the B.C. community colleges were also experiencingthe effects of the economic downturn through the 1980s. As aresult of the recession, college funding allocations were eitherheld constant or were reduced. Programs and in some instances,campuses around the province were reduced in size or eliminated.In the mid 1980s, the community colleges across Canada, experienceda full-time enrolment decline. This decline was offset to someextent by the increase in the number of part-time enrolments.Colleges recorded an increase in the average age of new students,and an increase in the proportion of women attending full time postsecondary programs (Statistics Canada, 1989a). These trends werevery similar to those evident in the labour force.7Overall, for graduates of 1981, "the combination of largergraduating classes and stagnant or falling employment indexessignalled leaner employment condition" (Picot & Wannell, 1987,p.56). For graduates of 1986, the situation, while not as rosy asfor graduation in the 1970s, had improved over that facing the 1981graduates.The changes evidenced in the community colleges in generalwere also experienced by students at Douglas College. Changingeconomic realities, the shift of the nature of work, loweremployment rates, and increased competition for the existing jobsaffected the graduates of Douglas College Business Programs in 1981and 1986. Each of these changes had an impact on the graduateoutcomes of employment, income and educational development.PURPOSE OF THE STUDYWhile certain outcomes of community college attendance onBritish Columbia graduates have been studied, emphasis has not beenon the longer term impact of the college experience. The purposeof this study was to determine the impact that the collegeexperience has had on employment, salary and further educationaldevelopment for the graduates of some of the Business Departmentprograms of Douglas College.The questions which were investigated for the Douglas Collegebusiness program graduates were based on the following assumptionsabout the program. The Douglas College business programs:8(a) allowed graduates to find employment related to theireducation.(b) was beneficial to graduates financially, and(c) was beneficial in terms of their own educational developmentQUESTIONS ADDRESSED IN THE STUDYThe study was divided into three areas of investigation. Thefirst was concerned with employment outcomes, the second withfinancial outcomes, and the third with educational developmentoutcomes.The purpose of the investigation of employment characteristicsof graduates was to determine whether graduates found immediateemployment, full or part-time employment, and employment related totheir program of study. It also considered whether students hadbeen unemployed, and if so, whether their training or education atDouglas College had helped them to regain employment. Finally,graduates were asked about the value of their college experience inrelation to their current employment and salary.The second purpose of the study was to provide informationconcerning salaries of graduates from specified Douglas Collegebusiness programs. This allowed comparison of these salaries withaverage annual Canadian salaries, other college graduate salaries,and with other business program graduate salaries.The third purpose of the study was to investigate whether9graduates have returned, or intend to return to education.Graduates were asked about the types of courses in which theyenroled and would select in the future. In addition, the highestlevel of education obtained by graduates and the institution fromwhich this was awarded was determined. Graduates were asked aboutsatisfaction with their college experience, their choice ofeducational institutions and how, based on that experience, theywould advise others. It attempted to discover what graduatesconsidered to be the most important outcome of their collegeexperience. The purpose of the study included determining whetherthere had been a change in the value that the graduate placed onhis or her educational experience since graduation.Each of the three major areas to be investigated in the study,were supplemented by specific questions. They are as follows:1.^Is there a relationship between graduation from theDouglas College business programs, and finding employmentwith respect to their education?1.a. Were the percentages of graduates whofound employment immediately aftergraduation, and were currently employed,similar for both graduation years?1.b. Did graduates perceive that their currentemployment and past education/training atDouglas College were closely related? Wasthis relationship consistent over the timeperiod of study?101.c. When graduates faced periods of unemployment,did their education or training help themregain employment?^2.^What is the relationship between participation in theDouglas College business program and current earnings?2.a. What were the current salaries of DouglasCollege graduates?2.b. Did graduates perceive that the financialoutlay required to attend Douglas Collegehad been a worthwhile investment?3.^What benefits did Douglas College business programgraduates perceive in terms of their own educationaldevelopment?3.a. Did graduates return for further educationor intend to pursue further education inthe future? What type of further educationwould be pursued? Would this be at DouglasCollege or another educational institution?3.b. Were graduates satisfied with their owncollege experience?3.c. Did the level of satisfaction with theircollege experience remain constant sincegraduation?11SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDYThe community colleges of British Columbia are required by theprovincial College and Institute Act (1979), to provide theMinistry of Advanced Education and Job Training with a Five-YearPlan. Under Section 66, often referred to as the 'Sunset Clause',institutions " shall by March 31, 1982, and by the end of eachsubsequent 5 year period, report to the Minister setting out thereasons, if any, why the institution should continue to exist and,on receipt of this report, the Minister shall advise the LieutenantGovernor in Council about the measures that should be taken toremedy or improve the situation disclosed by the report" (p.19).The results of this study may contribute to an understanding ofspecific outcomes experienced by a cohort of Douglas Collegebusiness program graduates and assist this process.The Ministry of Advanced Education and Job Training is veryinterested in follow-up studies and is anxious to expand researchin the area (J.A. Watson, Ass. Dep. Min., March 9, 1989).Currently, greater accountability is being demanded from thecolleges to justify the money that the institutions receive asoperating funds and capital funds for expansion (Gallagher, 1990).The Ministry is also compiling information about studentaspirations and expectations (Ministry of Advanced Education,Training and Technology, 1992) for use in determining strategiesand decisions for the post-secondary system. This study mayprovide additional information about outcomes with respect to12employment, income, and educational development experienced by onegroup of Douglas College graduates.In addition, this study was designed to provide theadministration of Douglas College with additional data that couldbe used in the planning process. Information is essential as "thespringboard to an integrated approach to college development"(Tonneson, 1977, p.22). The research may be useful in long-termplanning particularly since it has examined the impact of thecollege experience by two separate groups of graduates. The twograduation periods span a period of time during which the collegesfaced tremendous expansion, a recession and retrenchment, followedby periods of moderate and controlled growth. Each of these eventsincreased the complexity of predicting students' choice ofprograms, societal workforce requirements, and graduate outcomes.The number of follow-up studies that address a wide variety ofoutcomes of the community college experience are increasing in bothquantity and scope (B.C. Research, 1990; Ministry of AdvancedEducation, Training and Technology, 1992). Until recently, themost studied aspect of follow-up of community college students hasbeen performance of the university transfer student when thesestudents transfer to other educational institutions, primarilyuniversities. The performance of B.C. community college transferstudents has been closely monitored and studied since 1967(Dennison & Forrester, 1979; Dennison, Tunner, Jones & Forrester,1975). Despite the relatively small numbers of students involved,(B.C. Research, 1991), transfer studies made up a greater13proportion of the follow-up studies than might have been expected.The relative "youth" of the community colleges in Canada andspecifically British Columbia may account for the emphasis on thistype of research.Community college students have changed over the past twentyyears (Gallagher, 1990). College students as a group have becomeolder, and are more likely to be part-time and female. Bycomparing two cohorts, specific information gained from this studymay provide a broader understanding of the nature of past businessprogram students and may provide a clearer assessment of what rolethe college played in the years that it had an influence on thesestudents. It may provide insight into the relationship of changingclientele and changing programs. "For educational planners, one ofthe main challenges for the future will be to devise appropriateways of accommodating the diversity of clientele which will becomean increasingly characteristic feature of post-secondary education"(Duhamel & Shere, 1987, p.15). Colleges must continue to beflexible and responsive in their offerings, and the necessity ofadaptive planning, or planning for change (Tonneson, 1977), willcontinue.The study may alert the college of both the nature and theimportance of student records so that future research will be botheasier and more accurate. It may suggest the nature of data thatcould be collected about graduates so that further more detailedfollow-up research could be conducted. The results of the studywill be shared with the Office of Institutional Research in order14to add to the data that it has collected. In addition, suggestionsand recommendations about college data collection methods will bepresented.The research may provide the Business Department withinformation about the relationship between their program andemployment characteristics of their graduates. The results mayalso be useful in the development of program evaluation tools. Theresults may also suggest areas of development, as well as post-program offerings for the Business Department and other departmentsof the college.Unlike other community colleges in British Columbia,Douglas College does not have a written mission statement. It hasoperated with a statement of college philosophy which in 1985 wasrenamed as a statement of college goals. Only in 1992, has thecollege attempted to put its mission statement onto paper.Information from this study, while specific to the businessdepartment, may lead to modifications of the goals and philosophystatements of the institution. More specifically, it may assist inthe design of a college mission statement.OUTLINE OF THE THESISThe remainder of this paper will focus on impact of theDouglas College business program on its graduates in relation toemployment, financial and educational development outcomes.Chapter II reviews the literature on the impact of education on15student outcomes. The literature will be reviewed with specialconsideration of the three specific outcomes to be considered inthis study. Studies from two and four year institutions from boththe United States and Canada are reviewed. Where possible,literature from the British Columbia community college system willbe considered. Chapter III describes the research design, and inChapter IV, the findings of the study are reported. In Chapter V,the implications and the recommendations arising from the study arepresented.CHAPTER IIREVIEW OF THE LITERATUREThe purpose of this section is to review the currentliterature as it pertains to the outcomes of a community collegeexperience. The review commences by examining the large body ofliterature that has addressed the outcomes of higher education,primarily that of the four-year post-secondary experience. It willthen focus on the outcomes of a community college experience. Thereview will examine how a model of outcomes classification assistsin the study of the large number of potential outcomes of highereducation. Much of the literature is American, but where possibleliterature that is Canadian, is used. Literature relevant to threespecific outcomes employment, salaries and educationaldevelopment, will be reviewed. The review will conclude withliterature specific to Douglas College.THE OUTCOMES OF HIGHER EDUCATIONIt is generally accepted that education produces benefits toboth individuals and society. Research extending from Feldman andNewcomb's (1969) summary of the impact of education and the work ofChickering (1969) and Jencks (1979), to more current local researchby B.C. Research (1990) and the Ministry of Advanced Education,Training and Technology (1992), clearly demonstrates that North17Americans relate higher education to positive outcomes and benefitsto the individual. As part of his extensive work on individual andsocietal benefits of education, Bowen (1977) emphasizes that inorder to measure the impact of education, consideration of changesin cognitive learning, affective development and practicalcompetence as well as other factors must occur. He found thatwhile some individual outcomes may not be significant, changes inthe combination of all outcomes supports the notion that educationproduces overall benefits to the individual.The development of the community college system, first in theUnited States and more recently in Canada, opened opportunities tomembers of society who in the past, or in other places in the worldwould be denied access to post-secondary education (Brint &Karabel, 1989; Gallagher, 1990). Community colleges have beenviewed by many as a vehicle by which individuals could obtainhigher education and become upwardly mobile in a democraticsociety. Popular belief holds that community colleges offer a'second chance' for persons who wish to further themselves(Dennison, 1986, p168). In order to fulfil their role asinstitutions of second chance, the community colleges have had to"perform a number of conflicting tasks" (Brint & Karabel, 1989,P-9), including the need to:extend opportunity and to serve as an agent ofeducational and social selection, to promote socialequality and to increase economic efficiency, toprovide students with a common cultural heritage and tosort them into a specialized curriculum, to respond tothe demands of subordinate groups for equal educationand to answer the pressures of employers and stateplanners for differentiated education, and to provide18a general education for citizens in a democraticsociety and technical training for workers in anadvanced industrial economy. (p.9)This complex set of demands and pressures must be reflected by theprogramming and curriculum in each of the community colleges.The diverse set of tasks outlined by Brint and Karabel wererecognized by MacDonald (1962) in his vision for community collegesin British Columbia. Macdonald rationalized that "a whole set ofeducational opportunities beyond high school [were needed] to fillsociety's need for a complex and constantly changing range oftwentieth century technologies" (p.49). He envisioned communitycolleges as being able to allow for university preparation,technological and semi-professional education and for the re-education of adults.Early planners for Douglas College recognized the plurality ofpurposes for a community college. The first principal, Dr. GeorgeWootten, acknowledged the responsibility of the college to:-educate employable citizens;-generate the curiosity necessary for ongoingself-improvement;-cultivate a meaningful social conscience;-stimulate personal participation in response to socialneeds;-develop a responsible awareness of local, national andinternational involvement; and to-enhance the student's awareness of the aesthetic values inart, literature, music and drama (Wootten, 1971, p.6).19In order to determine how well community colleges have beenable to achieve these goals, studies on the overall impact of thecollege experience and studies on specific short-term outcomes havebeen undertaken (Astin, 1973, 1977; Dennison & Jones, 1970;Dougherty, 1987; Ministry of Advanced Education and Job Training,1988, 1992). These and similar studies on individuals, groups andon institutions have all added to the very complex issue ofdetermining how the educational process contributes to specificoutcomes.To consider specific outcomes of the college experience forgraduates, a further refinement in the definition of outcomes isneeded. Using a global approach to the beneficial outcomes ofeducation, the Carnegie Commission on Higher Education (1973),states:Benefits take many forms. Some are individual andaccrue to the direct recipients of education: amongother advantages are a higher income, a more satisfyingjob, greater effectiveness as a consumer, greaterability in allocating time as well as money, directenjoyment of the educational process and its relatedactivities, and lifetime enhancement of cultural andother experiences. Some benefits are social and accrueto nonrecipients as well as to direct recipients ofeducation; among the gains are greater economic growthbased on the general advancement of knowledge andelevation of skills and on the higher proportion of thepopulation in the labour force and the enhancedmobility of members of the labour force; greaterpolitical effectiveness of a democratic society basedon the more adequate knowledge and more activeparticipation of citizens; greater social effectivenessof society through the resultant better understandingand mutual tolerance among individuals and groups toaccept and adjust to rapid change: and the greaterpotential contribution of educated parents to thewelfare of their children (p.2).20Pascarella and Terenzini (1991) in their extensive review ofthe literature concerning the effects of attending colleges,suggested that most college outcome studies can be categorized intotwo identifiable strands. The strands separate studies based onwhether they are "college impact" or "developmental" studies ofchange."College impact" models of change tend to emphasize thesources of the change, (such as student experiences), or 'causes ofchange', while "developmental" models tend to emphasize the type ofstudent change (such as moral or cognitive development), or'effects of change' (Pascarella & Terenzini, 1991. p16,17)."College impact" studies focus on the variables that mayinfluence specific components of student change. These studies arebased on the assumption that there are many variables that affectthe impact of the college experience and they attempt to isolatethese. The majority of follow-up studies fall into this categorysince they attempt to relate outcomes such as employment to thespecific training or education received.Developmental studies seek to relate the college experiencewith the growth of the individual student. Developmental modelsassume that development entails an individual becoming able tothink, value and behave in a manner that becomes increasingly morecomplex, differentiated and integrated. The college's role is toprovide experiences that will facilitate these changes in theindividual, recognizing that an individual's maturity and lifeexperiences will also be factors within this development.21Such a categorization of outcomes is useful in as much as itserves to focus the nature of the outcome to be studied, but moreuseful is the categorization proposed by Astin (1973a).Astin (1973a) postulated that student outcomes were a functionof three inter-related variables: 1) Student Inputs - thoseattributes of a student (talents, skills, aspirations, etc.) thatare the basis for growth and change, 2) Student Outputs - thoseaspects of student development that can be attributed to thecollege's influence, and 3) The College Environment - the aspectsof institutions that affect student outputs. The relationship ofthese three can be demonstrated visually (see Figure 1.1). Studentinput variables and college environmental factors both affectstudent outputs, while the college environment may be affected bystudent inputs.The three components of the model.Figure 1.1 The relationship between the college environmentand student inputs/outputs(Astin, 1973a. p.109.)Astin (1973a) developed a three-dimensional taxonomy to assistin the categorizing of student outputs from this model. The three22dimensions include, the type of outcome, the type of data, and thetime span involved. The type of outcome and the type of data couldbe further categorized so that outcomes could be seen as eithercognitive or affective and the type of data could be from either apsychological or a behavioral perspective. The third dimension,time, would overlap both of the other dimensions and could be seenas a factor affecting both (see Figure 1.2).TYPE OFunxwmFigure 1.2 The three-dimensional taxonomy as developed byAstinAstin's taxonomy of college outcomes:permits one to look at four different types of outcomes basedon the intersection of the two dimensions: cognitive-psychological (for example, subject matter knowledge, criticalthinking), cognitive-behavioral (level of educationalattainment, occupational attainment, income and the like),affective-psychological (for example, values, attitudes,personality orientations), and affective-behavioral(leadership, choice of major, choice of career, use of leisuretime, and so on). (Pascarella & Terenzini, 1991, p6).How each of these is affected by the passing of time allows for thethird dimension of study.The area of research concerned with follow-up or impact23studies falls primarily into the realm of the cognitive-behavioralstudies. It is also apparent that there is often overlap betweenthe categories. For example, choice of career (affective-behavioral) may be relevant to occupational attainment or income(cognitive-behavioral). Applying the third dimension of thismodel, dependent upon when studied, time would be a factor inchanges in the outcomes studied.For students of a community college, numerous outcomes can beconsidered and measured to assist in the determination of theimpact of a college experience. The focus of this study was toconsider three specific outcomes: employment, income, andeducational development.THE COMMUNITY COLLEGE CONTEXTOf all the non-university transfer programs offered atcommunity colleges, career programs have most often been thesubject of follow-up studies. These studies have usuallyinvestigated graduates who were employed directly in the field forwhich they trained. These studies tended to be undertaken withinmonths of a student's graduation. Studies were usually programbased, and measured employment statistics, labour marketexperiences, and salaries. Much of the information from thesestudies was used in course modifications, program assessment andeducational planning (Warrack, 1982a, 1982b). Douglas College has24performed a number of such follow-up studies, including provincialfollow-up studies, departmental or unit reviews, and more recently,the institutional self-study (Self-Study Steering Committee,1992). Data from such studies produced immediate employment andfinancial data but lacked the time perspective of an impact study.'The most current student outcomes research of Douglas Collegewas from the institutional self-study (1992). The purpose of theself-study was to gather information and analyze activities of theinstitution in order to allow for self-appraisal and planning forthe future. The study was student focused, and attempted to elicitthe perceptions of former students in relation to their objectivesin attending Douglas College, the quality of their education andthe campus life, in effect the outcomes of the experience ofattending Douglas College. The evidence from this self-studydemonstrated the very positive manner in which graduates identifiedoutcomes and viewed their educational experience at DouglasCollege.The purpose of the remainder of this chapter is to focus onthe literature that is relevant to the three specific outcomes thatform the basis of this study, those being: employment, financialand education development outcomes.'The 1991 provincial follow-up studies are now investigatinggraduates up to two years after graduation, but data from earliergraduates are not available.25THE EMPLOYMENT OUTCOMEBowen's (1977) work on the impact of four-year colleges in theUnited States concluded that graduates were more likely toparticipate in the work force and to have more stable employmentthan high school graduates. He found stability of employment wasaffected by several factors. First, college graduates were likelyto obtain employment that was in the managerial/professionalcategory and these positions were less affected by economicfluctuations and conditions. Second, their education may havegiven them the skills to deal more effectively with change. Andlast, their educational experience may have allowed them to formnetworks that may have assisted them in finding employment orgenerally improving their employment position.Participation in the work force in 1986 (1981 statistics werenot produced that related participation rates and educationalattainment) and for 1991, the year in which the survey wasconducted, demonstrate increased participation rates with increasedlevels of educational attainment. These rates are consistent bothwithin sexes, between years, and for both Canada and BritishColumbia.26Participation Rates (%)Educational CANADA BRITISH COLUMBIALevel 1986 1991 1991Male Female Male Female Male and FemalecombinedHigh School 77.8^54.9 83.3 66.2 70.2GraduationPost-Sec 85.6^70.4 86.6 73.8 77.7CertificateUniv.^Degree 88.9^77.5 88.5 80.4 80.2Table 1.1 Labour force participation estimates by educationalattainment, sex and age, Canada (Dec 1986, May 1991)and British Columbia May 1991. From StatisticsCanada, The Labour Force, May, 1991 and December,1991, Table 5.Canadian data from the early 1980s would also support therelationship between unemployment rates and levels of educationalattainment. Post-secondary graduates experienced lowerunemployment rates than those who had no post-secondary education(Picot, Wannell & Lynd, 1989). While university graduates were themost protected from increased unemployment, community collegegraduates enjoyed greater protection than those who had high schoolas their last level of education (Parliament, 1986).Unemployment rates by level of educational attainment for 1986and 1991, (the year that the thesis research was conducted) follow:27Unemployment Rates (%)Educational^CANADA^BRITISH COLUMBIALevel^1986^1991^1991Male Female^Male Female^Male and FemaleHigh School^11.6 11.0^10.7^9.1^9.2GraduationPost-Sec^6.9 5.9^9.5^6.8^7.7CertificateUniv. Degree^3.5 4.4^4.1^4.9^5.4Table 1.2 Labour force estimates (unemployment rates) byeducational attainment, sex and age, Canada (Dec 1986,May 1991) and British Columbia May 1991. From StatisticsCanada, The Labour Force, May, 1991 and December, 1991,Table 5.In 1984 a comprehensive Canadian follow-up study ofuniversity, college and trade/vocational graduates, The Class of 82, was conducted determine outcomes of students two years aftergraduation. One of the purposes of the study was to investigateemployment outcomes of college graduates. Of those graduates inthe labour force, 80% were employed full time, (males 84%,females- 77%), with 10% unemployed and looking for work. Of the graduatesin the labour force, 10% of those employed were part time, andwomen were twice as likely to be part time as were men. A featureof this study was to present a comparison of some of the data fromgraduates of 1976 and 1982, two years after graduation. After28adjusting for changes in data collection, it was reported thatthere had been a decline in the percentage of college graduatesworking full time, two years after graduation from 87% in 1978 to82% in 1984. In addition the unemployment rates for collegegraduates increased from 7% in 1976 to 9% in 1982. The differenceof six years between graduation times had an effect on theemployment situation facing these college graduates.Most community college graduates have found employment that isrelated to their field of study. The Class of 82 study found that15% of college graduates who were in the labour force full time,were in jobs that were not related to their field of study (males- 20%, females - 12%). When graduates in only business/commercewere considered, 16% were employed full-time in a job not relatedto their education (males - 22%, females - 14%). For graduatesemployed part-time, over one third (34%) were working in a positionunrelated to their education (males - 56%, females - 27%). Whilethis particular study involved graduates from 1982, it is worthreiterating that economic times were rapidly changing in the mid1980s and the situation for graduates changed correspondingly, ona year to year basis. As such, the conclusions of The Class of 82 study can not be easily transferred to graduates of other years.More recent studies have considered the relationship betweenstudies at British Columbia community colleges and levels ofemployment. In spite of a poor response rate (4706 respondents),provincial graduate surveys of graduates nine months aftergraduation showed that of those currently employed, approximately2912% were employed in a field not related to their studies (B.C.Research, 1991). Of those unemployed at present but who had beenemployed at some point since graduation, 19% had had a job that wasnot related to past education or training.As shifts in the economy led to changes in both the quantityand type of employment, the educational levels of the populationalso underwent change. The general population demonstrated asteady increase in overall level of educational attainment.Together these two changes, which occurred over a relatively shorttime span, contributed to very different employment situationsfacing community college graduates of 1981 and 1986.THE INCOME OUTCOMEIncome has traditionally been studied to determine howdifferent levels of educational attainment affect earnings. It hasbeen established that much like the hierarchy of educationalinstitutions, the levels of income attainment are closely relatedto the number of years of formal education of an individual (Clark,Laing & Rechnitzer, 1986). Those individuals who complete highschool command higher salaries that those who do not. Students whohave post-secondary certification (but not a degree) fair betterthan those with just high school (Brint & Karabel, 1989; Jencks,1979).Jencks et al. (1979) linked each year of college attendancewith an increase of 12% in annual earnings. They furtherdetermined that there are benchmarks of education at which earnings30are affected and that "higher education has more impact on earningsthan elementary or secondary education" (p.190). The most evidentbenchmarks are high-school graduation, completion of anundergraduate degree and completion of further degrees. The mostsignificant is the completion of a bachelor's degree (Jencks et al,1979, Pascarella & Terenzini, 1991). In the United States, thereappears to be a "bonus" for completion of a baccalaureate degree.This bonus is not as evident upon completion of either high schoolor graduate degrees. This suggests that the relationship betweenyears of post-secondary education and earnings is not necessarilylinear (Pascarella & Terenzini, 1991). Since the community collegeoffers its students a level of education that falls betweenmatriculation and the baccalaureate, the income benefits of acollege certificate or diploma should fall somewhere between thesetwo.The relationship between levels of education and earningscan be misconstrued if the factors affecting income are notcarefully considered. For example, previous experience,qualification earned, area of study, the location of employment,and personal factors such as age and gender, all affect income. Inaddition, time since graduation also affects income. Income of newgraduates from community college programs can sometimes equal orsurpass those from similar programs at four-year institutions but"there is reason to believe that over the course of the life cyclea substantial advantage will accrue to those who attend four-yearcolleges and universities as they translate their higher31occupational status into earnings" (Brint & Karabel, p.24).Notwithstanding these additional factors, the positiverelationship between education and income benefits to theindividual is supported in several reports produced by StatisticsComparative salaries based on level of education and ageLevel ofEducation/AgeLess thanCanadaAverage yearly incomeB.C.^B.C.male($)B.C.femaleGrade 9^(all ages) 20,944 24,071 27,292 14,88515-24 12,949 14,907 17,032 8,73825-44 20,059 22,652 26,490 14,12745-64 21,683 24,910 27,872 15,474Grade 12^(all ages)certificate 23,243 24,864 29,094 19,31215-24 15,169 16,656 18,773 14,45325-44 23,812 25,725 29,917 20,34845-64 28,081 28,712 33,431 20,754Trade cert.,(all ages) 26,510 30,675 33,148 19,60515-24 15,286 18,749 20,403 15,90225-44 26,224 29,684 32,380 19,55045-64 30,157 32,903 34,812 20,693Post-sec,^(all ages)Non-univ. grads 25,996 27,792 31,953 20,24415-24 16,761 17,440 20,187 15,35425-44 26,390 28,087 31,909 20,79645-64 29,325 30,151 34,207 21,471Universitydegree 40,281 39,824 44,240 29,128(all ages) 19,413 18,695 20,101 17,45615-24 37,516 37,162 41,040 28,58025-44 50,987 48,139 52,723 32,62745-64Table 1.3^Selected educational groups and average employmentincome for Canadians - based on 1986 Census#*from Schooling and Major Field of Study, Census1986, Table 8B. Based on 20% Sample Data of the1986 Census.32Canada (1986, 1989b). In Table 1.3, the association betweenincreased average yearly income and level of schooling completed isdemonstrated. This data would support a relationship between thelevel of schooling and average income. It would suggest that thecredential obtained contributes to significant differences inincome. Since the data collected in this research study wasobtained in 1991, income figures from 1991 are presented.According to data from Statistics Canada, for June 1991 (thetime the thesis survey was conducted) using the estimates ofaverage weekly earnings for all employees, seasonally adjusted, theyearly salaries are as follows: for all B.C. employees - $28,000for those in Finance (including Real Estate and Insurance) -$29,500; and for those in commerce, business and personal services- $24,000. Analysis by educational attainment is unavailable untilthe release of the 1991 Census reports which will relate salary toeducational attainment.Comparing average salaries based on educational attainment isperhaps one of the most simple means to compare financial outcomes.It is not however the only method. If one considers theeducational experience as an investment, it should then be possibleto look at the financial outcomes as a rate of return based oninvestment and then to compare various outcomes. Rate of returncalculations may then consider a wider range of financial outcomes,in addition to direct remuneration.Offsetting the direct earnings afforded students withpostsecondary education, consideration would need to be given to33the costs entailed in obtaining the education: direct costs, forexample tuition, fees, books, supplies, etc. and also theopportunity cost of attendance, for example the loss of incomeduring the time of studies. Taking into consideration both thecosts and economic benefits, it is possible to calculate the rateof return from investing in education and then compare the returnswith those of alternate forms of investment (Bowen, 1977: NationalCentre for Education Statistics, 1982 and Pascarelli & Terenzini,1991, p. 503). The literature covering four-year institutionsshows that the rate of return is favourable when compared to otherinvestments but that for two-year institutions the research is lessconvincing (Pascarella & Terenzini, 1991).Refinements and new approaches to traditional methods of rateof return calculations have also suggested increased value of theeducational experience. Haveman and Wolfe (1984) attempted toquantify the value that each year of schooling has on what theydefined as the 'non-marketed' effects of education. Theyconsidered such issues as health, number of children etc. andattempted to identify the financial implications to the individual.They speculated that the value credited to an additional year ofschooling would be double if these effects were to be considered.Differing rates of return produced by various studies are dueto the different parameters used in the calculation. Overall, rateof return research shows a positive outcome for the educationalexperience when compared to other investments, confirming thepositive relationship between increased schooling and income.34In summary, the literature shows evidence that increasedlevels of educational attainment are likely to produce increases infinancial compensation through salaries and other financialmeasures. Use of rate of return calculations do not detract butrather increase these financial benefits.EDUCATIONAL DEVELOPMENT OUTCOMESAttitudes towards education have changed since the 1960s.Education was, and is, intrinsically and extrinsically valuable toan individual. Intrinsic values were predominant thirty years agobut these have since been replaced by extrinsic values. Inrecent years, students starting their education have become moreconcerned with the financial outcomes of their educationalexperience than the development of self (Pascarella & Terenzini,1991, p.273).In a study commissioned by the Ministry of Advanced Education,Training and Technology of British Columbia (1992), "The ClientSurvey Project", two-thirds of all students surveyed stated that"preparing for a job or career" and "developing their potential"were "very important" expectations of the system. The analysis,based on programs and disciplines, concluded that:students in career/vocational programs, however, placerelatively more importance on career expectations,reflecting the job-related nature of most of theseprograms. Conversely, students in transfer programsemphasize the importance of educational expectations inrelation to other students. This is consistent with theaspirations of most transfer students anticipating a moveto a university. (p.33)35Level of education is also related to the likelihood that anindividual will choose further education. University graduates aremore likely to engage in further education than high schoolgraduates (Bowen, 1977) but the highest rates of participation arefrom adults with some post secondary education (Haggar-Guenette,1991). The reason for this phenomenon may be closely tied to thefact that individuals are more likely to be employed and havehigher incomes that might allow such pursuits. It may be due tocompetition in the job market and the necessity to improve and orupgrade skills. It may also be to obtain totally new skills aspeople change occupations and the nature of their employment. Theincrease in the number of part time courses and workshops availableto working adults helps to accommodate these needs. The necessity,opportunity and social acceptability of continuing the learningprocess have all combined to encourage the concept oflife-long learning.Clark, Laing and Rechnitzer (1986) found that 20% of Canadiangraduates of community colleges returned to some form of educationwithin one year of graduation; 12% returned full-time, 8% parttime. They found that these graduates returned primarily for jobrelated reasons. In addition, one-tenth of all graduates earnedanother certificate after their initial college graduation.Earlier studies suggested that many graduates anticipate returningto post-secondary studies but few actually do so (Clark, Zsigmond,1981). Most recently in British Columbia, the majority ofgraduates anticipated further education. The 1991 Outcomes survey36(B.C. Research, 1991) found that over half (61%) of all communitycollege graduates planned further education (60% for graduates ofbusiness and office programs). Unfortunately, this survey did notestablish how many graduates actually followed through with theirintended plans.There has been a change in the nature of those adults whochoose to return to formal learning settings. Based on the LabourForce Survey, (a monthly Statistics Canada household survey inOctober 1980 and 1990) the changes in the types of persons, (notnecessarily graduates) who return to post-secondary education canbe detailed. This survey showed that increasing numbers of adultsare returning to various types of institutions for schooling. Therange of ages of those returning to credit courses has increasedover the decade and more females are likely to participate. Thesurvey determined that while the majority of persons who returnedto formal learning were employed full-time, the number of womenemployed full-time returning to learning increased faster than thenumber of men. For most returning part time students, the reasonsgiven for returning to educational programs were job related.While not specific to graduates of programs returning to furthertheir education, conclusions of the study would suggest that "thetrend towards lifelong learning will continue through the 1990s asthe younger adult population becomes more highly educated, and assuccess in the labour market becomes increasingly dependent uponknowledge skills" (p29).Literature considering how graduates perceive their37educational experience is increasing. As colleges strive to become'learner focused' a greater emphasis is being placed on thesatisfaction of graduates with their educational experience.Follow-up surveys now attempt to determine student satisfactionwith all aspects of the educational experience. How graduatesreflect on their own choices, (programs, institutions etc.) andwhat effect their own experiences have had on how they now expressthis (valuing the program, re: educational options, suggesting thatthey would choose to repeat their own educational experience)together suggest a level of satisfaction with their own educationalexperience. Clark, Laing and Rechnitzer (1986) found that,overall, graduates from Canadian community colleges were satisfiedwith their educational experience. They found that 64% (59% ofbusiness/commerce graduates only) would choose to repeat theirprogram of study. Of those who would not choose to repeat theirprogram, the majority (55%) would choose to enrol in a universityrather than a community college. Thirty-seven per cent wouldchoose to remain at a college but would change the program ofstudy.In British Columbia, student perceptions about satisfactionwith their educational development via the community collegeexperience have recently been addressed under the auspices of theMinistry of Advanced Education and Job Training. This researchinvolved graduate follow-up on students from selected programs ninemonths after graduation (Graduate Follow-Up Working Group, 1987 &B.C. Research, 1991). Several of the items on the surveys were38concerned with the students' satisfaction with their educationalexperiences. The studies found a high level of satisfaction witheducation and training received by students, with close to allgraduates finding their experiences to have been worthwhile.A component of the most recent Douglas College self-study(1992) focused on graduates and found that they were very positiveabout the overall experience at Douglas College.There are a few studies relating goals of students entering aprogram or institution, to the outcomes as perceived by thosestudents. Students enter community college programs for primarilyjob-related reasons (Clark, Laing & Rechnitzer,1986; Ministry ofAdvanced Education, Training and Technology, 1992). Clark, Laingand Rechnitzer (1986) found that students tied employment prospectsand the skills acquisitions necessary for employment as the mostimportant reasons for selecting their program of study. Reasonsrelated to improving social skills were the least selected by thesegraduates. When relating the outcomes of their education to thereasons they had enroled, graduates tended to consider academicsatisfaction over career prospects as the most important outcome.This would support the work of Pascarella and Terenzini (1991) interms of a shift to valuing more intrinsic outcomes as the elapsedtime since program commencement increases.Provincially, almost ninety per cent (88%), of B.C. graduateschoose to enrol at colleges or institutes for job related reasons,and 94% met that objective to some extent (B.C. Research, 1991).For those graduates in business and office programs specifically,39the results were very similar (90% and 92% respectively).Evidence from the Douglas College self-study attempted toidentify why students initially came to the college and whethertheir objectives were achieved. It was established that thosestudents in academic programs primarily wanted to prepare fortransfer to a university and those in occupational programsprimarily wanted to prepare for employment and that both groups metthat goal (85% for the academic graduates and 98% of occupationalgraduates).SUMMARYSociety anticipates certain beneficial outcomes of education.At the start of a community college experience, the studentsexpectations encompass a wide range of anticipated outcomes orbenefits. Financial and employment benefits and educationaldevelopment should all be considered as potential outcomes forstudents of Douglas College. Graduates of a community collegeshould anticipate that they will participate in the labour force ata rate above those with lesser education, that they will experienceunemployment rates that are between those for graduates of highschools and universities, and that average annual salaries willreflect their level of educational attainment. Graduates can alsoanticipate that they will return for some form of education aftertheir graduation, likely for job-related reasons. In the remainderof this paper, an analysis and a discussion of a study of graduatesof Douglas College business programs will be presented.40CHAPTER III METHODOLOGYOVERVIEWThe purpose of this chapter is to present the research designused in this study. An explanation for the selection of theBusiness Department and the specific programs to be studies will bepresented. A rationale for the selection of the years of study isincluded as well as a description of the problems of locatinggraduates. Limitations of the study and their significance areincluded in this chapter.Initially, I hoped to investigate three graduation years.However, it was almost impossible to locate 1974 graduates fromcollege records. Therefore, the study concentrated on the twograduation dates, 1981 and 1986. It was also the intent toconsider the congruence and divergence between program groupswithin the Business Department; howeverm due to the limited numberof responses, such an analysis was deemed to be inappropriate.RESEARCH DESIGNDepartment SelectionSeveral factors influenced the selection of the program whichformed the basis for this study. First, it was necessary to selecta college department that would provide a population sufficiently42large enough to study. Second, the program needed to have beenstable over time. The Business Department was one of only a fewdepartments to meet these criteria. Two other program areas wereinitially considered for this study, the nursing program and thegeneral studies program. The nursing program was not used sincethe programming had changed substantially since its start. Inaddition, the program size changed considerably as programs werereallocated from other jurisdictions (from hospital programs andfrom the B.C. Institute of Technology). The general studiesprogram presented problems for the research design. While thenumbers of students enroled were large, many students could not beconsidered as enroled in a discrete program. This was due to theuse of the general studies student designation as a "catch -all"for any student as yet uncommitted to a program of study, or forstudents who were electing to enrol in only courses rather than aprogram of study. For these reasons, the Business Departmentprovided the best programs for study.Program SelectionConsideration of both population size and stability led to thefollowing areas, all within the Business Department, being selectedfor the study:University TransferGeneral Business-includes Commerce and BusinessAdministrationPersonnel Management43Accounting ManagementMarketing ManagementComputer Information SystemsOffice Administration-includes Legal Secretarial Program,General SecretarialConstruction ManagementOther programs within the department were not included sinceeither the program did not exist in both time periods or thecontent of the program had changed substantially. All graduates ofthe selected programs in 1981 and 1986 were surveyed.Time Interval SelectionThe years of study were also selected carefully. In 1981,Douglas College was restructured to create two separate colleges.The graduates from 1981 were the last graduates of the 'large'Douglas College. For the next two years students had the optionof graduating from either Douglas or Kwantlen College. Accessingstudent records from the two institutions, in those two yearsbecame difficult. Thus, 1981 was selected because the businessprogram graduates could be more easily identified.The year 1981 represented ten years of existence for DouglasCollege during which it established itself as a credibleeducational institution. Graduates experienced a labour marketfamiliar with the institution and thus negative effects onemployment could not be attributed to unfamiliarity with theinstitution.44The year 1986 was selected for study, since the five yearperiod between 1981 and 1986 presented very different economic andemployment conditions for graduates.Population SelectionResponses were sought from only graduates of the designatedbusiness programs. Graduates were defined as students who receivedeither a certificate, a diploma, or two full years of universitycredits for transfer. Using this definition for universitytransfer students meant that the population contacted for the studywas smaller than if all transfer students were included, i.e., manystudents transfer to a university with fewer than two full years ofcollege credit. For this study, graduates had to have graduatedwithin the calendar year of study while attending full or part-time. Length of time in the program was not considered since thefocus of this study was on graduates, irrespective of the time itmay have taken to graduate.Lists of graduates were extremely difficult to obtain sincethe registrar's office keeps graduation lists for only those whoapply to graduate. Many students do not apply for graduation eventhough they complete their program successfully and receive fullcredit for graduation; they, therefore are not recorded asgraduates by the registrar's office. This necessitated manualsearches of old records kept by the business department, theregistrar's office and the college archives. Students were45identified by examining individual records to determine if thestudent had graduated. The Douglas College Alumni Society was alsoused as a source for locating graduates, but did not provide manyadditional names.1981 GraduatesThese graduates were the most difficult to locate. Studentrecords kept by the registrar's office were often inaccurate andalso underestimated the number of graduates. A computer search ofeach individual student became necessary. This was performed usingold class lists and locating students individually to determine ifand when they graduated. Using this method 96 out of a total of109 graduate names and addresses were located. Since collegeapplication forms request that students provide permanentaddresses, this information was used to develop the mailing list.The remaining 13 students could not be located since they eitherprovided no contact address or phone number or were recorded asdeceased since graduation.1986 GraduatesComputer records were more reliable for this graduation yearand gave a fairly accurate listing of graduates. However, manualsearches were also necessary since like those records for the 1981graduates, computer generated and manually-produced graduation46lists were not identical. A list of 253 out of a possible 254graduates was compiled. One students was noted as deceased.In total, 349 graduates were contacted in this study.DATA GATHERINGThe surveyA survey instrument was designed to provide the necessaryinformation for this research project and to assist the BusinessDepartment of the College (Appendix 1). To ensure an optimumresponse rate, the survey was also designed to be answered easilyby graduates in less than 10 minutes. The questionnaire was pilottested by a total of fifteen graduates: eight from 1987 and sevenfrom 1982. The pilot test consisted of a mailing of the survey, inthe same manner that the actual survey was to be administered. Thesurvey was also revised with suggestions from Douglas Collegefaculty.The survey was mailed to both groups of graduates in March1991. A letter of transmittal and a postage-paid, return envelopeaccompanied the survey (Appendix 2). Two weeks after the requesteddate of return, a follow-up letter and a second survey was againmailed to the subjects who failed to respond to the initial request(Appendix 3). Two weeks later a reminder card was sent to thesubjects who had not responded and were recorded as located. Forthose subjects who were not located, (the survey was returned and47the graduate identified as not being at the current address),further attempts were made. To try and locate those graduateswhose surveys were determined to be non-deliverable, the provincialvoter's list, phone books and cross reference books (which listoccupation as well as name) were used. Tracking of responses wasperformed only in order to determine those who had been located.The final number of respondents can be viewed in Table 2.1.Numbers of Surveys Returned^1981^1986^Non-IdentifiableTotal Possible N.96^N.253Initial Mail out^12^44^7Reminders and Second^9^14^2Address AttemptsFinal Attempts^ 3^624 (25%) 64 (25.2%) 9 (2.6% of total)Table 2.1^The number of surveys returned based on graduationyear.In total, 24 out of 96 surveys from the 1981 year werereturned (25%); 64 out of 253 surveys were returned from the 1986year (25.2%). In all, 97 surveys from the original sample of 349(27.8%) were returned; 80 questionnaires were returned as non-deliverable. Excluding the non-deliverable questionnaires, a totalof 269 responses could have been anticipated if there had been 100%48response. The return rate of questionnaires delivered and returnedwas 36%. Nine surveys were returned in envelopes other than thoseprovided and thus could not be identified by graduation year orprogram. These nine surveys were not used in the study. The finalnumber of surveys used in the research was 88. In spite of effortsto improve the response rate, it remains very low.PROGRAM MIX OF THE RESPONDENTSThe program mix of each group of respondents can be viewed inTable 2.2.Sample Respond Non-resp Sample Respond Non-resp(%)^(%)^(%)^(%)^(%)^(%)UNIV TRANS^2.8^4.2^2.4^13.8^14.1^13.7GEN BUSINESS^11.0 20.9 8.2 38.4 17.2 *PERS MNGT^7.3^4.2^8.2^2.0^6.3^0.5ACCOUNT MNGT^9.2 12.5 8.2 2.4 23.4 *MARKET MNGT^12.8^0^16.5^3.2^4.7^2.6COM INFO SYS^2.8^4.2 2.4 7.5 9.4 6.8OFF ADMIN^21.5 45.9^40.0^28.9^18.8^32.0CONSTR MNGT^12.8^8.4 14.0 4.3 6.3 3.7N=109 N=24 N=85^N=254^N=64^N=190Table 2.2^The program mix of graduate respondents as comparedto actual program graduates in percent.The program mix of respondents and the actual composition ofgraduates for 1981 is quite similar. For 1986 there are somediscrepancies. The percentages of actual and respondent graduates49for accounting management and general business are quite different.Further analysis showed that several respondents who identifiedthemselves as accounting students, were in fact recorded by thecollege as general business graduates. These students had takensufficient accounting courses within their time at Douglas college(not necessarily in their general business program) to accumulatecredits that also qualified them as accounting graduates andpreferred to identify themselves as accounting program graduates.This is possibly due to how graduates view themselves in terms oftheir employment in the accounting field.There is also a difference in the program mix between 1981 and1986. In 1981 almost 46% of the actual business graduates were inthe office administration, general and legal secretarial fields.By 1986, this group made up less than 29% of the graduates.Changes in the emphasis by the department in this area were adirect reflection of provincial government funding changes.Decisions by Employment and Immigration Canada (formerly known asManpower) not to purchase seats in the programs meant that theprograms had to become a strictly fee-paying. This resulted in theoffice administrations programs becoming smaller.Program Breakdown by GenderDue to the changes in the proportion of office administrationstudents (who are traditionally all women), a breakdown of thegraduates from the programs and the survey are presented in Table502.3. That women make up almost all of the office administrationgraduates skews the proportion of women in the business programs.If office administration programs were excluded from the ratios,the ratios would be as follows:^1981 Actual Program-Male:Female^Survey-Male:Female82.3%:17.7%^76.9%:23.1%1986 Actual Program-Male:Female^Survey-Male:Female69.4%:30.6%^67.3%:32.7%These ratios would suggest that for the programs considered in thisstudy, if office administration is excluded, the proportion ofwomen graduates was increasing in relation to the proportion ofmen.GENDER BREAKDOWNBY GRADUATION YEAR AND PROGRAM1981NUMBERS OFPROGRAMGRADUATESACTUAL PROG (%)MALE FEMALESURVEY (%)MALE FEMALEUNIV TRANS (3) 67 33 100GEN BUSINESS (12) 75 25 60 40PERS MNGT (8) 75 25 100ACCOUNT MNGT (10) 60 40 67 33MARKET MNGT (14) 93 7COM INFO SYS (3) 100 - 100 -OFF ADMIN (49) 4 96 - 100CONSTR MNGT (10) 100 - 100N = 109 N=51 N=58male/female ratio46.8%/53.2%N=10 N=14male/female ratio41.7%/58.3%NUMBERS OFPROGRAMGRADUATES1986ACTUAL PROG (%)MALE FEMALESURVEY (%)MALE FEMALE51UNIV TRANS (35) 80^20 67^33GEN BUSINESS^(97) 66^34 64^36PERS MNGT (5) 60^40 50^50ACCOUNT MNGT (6) 17^83 60^40MARKET MNGT (8) 50^50 100^-COM INFO SYS (19) 79^21 67^33OFF ADMIN (73) -^100 100CONSTR MNGT (11) 100^- 100^-N = 253 N=125 N=128male/female ratioN=35 N=29male/female ratio49.4%/51.6% 54.7%/45.3%Table 2.3 Breakdown of^graduates^of the program and of surveyrespondents by year and gender.LIMITATIONS OF THE RESEARCHThe most important limiting factor for this research was thenumber of students who responded. Unfortunately there was a largenumber of respondents from each time period who did not respond.However, the response rate from each year is very similar;approximately one-quarter responded from each of the graduationyears.A second limiting factor to be considered is the program mixof those who responded. Whereas the majority of respondents fromthe 1981 group had graduated from the office administration programarea, respondents from the 1986 graduation year were more varied interms of programs from which they graduated. Thus, responses from52the 1986 graduation year may be more representative of businessprogram graduates than those who graduated in 1981.This study addressed the impact on students who graduated fromDouglas College business programs. Those who withdrew or failed atthe institution were not included in this study. Hence the samplewas not designed to represent the entire Business Department northe general Douglas College population.ANALYSIS OF THE DATAThe study collected and analyzed information from a surveygiven to a selected sample of Douglas College business programgraduates. The study investigated two graduation groups: 1981and 1986. Results were placed on the "Survey It" (1991) computerprogram to assist in analysis. Data is presented in both tabularand graphical formats. The analysis is adapted from Astin's modelof college outcomes and analyzed primarily by descriptivetechniques.Using Astin's taxonomy of outcomes, two approaches were usedto analyze the data. First data were analyzed to determine therelationship between graduation from the Douglas College businessprograms and three specific outcomes. Second the effects of timeupon these outcomes was considered. Therefore, employment,financial and educational development information from allrespondents was examined and analyzed. Second, separate analyseswere conducted for each of the two different graduation years.53Answers to specific questions were derived from analysis of thedata, and finally recommendations were made.Part of Astin's model of outcomes (1973a), as reviewed inchapter II, served as an analytical framework for the analysis.The three dimensional view of outcomes demonstrates the various wayin which outcomes can be studied. This study selected threeaspects of cognitive-behavioral change to study: employment,finances, and education, and then further, considered the effect oftime. The effect of time was considered by studying graduates fromtwo graduation years, five years apart.CHAPTER IV - FINDINGSOVERVIEWIn this chapter, the results of the research will be presentedin the following manner: general findings (general informationfrom respondents), followed by presentation of employment,financial and educational development findings. In each of thethree specific areas of study, the data will be presented for allrespondents and from responses based on the graduation years of1981 and 1986.GENERAL FINDINGSGeneral information about respondents was collected in orderto assist in the analysis of the three specific outcomes. The dataincluded information about age, gender, attendance patterns whileenroled in the business programs, reasons for choosing to attendthe program, respondent's perceptions about the most importantpersonal result of having attended Douglas College, highest levelsof certification attained, and an opportunity for respondents toprovide comments about their educational experiences.AgeOver 75% of all graduates who responded to the survey werecurrently between 20 and 35 years of age, and over 40% fell into31-^36-^41- 46-35^40^45 50Current Age in Years55the 26 - 30 age group (See Figure 3.1).Figure 3.1 Age of respondents at time of surveyN.88Allowing for the different times since graduating, the meanage at graduation for all respondents was 26.7 years. In 1981, theaverage age at graduation for respondents was 31.1 years.Approximately half of the graduates were 25 years or under atgraduation. Over one third (37.5%) of the respondents were over 40years or older at graduation. The average age at graduation forrespondents of 1986 was 25.1 years. Just over three-quarters(76.6%) were 25 years or under at graduation. Only three per centwere over 40 at graduation.Gender ProportionsOverall/1981/198656GenderOverall, the ratio of male:female respondents was quitesimilar (51.1% : 48.9%). When the two graduation years arecompared, however, the differences are more apparent (See Figure3.2).Figure 3.2 The ratio of males:females for allrespondents combined, and 1981 and 1986 respondentsseparately.AttendanceAttendance patterns for graduates as a whole show thatstudents attended the business programs primarily as full time onlystudents. Almost two-thirds, (62%) attended only on a full timebasis. One quarter combined full and part time status while 13%57attended on a part time only basis. The only program in the studythat officially changed its attendance requirements wasConstruction Management. In 1981 students were required to attendfull time, while part time attendance was allowed by 1986.In 1981, over two-thirds (67%) of students attended theDouglas College business programs full time. Just over 8% chose tocombine full and part time studies, while nearly 21% chose toattend only part time.By 1986, less than two-thirds, (60%) of the students attendedfull time, with about one third (31%) choosing to combine full andpart time studies and a little over 9% attending only part time.Reasons for choosing the Douglas College business programRespondents were asked to rank order three reasons forchoosing the Douglas College business program. As a first choice,50% chose: "lead to employment"; "opportunity to transfer toanother institution" was selected by 18%; 14% chose "increaseskills and knowledge". For those who selected "the ability totransfer", as a first choice, second and third choices were equallydivided between "improve financial potential" and "lead toemployment".The 1981 graduates opted overwhelmingly (71%) for "a programthat would most likely lead to employment". An equal percent,8.3%, each selected "to change employment to increase my personalsatisfaction" and "to be able to transfer to another institution".58As a first choice, no respondents selected, "to develop a broaderunderstanding and outlook of the world", "to improve myself as aconsumer, parent or citizen", "to develop myself socially andemotionally" or "no particular reason". Respondents (4%), whoselected 'other' as a response and then elaborated on their choice,gave pragmatic reasons for attending the college, e.g. location,and cost of attending relative to that of a university.Like the first choice of 1981 graduates, selection of a"program that would most likely lead to employment" was thedominant response (42%) of 1986 graduates followed by "to be ableto transfer to another institution" (22%). The third most selectedresponse was different from that of the 1981 graduation year. "Toincrease my knowledge and skills", was selected by 17% ofgraduates. Selection of the remaining responses and theaccompanying rationale was very similar to that of the 1981graduates.Most important result of the educational experience:Respondents were asked what was personally the single mostimportant result of attending Douglas College. For graduates, themost important result was employment related. Either obtainingemployment, obtaining well-paid employment, or obtaining employmentthat was personally satisfying, were the responses most selected,making up almost one-half (48%) of the responses. Acquisition ofskills and knowledge to make themselves more effective as persons59was selected by one-fifth (21.8%) of the responders. The abilityto transfer to a university was selected by 13.7% of therespondents.Responses were predominantly employment related for the 1981graduation group. Responses directly related to employment wereselected by the greatest number of respondents (59%). Thefinancial component of employment was identified as being importantby the 1981 graduates, since one-third of all responses involvedselection of those choices that combined financial reward andemployment, rather than employment by itself. The other mostselected response, by 17% of graduates, was that they felt they hadacquired skills and knowledge to make themselves more effective aspersons. The ability to transfer was selected as the mostimportant result by almost 13% of the respondents, while none ofthe graduates selected the response, Hto become a better consumer,parent or citizen il (See Table 3.1).The responses were also predominantly employment related(44%) for the 1986 graduates. The ability to transfer was selectedas the most important result by 14% of the respondents, while 24%of graduates felt they had acquired skills and knowledge to makethemselves more effective persons. None of the graduates selectedthe response that the most important result was to have become abetter consumer, parent or citizen or to have been able to developsocially and emotionally.60GENERALCATEGORYSPECIFICCATEGORY1981 1986SURVEY WORDING^(%)^(%)-obtained employment^12.5^23.8-obtained employment 16.6^6.3that is personallysatisfyingEmploymentemployment/financial-obtained well paid^29.1^14.2employment-obtained an education^4.1^6.3that will secure myfinancial future-acquired skills and^16.6^23.8knowledge that made mea more effective person-able to develop socially^4.1^0and emotionallyPersonalDevelopment-developed a broader^0^3.1understanding and outlookof my world-developed friendships^0 3.1and contacts with otherstudents-became a better consumer,^0^0parent or citizenTransfer-able to transfer to a^12.5 14.2university upon leavingDouglasOther -other^ 0^4.7Table 3.1 The single most important result of attending DouglasCollege by graduates of 1981, N.24 and 1986, N=63.61CertificationFigure 3.3 Highest educational credentialachieved by all graduatesWhile two-thirds of all respondents indicated that they hadparticipated in education programs after Douglas Collegegraduation, the majority of graduates listed college certificationas the highest level of credential received. Over one-third(35.2%) claimed a college certificate and over one-half (53.4%)claimed a college diploma as the highest level of educationalattainment. Only two graduates representing 2.2% of surveyrespondents received a college credential from another college -both were from Kwantlen College. Very few had achieved further62academic credentials. Slightly more than 11% of respondents hadobtained a university degree (bachelors or masters). Only onegraduate claimed a masters degree and no graduate had received adoctorate. For those pursuing a university education, SimonFraser and the University of British Columbia were the institutionsof choice.The majority of students (87%) from 1981 listed collegecertification as the highest level of credential received (SeeFigure 3.4). Almost double the number of respondents had collegecertificates as compared to college diplomas (58% : 29%). Very fewhad continued on to further academic credentials. Only threegraduates from 1981, representing (13%) of the respondents, claimedfurther academic certification. No graduate claimed to havereceived a masters degree or a doctorate. All 1981 Douglas Collegegraduates who attended university, continued at the University ofBritish Columbia.College certification was also predominant as the highestlevel of credential received by 1986 graduates (89%), however theproportion of diplomas to certificates was opposite to that notedfor 1981 graduates, (62.5% to 26.5%). Twice as many graduatesreceived diplomas as received certificates. Seven graduates hadobtained further academic credentials, representing 11% of therespondents from 1986. Only one student claimed a masters degreeand no graduate from 1986 claimed to have received a doctorate.The degrees were obtained from Simon Fraser University and theUniversity of British Columbia.Figure 3.4 Highest educational credentialachieved, 1981 and 1986.CommentsThe final segment of the questionnaire allowed students anopportunity to comment on any aspect of their college experience.Many, thirty-six, responded with numerous comments concerning theirtime at Douglas College. Only four 1981 graduates chose to comment.Two of these comments were positive, while the remaining two werenot directed at the educational experience of the respondent. Atotal of thirty-two graduates from 1986 wrote comments which ranged6364from very specific, detailed concerns and praise to generalstatements about the college.Specific comments tended to be more negative than thosecomments which were more general. Examples of specific commentsincluded:Comment 1 "Douglas College needs a better enrolment procedure, too many coursesget booked up, leaving newer students without their courses. DouglasCollege also needs more night time courses available so that studentscan complete programs while working,'Comment 2 "Some areas were excellent, however, my computer training was poor touseless in terms of giving me an appreciation of software such asDatabase, spreadsheets etc. which is what would have been of fargreater use,Comment 3 "I really enjoyed attending Douglas College but some courses in theLegal Secretarial program were not relevant such as marketing andothers were below standard such as the legal studies portion".The more general types of comments were more positive andappreciative in their nature.^Examples of the more general type ofcomments by graduates were:Comment 4 "My two years at Douglas College were very busy but enjoyable.^All theteachers were super nice and very helpful which made for a greatlearning environment,"Comment 5 'I would recommend Douglas College to other people,'Comment 6 "Douglas College was an excellent facility for education.that I recognized its full value while I was attending.gives you a little more wisdom," andI truly wishHowever, ageComment 7 'it was a wonderful experience'.Most of the comments could be categorized as being verypositive or very negative, with few that were neutral. Three ofthe comments dealt directly with the impact of strikes uponstudents, a situation which had not faced the survey respondentsduring the course of their studies at Douglas College.65EMPLOYMENT FINDINGSEighty-six percent of all responding graduates were employedat the time of the survey. This percentage included both full andpart time employment. Non-voluntary unemployment was noted by veryfew respondents (4.5%). Respondents were asked to state howclosely their most recent or present employment position was or isrelated to the training or studies undertaken at the college.Forty-two percent indicated an exact match, 70% of graduates wereworking in a field that is exactly or closely related while 3% wereemployed in totally unrelated fields.For graduates of 1981, 87% were currently employed, with most(90%) of those working full time. None of the respondents werecombining full time employment with school or training. Whenquestioned about the relationship between their most recent orpresent employment position to the training or studies undertakenat Douglas College, the predominant answer was that the two were"exactly related" (54%). A combined total of 79% were working ina field that was "exactly" or "closely related" to their studies atcollege, and no graduates were employed in fields "totallyunrelated" (See Figure 3.5).Much like the 1981 graduates, 86% of 1986 graduates werecurrently employed with almost 90% of those employed working fulltime. Unlike the earlier graduates, however, 22% of thesegraduates were combining full time employment with school ortraining. Responding to questions about the relationship betweenRelationship of Employment and Studies1981 GraduatesPercent5040302010Exactly Related^Closely Related^Somewhat Related^Unrelated66their most recent or present employment position and the trainingor studies undertaken at the college, 39% reported that the twowere "exactly related". A total of 66% were working in a fieldthat was "exactly" or "closely related" to their studies atcollege, while a few (5%) graduates were employed in fields"totally unrelated" (See Figure 3.6.)Figure 3.5 Relationship of employed graduates, endcurrent position and unemployed graduateswith most recent position - 1981graduates.67Relationship of Employment and Studies1986 Graduates302010Percent5040Exactly Related^Closely Related^Somewhat Related^UnrelatedFigure 3.6 Relationship of employed graduates and currentposition and unemployed graduates with most recentposition - 1986 graduates.When all graduates were asked whether the program preparedthem for immediate employment, 75% responded in the affirmative.Over 70% of respondents found employment within three monthsof graduation, while approximately 30% did not. Of those who didnot find employment, 40% had continued with their education andhence could not be considered unemployed. An additional one-third(33%) had not actively looked for employment for reasons thatinvolved travel, marriage, armed services etc. Several respondentscontinued with the same employer that they had while attendingcollege and thus had not looked for employment after graduation.Taking all of these factors into consideration, only nine per cent68of all graduates not employed within three months could beclassifies as legitimately unemployed.When 1981 graduates were asked whether the program hadprepared them for immediate employment, 83% agreed. Theseresponses matched the number of responses of graduates employedwithin 3 months of graduation (83%). Of the 17% of graduates whowere not employed within three months, half were unable to findemployment related to their education and half were unable to findemployment of any type.Seventy-two percent of 1986 graduates said that the programprepared them for immediate employment. Again, there was a closerelationship to the response concerning whether or not graduateswere employed within three months of graduation (65%). That is,almost all of those who felt the program had prepared them forimmediate employment were able to find employment within threemonths.(relatedwho didprovidedvoluntary.When allDouglas Collegecombined totalrespondents were asked how they would rate theirprogram of study as preparation for employment, aof 92% of respondents rated the preparation asOnly 6% of 1986 graduates were unable to find employmentto their studies or not). The remaining one third (29%)not become employed immediately following graduationvarious reasons demonstrating that unemployment was"definitely worthwhile" (50%) or "worthwhile to some extent" (42%).The question elicited a similar combined response from both the1981 and the 1986 graduation group. Over ninety percent (92%) of69all 1981 respondents rated the preparation as "definitelyworthwhile" (67%) or "worthwhile to some extent" (25%), while forthe 1986 graduation group, the proportions were 44% and 48%respectively. Only one individual (from the 1981 graduation year),selected "not worthwhile at all".Approximately one third (29%) of all respondents haveexperienced periods of non-voluntary unemployment, with themajority having encountered one or two such experiences. Thefactors enabling them to regain employment were not those providedas options in the questionnaire, but rather were offered byindividual respondents. Most of the explanations offered fell intoone of three categories. The first was through existing personaland business contacts and the second through assistance ofpersonnel/employment agencies. The third was education related andidentified on the job training, further training elsewhere, orassistance through an educational institution (such as specificcareer and job preparation courses).^The comments from bothgraduation years were similar in content.One-quarter of the 1981 respondents had experienced periods ofnon-voluntary unemployment. Of those who had experienced suchperiods, the majority had been involuntarily unemployed once ortwice. Approximately one-third (30%) of 1986 respondents haveexperienced these periods of unemployment with most having beenunemployed once or twice. •Current Annual Salaries of Graduates1981Percentage of Graduates2520151050- 5001- 10001- 15001- 20001- 25001- 30001-5000 10000 5000 20000 25000 30000 40000Salary Categories40001- 50001- 60001+50000 6000070FINANCIAL FINDINGSAll data were adjusted to reflect annualized full-timesalaries. About one-fifth of respondents from both years did notrespond to this question.The current average adjusted annualized full-time salary for1981 graduates was slightly over $30,000 and for 1986 - slightlybelow $27,000. Figures 3.7 and 3.8 show the ranges of salaries offrom both of the graduation groups.Figure 3.7^Current annual salaries as of time of survey(1991) for the 1981 graduation year.71Current Annual Salaries of Graduates1986Percentage of Graduates252015100 •^•0- 5001- 10001- 15001- 20001- 25001- 30001-5000 10000 15000 20000 25000 30000 40000Salary Categories1M 198640001- 50001- 60001+50000 60000Figure 3.8^Current annual salaries as of time of survey(1991) for the 1986 graduation year.The average salaries of the two graduation years can also becontrasted with the salaries reported in other studies. The 1986Census reports income calculations based on educational attainmentand age. The majority of Douglas College graduates were in the 20- 35 age category which overlaps two categories in the Censusreport. B.C. figures as reported by Statistics Canada are notbased on educational attainment or age but do consider specificoccupations within the business field. While not allowing directcomparison, these figures provide an opportunity to place findingsof this study in the range of those from other studies.72When asked if the financial return from their education madethe investment worthwhile, more 1981 and 1986 students answered"definitely yes" (48% each) as compared to "generally yes" (38% and43% respectively). Less than ten percent (8.2%) respondednegatively from 1981 while less than two percent (1.5%) from 1986did so.Source^ Yearly income calculation ($)1986 Census-Educational^ Age^$attainment- average incomePost-sec, Non univ. grads-Canada all^25,99615-24^16,761..^.,^..^25-44 26,390.. .. u 45-64^29,325Post-sec, Non univ. grads-B.C.^all^27,79215-24^17,44025-44 28,08745-64^30,151Statistics Canada, June 1991seasonally adjusted.All B.C. employees^ 28,000Finance(inc Real Estate/Insurance)^29,500Commerce/Bus . /Personal Services 24,000Survey Findings from selected business progs.1981 graduates-current salaries^30,0001986 graduates-current salaries 27,000Table 3.2 Average yearly salaries based on educational attainmentand age, (from Census Data, 1986 -the most recent available) andStatistics Canada, June 1991 salaries based on occupation.EDUCATIONAL DEVELOPMENT FINDINGSMany of the graduates of Douglas College business programshave sought further education. Two-thirds (66%) have returned toTypes of Courses SelectedAll Graduates73either Douglas College or another educational institution. Thenature of courses most often taken in order of frequency, were jobrelated, academic, personal growth, and leisure related (See Figure3.9).Figure 3.9 The nature of courses selected by thosegraduates who have pursued further education sincegraduation from the Douglas College Business ProgramEighty-five percent of respondents anticipated pursuingfurther education in the next five years, with more than halfinterested in a combination of credit and non-credit courses. Ofthose who anticipate further education, almost three-fifths (57.5%)would consider returning to Douglas College for these courses.Those who responded negatively, most often cited that the coursesdesired or needed were not offered by Douglas College. This wasparticulary true for students seeking Certified General Accounting(CGA) certification. The fact that courses were not offered, orthat students had now relocated, accounted for almost all writtenexplanations.74Two-thirds of 1981 graduates pursued further education. Morethan one-quarter (26%) have returned to Douglas College only forfurther education. A similar percentage (26%) have returned toinstitutions other than Douglas College and 17% have returned toboth Douglas College and other educational institutions. For thesegraduates, the nature of the further education was predominantlyjob related, followed by academic and personal growth. The leastselected type of further education was leisure courses (See Figure3.10).Sixty-three percent of graduates from the 1981 graduationgroup responded positively when asked if they planned to pursuecourses in the next five years. Of those students, 53% anticipateenroling in both credit and non-credit courses. Twenty percentwould choose credit only and 27% would chose non-credit only.Of those who planned to pursue further education, (67%)stated that they would consider returning to Douglas College forthese courses. Negative responses were supplemented by comments tothe effect that they would consider Douglas, but that the coursesthey needed were not offered.While just less than two-thirds of the 1986 graduates pursuedfurther education, considerably more 1986 graduates have returnedto institutions other than Douglas College. Slightly less than 10%have returned to Douglas College, but almost 44% have attendedother educational institutions. Only 11% of respondents havereturned to both Douglas College and other institutions for furthereducation. The courses chosen most often were job related,Types of Courses Selected1981 and 1986 graduatesAcademicPersonal Growth^Leisure RelatedType of CourseIM 1981 EL] 1986Job Related5040302010*Students could make multiple selectionsN.6275followed by academic courses, with leisure courses selected least(See figure 3.10).Figure 3.10 The nature of courses selected by 1981 and1986 graduates who have pursued further education sincegraduation from the Douglas College Business ProgramWhen asked if they planned to pursue courses in the next fiveyears, 94% of graduates from the 1986 graduation group anticipatedpursuing further education. Of these graduates, 56% anticipatedenroling in both credit and non-credit courses. Thirty-four percentindicated that they would choose credit only and 10% would chosenon-credit only. Fifty-five percent stated that they would76consider returning to Douglas College for these courses. A largenumber of comlents were focused on the lack of General Accounting(CGA) certification courses being offered through Douglas College.The absence of any desired course offerings was the reason mostoften cited for not pursuing further education at Douglas College.Reliving the college experienceWhen asked if they could relive their college experienceagain, would they chose Douglas College, three-quarters (74%)of all respondents responded positively. Of the quarter (26%) whoresponded negatively, the institution of first choice would be auniversity (61%) followed by an institute of technology (22%).When explaining their choice, many respondents reiteratedtheir perception that the university offered greater opportunities.Comments such as:Comment 1^"more chances of being respected when applying for positions,'Comment 2^'Douglas College gave me less than what I would have obtained atuniversity,Comment 3^' a university degree is more preferable from an employer'sstandpoint,'Comment 4^'a degree carries more weight in life,'Comment 5^'although college was a great asset, a university degree would be morehelpful in getting promotions once in a job,'Comment 6^'more opportunities - I would transfer after two yearsat Douglas College' andComment 7^'now that I'm older I appreciate a university degree more than a degreefrom a community college. If I was young again and did not have thishindsight I would attend Douglas College again.'Seventy-one percent of 1981 respondents responded positively77to the opportunity to relive their college experience at DouglasCollege. The graduates who would not choose Douglas Collegeselected equally the university or institute of technology (43%each) or vocational school (14%). None of the 1981 graduationgroup indicated that they would select a private college as theinstitution of choice, nor did they want to enter the job marketdirectly. When explaining their choice, respondents stated theirperception that the university would offer greater opportunity.The 1986 respondents also agreed (75%) that they would choseDouglas College. Of those who responded negatively, the mostpreferred institution would be the university (69%), and second, aninstitute of technology or another community college (both selectedby 13% of respondents).^Again, neither private colleges norentering the job market were selected by this graduation group.The explanations offered were almost identical to those of the 1981group.Recommendation of the programEighty-seven percent of all respondents agreed that they wouldrecommend the Douglas College business programs to friends orfamily. Many saw the programs as offering a good preparation forthe future, which was attribute to good courses and instruction ata reasonable cost. Of those who would not recommend the businessprogram to friends or family, the majority commented upondeficiencies in the program and that programs at other institutions78were better. Three respondents recommended going immediately to auniversity.Most respondents (83%) from 1981 agreed that they wouldrecommend the Douglas College business programs to friends orfamily, and when asked to expand upon their answer, two-thirds ofthe 1981 group gave written comments. The comments tended to begeneral in either their praises or criticisms. Graduates used manysuch phrases as "good place to start", "good teachers", "goodplace", "good courses". Few phrases that used other rating wordssuch as great, excellent, poor, bad were used by respondents. Thegeneral tone of the responses was one of satisfaction.Most (89%) of the respondents from the 1986 group agreed thatthey would recommend the Douglas College business programs tofriends or family. Given an opportunity, four-fifths of the 1986group gave written comments. Responses from this group oftencontained very specific content that related the writer's opinionto a component of their experience. Similar to the responses ofthe 1981 group, the general tone of the responses was one ofsatisfaction.Value of the educational experienceApproximately half (51%) of all respondents felt that thevalue they placed on their educational experience at DouglasCollege since graduation had either "increased somewhat" or"increased greatly", while about (40.6%) said that it had not79changed. Less than (10%) responded that the value they placed ontheir experience had decreased somewhat or decreased greatly.Slightly more than half (54%) of the 1981 graduatesfelt that the value since graduation, had either "increasedsomewhat" or "increased greatly". Fewer (38%) said that it had"not changed". Only 8% of graduates responded that the valuethey placed on their experience had "decreased somewhat" or"decreased greatly".A similar set of responses was provided by the 1986 group.Fifty percent felt that the value placed on the educationalexperience at Douglas College since graduation had either"increased somewhat" or "increased greatly". Slightly fewer (42%)said that it had "not changed". Only (8%) responded that the valuethey placed on their experience had "decreased somewhat" or"decreased greatly".SoCHAPTER V - DISCUSSIONOVERVIEWThis chapter will discuss responses concerned with theemployment, financial and educational development outcomesinformation from all respondents. It will provide answers to thespecific questions asked in the study.Impact was defined for this research as the sum total ofoutcomes, changes and benefits produced by the college through itsprograms and services. Specific outcomes were analyzed throughboth the quantitative responses and the qualitative comments thatrespondents offered. Based on the survey questions, respondentsoffered information as to what they perceived as the outcomes ofhaving attended the Douglas College business program.Use of Astin's 2x2 taxonomy of outcomes allows classificationof the various components of the research. The "cognitive-behavioral outcomes" are those concerned with levels of educationalcertification, choice of occupation, employment information, incomelevels and so forth. These topics dominate both this and otherfollow-up studies. Recognizing that outcomes cannot always beisolated into one category and that overlap into other categoriesoften occurs, all three other categories were touched upon in thisresearch. "Cognitive-psychological" outcomes were consideredbriefly by questioning graduates about their perceptions of81preparedness for employment. "Affective-psychological" outcomeswere ascertained by determining graduate perceptions of valuechanges. The "affective-behavioral" realm was considered withquestions about program selection and the choices of furthereducation. It is the combination of all of these outcomes thatmake up the ultimate impact that the graduates perceive to be theresult of having attended the Douglas College business programs.The third dimension added to this taxonomy of outcomes, time,permits consideration of differences in outcomes for the twograduating years. Just as the economic and social climate facingthese graduates has changed, the outcomes of their collegeexperience should reflect these differences. While the twograduation years of study cannot be compared directly, differencescan be noted.Question 1Is there a relationship between participation in and graduationfrom the Douglas College business programs, and finding employmentwith respect to their education?The respondents of this survey identified a solid relationshipbetween choice of an educational program and employment. Thegraduates were clearly linking the reason for enroling in theDouglas College business programs with the most important resultfor them, of attending ie. employment. For the majority ofstudents, the potential for employment outcome was the mostimportant factor in selecting the program. Since graduation, the82graduates were firm in their perceptions that employment was themost important result of their educational experience. Thesefindings are consistent with those of Pascarelli and Terenzini(1991), Clark, Laing and Rechnitzer (1986) and more locally, ofB.C. Research (1991) and the Ministry of Advanced Education,Training and Technology (1992) .While the majority of graduates connected choice of programand employment, two other categories of responses were determined.These two categories related choice of program to the ability totransfer to another institution and to the acquisition of skillsand knowledge. The more intrinsic, personal or social reasons werenot chosen by many respondents as being one of the first threereasons for enroling in the program. While the college continuedin its goal and philosophy statements to give social objectives andemployment objectives equal importance in the educationalexperience, respondents to this survey said that employment andimproving financial potential were the main reasons that they cameto the college and the most important result of having attended.This study did not ask students to state whether they regardedthemselves as better citizens, consumers or parents, as a result oftheir college experience, but to identify if these were the reasonsfor enroling in the business programs, or were the most importantoutcomes. Further study of this type of ranking could determinethe relative importance of such outcomes to a graduate.Students saw the improvement of their financial potential asa component of employment, and increasing their skills and83knowledge was closely related to their marketability upongraduation. The only group of students who diverged from thisresponse were those who wished to transfer to the university.The survey demonstrated that students entered Douglas Collegebusiness programs with a clear reason for attending. Students thenresponded that what they perceived as the most important outcomewas indeed closely or exactly related to this. Of those studentswho selected employment and or financial reasons as the mainpurpose for enroling in Douglas College business programs, allresponded that the most important result of having attended was anemployment or financial outcome. For those students who enroled tomeet employment/financial goals, the Douglas College businessprograms fulfilled their expectations.For those students who enroled with the intent to transfer toanother institution, the majority perceived transferability as themost important outcome; however there were also a few who, whileenroling with the intent to transfer, saw employment as the mostimportant result. This result does not necessarily mean that theydid not transfer, but rather that the importance of the transferwas not seen as the most important outcome. Students for whom theprime reason for enroling in Douglas College business program wasto acquire skills and knowledge concluded that the acquisition ofthese competencies were the most important outcomes of theirexperience.Graduates from the 1981 and 1986 years were similar in theirresponses. However, a greater proportion of students from 198684chose the Douglas College business programs because it facilitatedtransfer to a university. This difference may be partiallyexplained by the predominance of Office Administration students inthe 1981 sample. Since the earlier sample was made up of fewerstudents in programs able to transfer, the rates would be expectedto be different. A second explanation may relate to changes in theeconomy and the nature of work. As presented earlier, changingtechnology is leading to a rise in the educational attainment levelof the population as a whole. Thus, it would be expected thatgreater numbers of college graduates would choose the universitytransfer route as a means to continue to upgrade their educationalskills.The most notable divergence from employment related goals andoutcomes came from the university transfer group. This is to beexpected since the college is perceived as an institution thatfacilitates completion of the first component of a post-secondaryeducational program and not as a terminal institution.a) Were the percentages of graduates who found employmentimmediately after graduation, and were currently employed, similarfor both graduation years?For most graduates, employment within three months ofgraduation was the norm (See figure 4.1). Those not obtainingemployment by that time, often were occupied with non-job relatedpursuits. More students from the 1986 graduation year suggestedEmployment Within 3 Months of Graduation1981 and 1986 graduatesEMEMmommUnemployedType of Employment85that they were not prepared for immediate employment after theirexperience at Douglas College. Further investigation revealed thatthis was due to their transferring to a university and thus collegeprogram completion was not viewed as a precursor for employment.It would appear that the Douglas College business programs providedimmediate employment if that was the choice of the graduate.Figure 4.1^Employment status within three months of graduation.Current employment rates (at the time of the survey), arequite similar for the two years studied (See figure 4.2). It wouldappear that, although rates of employment within three months ofgraduation were quite different (1986 being considerably lower),when graduates of 1986 decided to seek employment, they weresuccessful in doing so.Current Employment (June 1991)1981 and 1986 graduatesPercent100806040200Full time^Part time^Unemployed^Vol. UnemType of Employment1981 aft 1986*unerrployment was voluntary86Figure 4.2^Current employment status of both graduation yearsWhen all graduates were asked about their current employmentstatus, very few, (4.5%) were unemployed and looking for work.This rate is quite favourable compared to those from the labourforce estimates presented in "The Employment Outcome" section ofthis paper. Those results showed 1991 Canadian unemployment ratesfor those with post-secondary certificates as: males 9.5%, females6.8% and for British Columbia, 1991 unemployment rates for both menand women at 7.7%.^Clark, Laing and Rechnitzer (1986) alsopresented unemployment rates of 10% for graduates who were activelylooking for work. Based on these statistics, graduates of theDouglas College business programs have low unemployment rates.However, the low response rate of this study may represent a biasfor these figures.87b) Did graduates perceive that their current employment and pasteducation/training at Douglas College were closely related? Wasthis relationship consistent over the time period of the study?In terms of receiving training or education that led toemployment that was related to that training, respondents statedoverwhelmingly that their first employment was related in somemanner to their college experience. Most respondents stated thatthey were employed in a position that was "exactly" what they hadtrained for at college. Equal numbers stated that their positionwas "closely" or "somewhat related". A negligible number said thatthey were employed in a totally unrelated field. Even theuniversity transfer students who may have received a broadereducation than those students in college business programs,indicated that their current employment position and studies atcollege were related.The graduation year made little difference in the response,except that in 1986, slightly fewer stated that their position wasexactly what they had trained for. It would appear that over thecourse of this study, the Douglas College business programs haveconsistently produced graduates who have obtained employmentrelated to their studies. The number of graduates who were^aposition unrelated to their studies is considerably lower thanthose rates presented in other studies (See figure 4.3).When the percentages of those graduates who were in a positionunrelated to their studies are compared, there are far fewerRelationship of training and employmentCollege^Business/Grads*^commerce***from Class of 82, all college graduates**Class of 82, bus/commerce grads only***from B.C.Research, employed grads****from BC.Research, unemploy(last Job)BC(91)^BC(91)^1981 grad 1986 gradgrads***^unem grad—^Douglas^Douglas88Douglas College graduates than others in such positions.Figure 4.3 Percentage of graduates who found no relationshipbetween training and employment. Comparison fromThe Class of 82, (1986) and from B.C. Research, 1990College Student Outcomes Report, (1991).The results from The Class of 82 (1984) and the 1990 College Student Outcomes Report (1991), both show higher rates of graduAteswhose training and employment are not related. That the rate ofrespondents of this study who felt that their education or trainingand employment employment rates from this study are lower may inpart be accounted for since this study concentrated on selected89programs from the Business Department, while the other studiesinclude a greater variety of graduates. It may also be that thenature of the programs considered in this study were programs forwhich job opportunities enabled graduates to be more appropriatelyemployed.c)^When graduates faced periods of unemployment, did theireducation or training help them regain employment?Fewer than a third of graduates experienced unemployment, andof those, most faced only one or two such periods. However, onlyone-third who had encountered non-voluntary unemployment said thatthe education or credentials from Douglas College helped them tobecome employed again. This in spite of recognizing that theeducational/training received had prepared them for employment.Once unemployed, friends and business contacts orpersonnel/employment agencies were more important for securingfurther employment. Canada Manpower or job counselling assistancewas not used to find employment.Question 2What is the relationship between participation in the DouglasCollege business program and current earnings?a)^What were the current salaries of Douglas College graduates?The current average annual salary of a Douglas College90Business Program graduate is approximately $30,000 for 1981graduates and approximately $27,000 for a 1986 graduate.Statistics Canada (1991) information on salaries puts these figuresin context. Using estimates of average weekly earnings, seasonallyunadjusted, the average annual salary for all employed BritishColumbians was $28,000. For those who were employed in the financesector (including real estate and insurance) the average salary was$29,500. For those in the commerce, business and personal servicesectors, the average annual salary was $24,000. Statistics Canadafigures are based on all of those working within the businesssector and thus would cover a greater range of employees with a fargreater age continuum than the research study, i.e. the StatisticsCanada data includes data from persons employed longer than tenyears and likely earning higher salaries. In addition, theirfigures would include individuals with a greater variety ofeducational backgrounds. It would appear that the average annualsalary of Douglas College business program graduates places them inthe range of anticipated salaries for persons employed in thebusiness sector. Further analysis of the relationship of earningsand educational attainment would be possible once the results ofthe 1991 Census data become available.For both 1981 and 1986 graduates, the predominate salary rangewas $20,000 - $30,000, with close to 42% of each graduation yearfalling into this category. The 1981 graduates produced a greaterpercentage of wage earners in the higher categories. This would beexpected since the graduates have had additional years in which to91establish themselves within their chosen field. The large numberof those still within the lower salary ranks may be due in part tothe predominance of office administration graduates in the surveyresponse group. Traditionally, the salaries for these types ofoccupations fall below those from other business positions. Inaddition, a number of these positions are part time which may alsoaccount for lower pay.b) Did graduates perceive that the financial outlay required toattend Douglas College had been a worthwhile investment.Almost all graduates were convinced that the financial returnfrom their education made the investment worthwhile. In additionto the actual response to this question, graduates provided manywritten responses of support for this view throughout the survey.In a number of the comments, graduates singled out the cost factoras one of concern, and that the choice of a college education wasmade on the basis of its cost. Business program graduatesindicated that they felt that they received good value for theireducational dollar.The majority of graduates were also clear that they wouldrecommend the program to others, which would suggest that they feltthe experience to be worthwhile. In addition, the majority ofgraduates who intended to pursue further education will considerDouglas College. These graduates would be willing to commit thetime and the accompanying financial outlay that would be required92to continue at Douglas. This again suggests satisfaction with pastoutcomes of their college experience. The numbers of studentsthat would recommend the business programs and the rates at whichthey would return to the college for further education wouldsupport the notion that graduates were satisfied with theireducational experience.Question 3What benefits did Douglas College business program graduatesperceive in terms of their own educational development?a) Did graduates return for further education or intend to pursuefurther education in the future? What type of further educationwould be pursued? Would this be at Douglas College or anothereducational institution?The majority of graduates have returned for further education.Overall, two-thirds have continued their education at eitherDouglas College or another institution. While Clark, Laing andRechnitzer (1986) reported that 20% of Canadian community collegegraduates return to some form of education within one year ofgraduation, the numbers of Douglas College graduates returningwithin five or ten years is quite remarkable.Considerably more graduates have returned to otherinstitutions for further study rather than Douglas College. Thisstudy did not question why other institutions were selected, but93further research should attempt to answer this question. Writtenresponses indicate that a partial answer may lie in the courseoptions available to graduates offered by other insitutions.There was a noticeable difference between graduation years, inthe proportion of graduates currently involved with education ortraining in combination with employment. Over one-fifth of therespondents from the 1986 graduation year were both working andcontinuing with their education or training. However, no graduatefrom the 1981 year was currently both working and involved witheducation or training. This difference may be explicable ifgraduates were more likely to be involved with further educationcloser to their graduation date. Graduates from 1981 may have beeninvolved in further education or training five years after theirgraduation. These findings are in concert with those of Haggar-Guenette (1991) who found that participation rates in furthereducation decline with age.Graduates enrol in courses or workshops that are mostly jobrelated; secondly, academic; and thirdly, personal. Very fewstudents have taken courses that were leisure focused in content.Almost two-thirds of the respondents of each graduation yearhad returned to courses that were job related. This would supportthe findings of Clark, Laing and Rechnitzer (1986) who alsodetermined that Canadian community college graduates return forprimarily job-related further education.The second most selected type of course for both graduationyears was academic, with almost 30% of those responding having94enroled in academic courses. Almost 50% of the 1986 graduationgroup had returned to academic courses, possibly due to this groupbeing comprised of a large percentage of students enroled incourses of an academic nature. Since a greater number ofrespondents from the 1986 year were from programs that had a moreacademic content, then additional academic courses could have afinancial or employment related benefit. If the population is madeup of a large number of secretarial or clerical respondents, it isperhaps not likely that courses perceived as academic, but rathervocationally oriented, would be taken for enhancement of skills.Therefore, enroling in the type of course or workshop that is acontinuation of educational pursuits might be predictable. Thispremise was supported by the respondents when questioned about thenature of courses they would likely pursue in the next five years.Those from the 1986 graduation year were less likely than those in1981 to anticipate enroling in non-credit courses.More recent graduates have not been selecting leisure relatedcourses as often as earlier graduates. This can be partlyexplained by noting that 1981 graduates have had more timeavailable to them to take a greater variety of courses. If theyhave already taken courses that they felt were necessary, thiswould then give them an opportunity to take courses for 'Morepersonal reasons. Those who were still in the process ofestablishing their employment position may be more concerned aboutcourses that would have a more direct employment or financiallyrelated benefit.95The majority of graduates saw themselves taking courses in thenext five years. Less than 15% of all graduates did not anticipatepursuing courses or workshops in that time period. Recentgraduates were more likely to see themselves doing so. This may bedue to the fact that as time passes since graduation, courses havealready been taken or other commitments may take precedence overfurther education.When asked to speculate about participation in educationalactivities in the next five years, graduates mostly choose acombination of credit and non-credit courses. Of those whoexpressed a specific choice of course, more 1986 graduates werelikely to enrol in credit only rather than in non-credit onlycourses, while 1981 graduates would select credit and non-creditcourses equally. Very few 1986 graduates saw themselves enrolingin non-credit courses. Again, this could be due to graduates of1986 still taking coursework that was more job related than forpersonal growth or for general interest. More research is neededto explain the changing focus of courses, their nature and theircredit standing.b) Were graduates satisfied with their college experience?Satisfaction with the college experience was determined bycombining responses in several areas of the survey. If and howstudent enrolment objectives were met, whether the experience wasworth repeating or recommending to others, and whether it was worth96the financial outlay, were all combined to give an impression ofwhether a graduate was satisfied with his/her educationalexperience.A large number of students attended Douglas College businessprograms with the expectation that it would lead to employment, andindeed have said that employment was the most important result ofhaving attended the college. Satisfaction with their collegeexperience could consider how graduates perceived their program ofstudy as preparation for employment; almost all graduates statedthat their program was worthwhile. Graduates felt that thefinancial return, generated as a result of their education, madetheir initial educational investment worthwhile. In assessingtheir experience in the business programs, graduates were satisfiedto the extent that they would recommend Douglas College attendance.Graduates were also willing to return to the institution forfurther education provided it offered the courses desired.Graduates were satisfied with their own experiences to the extentthat if they had the opportunity to relive it, a majority wouldchoose to do so again.Asking graduates whether they would choose to relive theircollege experience at Douglas College allowed students to considerall of the components of their educational experience; its cost,the quality, whether the program met expectations, whether theexperience was worthwhile both financially and personally. Ingeneral, this required a consideration of all components of theexperience. Overall, graduates indicated that their Douglas97College experience had been positive. Most graduates would bothrecommend the Douglas College business program to others and, giventhe choice, would choose to go to Douglas College again.Satisfaction with the educational experience was found to behigh for students of British Columbia colleges (Graduate Follow-UpWorking Group, 1987, B.C. Research, 1991 & Douglas College Self-Study, 1992) and this study supports those findings.c) Did the level of satisfaction with their college experienceremain constant since graduation?Time was a factor that affected the way graduates value theireducation. Over half of all graduates stated that the value theyplace on their education had either somewhat or greatly increasedsince graduation. Very few saw a decrease in the value of theireducation. The graduates of both years offered similar responses.The question asked of students did not seek to ascertain what valuethey placed on the educational experience at the time ofgraduation, but only whether there was a change since that time.Almost half of the graduates indicated no change. The mostimportant aspect of the responses was that very few, less than 10%of the students, noted a decrease in the value they placed on-theeducational experience. Further investigation revealed that thesestudents, in spite of a perceived decrease in the value they placedon their experience, generally felt that the financial return fromtheir education made the investment worthwhile, and rated theprogram worthwhile as preparation for employment.9899CHAPTER VI - SUMMARY AND RECOMMENDATIONSSUMMARYDouglas College business programs have had an impact on thelives of its graduates. This impact, defined as the sum total ofoutcomes, changes and benefits, has been important for therespondents of this study. Three specific outcomes wereconsidered, all of which elicited positive responses fromgraduates. Graduates linked their goals and outcomes and statedsome of the benefits received as a result of their collegeexperience.According to Astin's model of student inputs/outputs and thecollege environment, students enter an institution with a set ofaspirations. In this study, students entered the Douglas Collegebusiness programs with the expectation that the programs would leadto employment. An output, an aspect of student developmentattributed to the college, would then be employment. The collegeenvironment would provide the components of the educationalexperience that would enable this objective to be met. Theprogramming, curriculum, etc would make up the components of thecollege environment. •Thus, those aspirations of students, combinedwith the contribution of the college, should effect the eventualoutcome or student output.In considering employment,^finances and educationaldevelopment outcomes, this study has found a positive relationship100existed between the three components of the model.As noted previously, in attempting to classify the types ofstudent outputs or outcomes as a result of the educationalexperience, the outcomes often overlap into several of thecategories defined by Astin. In this study, one of the fourcategories - cognitive-psychological outcomes -was not considered.These outcomes include such topics as subject matter knowledge andcritical thinking. Cognitive-behavioral outcomes (those concernedwith level of educational attainment, occupational attainment,income and the like), affective-psychological outcomes (thoseconcerned with values, attitudes, and personality orientations),and affective-behavioral outcomes (those of leadership, choice ofmajor, choice of career, use of leisure time, and so on) were allconsidered in this study. For each of the three specific outcomesconsidered, time since graduation will affect results. The timeeffect will be a combination of changes due simply to the passageof time, and changes due to the different social and economicsituations that have come about over time. Both of these timeeffects can affect outcomes. The most effective way to study thechanges in outcomes related only to the passage of time would be tofollow a cohort of graduates in a longitudinal study and considerchanges in specific, outcomes. However studying two graduatdongroups at different periods in time, shows effects of the collegeexperience in differing social and economic climates.In conclusion, the graduates of the Douglas College businessprograms chose to enrol in the programs with the expectation that101the programs would lead to employment, would facilitate transfer toa university, and would improve financial potential or wouldincrease skills and knowledge.Most graduates were employed full time, with only a very smallnumber of graduates non-voluntarily unemployed. Almost allgraduates were currently employed in positions that were related totheir studies at college. Three-quarters of graduates felt theprograms prepared them for immediate employment, which occurred formost within three months of graduation. Almost three-quarters ofthe graduates have not encountered periods of unemployment of onemonth or longer and of those who have, the majority haveencountered only one or two such incidents. Those able to regainemployment did not see their college experience as the reason forbecoming re-employed.Graduates identified that the primary reason for enroling atDouglas was employment related. The time then spent within theprogram was rated as being worthwhile as preparation foremployment by almost all of the students. Further, students feltthat the financial return from employment made the costs involvedwith education worthwhile.Graduates are satisfied with their own educational experiencesand are willing to recommend the business programs to friends-andfamily. Graduates have also continued with lifelong learning.Twice as many have returned to take further education compared tothose who have not. Not surprisingly, those students who initiallycame to the college with a goal of employment after graduation have102returned to courses or workshops that are job related. Graduatesintend to continue enroling in courses that are both credit andnon-credit. While Douglas College business programs rated high forstudent satisfaction with the program that students took, fewerstudents are willing to return to Douglas for further education.The reason most frequently offered was that the type of furtherlearning sought was not presently offered at Douglas College.Three-quarters of the graduates in this survey would relive theircollege experience at Douglas College. Of those who would not,most would chose a university since they believe it offers greateropportunities after graduation.Students indicated that they valued their educationalexperience at Douglas. Close to half of the graduates stated thatthe value they place on the experience has increased sincegraduation. Most students identified employment-based results asthe most important outcome of having attended the college. Theyalso identified that they had become more effective as a result ofthe skills and knowledge acquired from their educationalexperiences.103RECOMMENDATIONS1. The Student Records Department of the Registrar's office shouldkeep more accurate records of student graduation.RationaleAt present the college is changing its computerized studentrecords system. This new system should have the capability ofaccurately and quickly producing graduation records. This willbecome more important in the future as the college is increasinglybeing asked, to produce data to justify past expenditures.Currently, the focus is on enrolment/registration data collection.An increased focus should be placed on actual outcomes(graduations).2. The Registrar's office should keep graduation lists thatreflect actual program graduation, rather than graduation liststhat are composed of only those students who apply to graduate.RationaleWithin the college community it is understood a graduate isone who has successfully completed the necessary components of aprogram. The records of the insitution should reflect this104premise. The fact that today such records may need to be searchedon a student by student basis to determine those who have metgraduation requirements is time consuming and inefficient. It alsoincreases the number of students who may not be found as a resultof the search.3. The College Philosophy Statement should take into considerationand reflect student perceptions of the purposes and goals of thecommunity college experience.RationaleThe philosophical statement produced by the college shouldconsider not only the college frame of reference but also that ofthe students who have enrolled. The statements should reflect theimportance that students attach to each of the outcomes of theircollege experience. Greater input from those directly affected bythe college should be sought. Students and alumni of theinstitution should have an opportunity to participate in theformation and changes to these statements. Further research shouldbe undertaken to determine student perceptions of all outcomes oftheir college experience and their relative importance.4. The Douglas College Community Programs and Services Departmentshould expand its business programming. The department shouldconsider a needs assessment of the local business community, and105college graduates, to determine the areas of business that haveeither not been addressed by the college or that need greateremphasis. Based on this assessment, the department should increasethe number of courses offered.RationaleMost graduates of college certificate and diploma programshave not increased their formal level of certification sincegraduation. Therefore, the college should expand its communityprogramming to target the population that wants to further itslearning with short, part-time upgrading, job related courses andworkshops. These courses and workshops must be accessible topersons who work full time.Douglas College may wish to establish better exit counsellingfor students about to graduate from a program. The AlumniAssociation should prepare a plan that would keep the graduate incontact with the programs of the college. This would givegraduates an opportunity to have input into future programming forthe Community Programs and Services Department.5. The Douglas College Community Programs and Services Departmentshould implement accreditation of continuing education courses.106RationaleGraduates want to return to Douglas College but they also wantto be able to return to job-related, primarily credit courses. TheCommunity Programs and Services Department should work with theBusiness Department to determine what are appropriate additionalofferings.6. The Business Department should expand its credit courseofferings so that courses are offered when employed graduates canaccess the courses.RationaleFor the next five years, graduates of business programs havesaid they favour enroling in credit courses over non-creditcourses. It will be necessary to schedule these courses at timesappropriate for fully employed students. Non-traditionalscheduling, such as those available at the present Weekend College,should be expanded.7. The Community Programs and Services Department should work. withthe Alumni Association to develop lists of recent graduates andkeep them informed of appropriate courses and workshops.107RationaleGraduates are most likely to return to further educationcloser to the time of their graduation. Therefore, when notifyingalumni of college offerings, emphasis should be on the more recentgraduates.8. The Community Programs and Services Department, the Office ofInstitutional Research, and the Alumni Association should worktogether to gather more information about courses that graduateswould consider attending (content, credit versus non-credit).Whether the nature of courses changes as time since graduationincreases should also be studied.RationaleThis study would suggest that time since graduation plays arole in the determining of type of further education selected. Inorder to fulfill its mandate of providing lifelong learningopportunities to all members of its community, the collegescontinuing education department should take these changes intoconsideration when programming.9. The Business Department should work with the appropriateprofessional associations to consider offering professionalcertification past the college diploma level. Such liaison should108start with the Certified General Accounting body.RationaleThe majority of graduates who commented on the reasons thatthey would not return to Douglas College for further learning notedthat the courses that they would like to pursue were not offered.The college should continue to work with professional organizationsand consider joint programming. This study identified that themost requested courses were those affiliated with the CertifiedGeneral Accounting designation. Therefore it would be appropriateto commence discussions with this body.10^Further research should be undertaken to investigate thedifferences in ages of students in the various business programs.RationaleThis study noted differences in the average age at graduationof students in the Douglas College business programs. Thedifferent ages are a result of different program mixes whichsuggests ages may vary within different programs. Data from thisstudy suggest that ages may have decreased within the businessprograms. This finding does not accord with current college datathat is demonstrating an increase in the age of graduates. Furtherinvestigation should occur to see whether this trend is continuing109in the business department and if it is program specific. Thiswould serve to make the department more aware of the nature of itsstudents and how they may be different from those in other programsand departments. It may also suggest the nature of advertising andrecruitment that should be adopted and may suggest changes inadmissions policy.11. Further research should be undertaken to investigate thedifferences of gender of students in the various business programs.RationaleThere appears to be a change in the proportion of female/malestudents in the Business Department. Shifts in the nature andnumber of courses offered affects this ratio (as evidenced byprograms such as Construction Management and OfficeAdministration). Changes in the gender relationship withinprograms may necessitate changes both within the department and thecollege i.e daycare. Whether there are different services requiredby different gender make-ups within programs should be considered.12. Further research should be undertaken to investigate why largenumbers of graduates have returned to further learning atinstitutions other than Douglas College.110RationaleIn spite of their satisfaction with their experience, manygraduates have attended other institutions for further learning.Further research should investigate why students choose otherinstitutions for this further learning and whether there arecourses or programs that the college could be offering. Timing,location and cost factors should be considered since these were allfactors that led students to attend Douglas College initially.13. Further research of graduates on a longitudinal basis shouldbe considered.RationaleSuch studies would allow a better understanding of the longterm effects of the college educational experience. Such studieswould improve understanding of the relationship of education andtraining and employment. With the recognition that individualswill face a working life made up of a number of positions, beingable to determine the effectiveness of employment preparation wouldbe useful.14. Job seeking skills, specifically networking, should beconsidered as skills to be investigated and formally added to thecurrent Business Department curriculum.111RationaleGraduates who faced non-voluntary unemployment primarilydepended upon their ability to network with friends and employersto regain employment. 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Unpublished dataspecific to Douglas College.Palinchuk, R. S. (1973). The Evolution of the community college. Metuchen, N. J.: The Scarecrow Press Inc.115Parliament, J. (1986)^Community colleges:^an alternative touniversities. Canadian social trends.^Statistics Canada.Ottawa: Government Publications. Winter.Parliament, J. (1990) Labour force trends: two decades in review.Canadian social trends. Statistics Canada. Ottawa:Government Publications. Autumn.Pascarella E. & Terenzini, P. (1991) How college affects students. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.Picot, W.G.; Wannell, T. & Lynd, D. (1989) The changing labour market for postsecondary graduates. Statistics Canada.Ottawa: Government Publication Centre. 89-518.Report of the Task Force on the Community College in BritishColumbia. (1974). Towards the learning community. Victoria:Research and Development Division, Department of Education,August.Roeche, J. E.; Baker III, G. A. & Brownell, R. L. (1972).Accountability and the community college: Directions for the 70's. American Association of Community and Junior Colleges.Nov.Statistics Canada. (1986). Educational attainment of Canadians Ottawa: Government Publication Centre. 98-134.Statistics Canada. (1989a).^Community colleges and relatedinstitutions: Postsecondary enrolment and graduates 1986.Ottawa: Government Publication Centre. 93-114.Statistics Canada. (1989b). Total Income: Individual. Ottawa:Government Publication Centre. 93-114.Statistics Canada.^(1991).^Employment, earning, and hours. Ottawa: Government Publication Centre. Cat 72-002, Vol 70,No. 7.Statistics Canada. (1986). The labour force. Ottawa: GovernmentPublication Centre. Dec., 1986. Cat 71-001.Statistics Canada. (1991). The labour force. Ottawa: GovernmentPublication Centre. May, 1991. Cat 71-001.Student needs involvement and outcomes. (1992). Douglas College1991/92 Institutional Self Study Steering Committee. DouglasCollege.Survey It. (1991).^Computer software from Conway InformationSystems Inc. Victoria, British Columbia.116Tinto, V. (1975). Dropout from higher education: A theoreticalsynthesis of recent research. Review of Educational Research,45, 89-125. In E.Pascarella & P. Terenzini (1991). Howcollege affects students San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.University Articulation Study. (1987).^Ministry of AdvancedEducation and Job Training, Colleges and Institutes Division.British Columbia.Vancouver Community College Alumni Survey. (1974).^VancouverCommunity College. Vancouver, British Columbia.Warrack, B. J. (1982a). Student outcomes surveys and their use asa career counselling tool. Canadian Vocational Journal 17,pp. 10-12.Warrack, B. J. (1982b) A comparative analysis of the outcomes ofManitoba community college graduates and non-graduates.Canadian Vocational Journal 18(1) pp.24-26.Wooten, G. (1971). Discover at Douglas. The Principal's Message.November.Zsigmond, Z.E.; Wenaas, C.J.^(1970). Enrolment in educationalinstitutions by province 1951-52 to 1980-81. report preparedfor the Economic Council of Canada. Staff Study No. 25 Jan.Zwerling, L. S. (1976). Second Best. New York: McGraw-Hill BookCo.19. If you could relive your college experience, would you choose to go to Douglasagain? Yes^No20. If you answered no to question #19, which of the following would you choose:(please check one response)universityinstitute of technologyvocational schoolprivate collegeanother community collegeenter the Job marketother (Please explain in your own words)What is your reason for this choice?21. How has the value you place on your educational experience at DouglasCollege changed since graduation? (please check 1 response)- it has increased greatly___ It has Increased somewhatIt has not changedIt has decreased somewhatit has decreased greatly22. For you personally, what was the single most Important result of attendingDouglas College? (please check only 1)_ I obtained employment- I obtained well paid employmentI obtained employment that Is personalty satisfying_- I was able to transfer to a university upon leaving Douglas_ I acquired skills and knowledge that made me a more effective person_ I developed a broader understanding and outlook of my world_ I developed friendships and contacts with other students- I was able to develop socially and emotionallyI became a better consumer, parent or citizen_- I obtained an education that will secure my financial future_ other (please explain)Please add any comments you care to make about your Douglas Collegeexperience, any thoughts would be most welcome. Please feel free to add anadditional page of comments If neededTHANK YOU. FOR YOUR T7MEQUESTIONNAIREGENERAL INFORMATION1. What is your cuffent age?^2. When you attended the Douglas College Business Program were you afull-time^part-time^or full and part time student? (please check one)Which program specifically, were you emoted In? 3. What were the reasons that you chose to enrol In the Douglas College Businessprogram? (please list three choices in order of Importance, with number 1 being themost Important and number 3 being least important)I wanted a program that would most likely lead to employmentI wanted to change employment to increase my personal satisfactionI wanted to increase my skills and knowledgeI wanted to improve my financial potentialfor the futureI wanted to be able to transfer to another institution—I wanted to develop a broader understanding andoutlook of the worldI wanted to develop myself socially andemotionallyl wanted to Improve myself as a consumer,parent or citizen_I had no particular reasonother (please explain in your own words)EMPLOYMENT PIFORM411ON4. What is your present employment status? (please check one)_ employed full time_ employed part time_ employed full time and involved In training or education_ employed part time and involved in training or educationunemployed and not looking for work__ unemployed and looking for work_ unemployed still involved in training or education— unemployed due to home and/or family responsibilities_ Involved in full time training or education_ home and/or family responsibilities_ other (please explain)^5. For question 15 only, If you are employed, please answer based on your currentposition. If you we unemployed, please answer based on your most recent position.What is/was your job title?^IsAvas your position: (please check only one)- exactly what you trained for at college.i-^n a field closely related to your studies at college.in a field somewhat related to your studies at college.in a field totally unrelated to your studies at college.(please check one) Yes^NoWere you employed within three months of graduation from Douglas College?Yes NoIf you did not to start work Immediately, which response best describes why?(please check only one)I was unable to obtain employment related to my educationI wanted to continue with further education beforelooking for employment_I was unable to obtain employment_other (please explain In your own words)Z (a) Have you encountered periods of non-voluntary unemployment of longerthan one month since graduation from Douglas College? Yes^No(b) If yes, how many times have you experienced non-voluntary unemployment?1-23-45-8—more than 88. If you were able to regain employment, which of these helped you to becomeemployed again? (please check as many as apply)The education and credentials from Douglas CollegeJob CounsellingManpower assistanceother (please explain)^9. How would you tate your Douglas College program of study as preparation foremployment? (please check one)definitely worthwhile,worthwhile to some extentIt made no differencenot very worthwhilenot worthwhile at allFINANCIAL INFORMATION10. If you are currently employed how much time do you work? 25% or lessmore than 25% but less than 50%^ more than 50% but less than 75%_ •^more than 75% but less than full time^. full time^(please check one)Please Identify your current annual salary (optional)less than $5000^$25001430000$5001-$10000^'^$30001440000$10001415000 $40001-$50000$15001-$20000^$50001460000$20001425000 $60001+11. As a student you Incurred costs for your education. In your opinion,do you feelthe financial return from your employment has made the Investment worthwhile?Definitely yesGenerally yesno opinion •Generally noDefinitely noPERSONAL INFORMATION12. WX you recommend the Douglas College Business Program to friends orfamily?^Yes NoWhat are your masons for answering this way?^13. All other circumstances being equal, In what order would you recommend thefollowing educational institutions to friends or family if they were considering post-secondary studies? (please rank from 1 to 5 with 1 being the most preferred)university. technical institutioncommunity collegevocational schoolprivate collegeWhat are the reasons for this tanking?^14. Have you returned to Douglas College or any other educational Institution forany further courses or workshops? (please check one)No, not to eitherYes, to Douglas CollegeYes, to other educational InstitutionsYes, to both Douglas College and other institutions15. If you have returned to an educational Institution for courses or workshops,were these courses: (please check as many as apply)Job relatedpersonal growthleisure relatedacademic courses for future credentials16. (a) Do you Intend to pursue courses In the next five years?(please check one)^Yes^No(b) If you answered yes to question #16(a), do you anticipate enroling Incredit courses onlynon-credit courses onlyboth credit and non-credit courses?17. (a) Would you consider returning to Douglas College for these courses?Yes - No(b) If you answered no, why not?^18. What Is the highest educational credential that you have achieved?Doctoral degree (Ph.D)Ed.D degree^'^_Masters degree _Bachelors degree^_College Diploma _College CertificateFrom what institution was this credential obtained?^119Appendix 2Letter of Transmittalfr douglascollege700 Royal Avenue, New Westminster, B.C.^ Mailing Adcress: P.O. Box 2503, New Westminster, B.C. Canada-V3L 582Telephone: (604) 527-5400^ FAX: (604) 527-5025Dear Graduate,As a student in the Masters of Arts, Higher Education program at the University of BritishColumbia, I am involved in completing the final component of the program, which is the researchproject. I am investing the financial, employment and personal impact of your- Douglas CollegeBusiness Program education. I will be studying graduates from 1974175, 1981/81 and 1985/86to see what are the effects of the college experience and if and how they change with time. Ihope that information from this study will improve future planning and programming of theDouglas College Business Programs.All graduates will be contacted by mail and asked to fill out a questionnaire that shouldtake less than 10 minutes to complete. Your participation is voluntary, but I -would be mostappreciative if you would choose to complete the questionnaire. If you choose not to completethe questionnaire, please return it in the self addressed, stamped envelope and I will not botheryou any further.If you do choose to help me in my research, please be assured that once the responseshave been returned, all information will be kept confidentiaL In fact, once received, allidentifying marks will be removed from the responses. Your response to the questionnaire willbe your approval for use of the information contained within. The combined responses will bethe data from which my thesis will be written.Thanks for taking the time to read this and hopefully to complete the enclosedquestionnaire.Yours truly,Hilary CheungP.S. If you are interested in receiving a summary of the findings of this research, pleasecomplete the following and include it with your returned questionnaire. I will mail you aresponse when the study is complete.Name:^Address:dou9lascollege120Appendix 3Reminder letter700 Royal Avenue, New Westminster, B.C.Telephone: (604) 527-5400 Mailing Address: P.O. Box 2503, New Westminster B C Canada V3L 5B2FAX: (604) 527-5095Dear Graduate,Over the past month you should have received a letter asking you to complete a surveyabout your educational experience at Douglas College.If you have already completed and returned the survey I would like ìó think you. Ifhowever, you just have not had time to get around to it, I ask if you could just take a fewmoments to do so. Every returned survey that I receive will make my research more reliable andthe analysis will lead to more useable recommendations. I have enclosed another copy of thesurvey for your use.Thanks again, and if you would like a summary of the results mailed to you at theconclusion of the survey, please complete the bottom of the form. Once again be reassured thatall individual responses will be kept anonymous and confidentiaLYours truly,Hilary CheungName:^Address: