A Follow Up Study Of The Business Graduates Of Southern Oregon College 1964 1969

Author : Edward Lee Houghton
Publisher :
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 260 pages
Book Rating : 4.:/5 (11 download)

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Download or read book A Follow-up Study of the Business Graduates of Southern Oregon College - 1964-1969 written by Edward Lee Houghton and published by . This book was released on 1971 with total page 260 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The purpose of this study was to determine the strengths and weaknesses of the business program at Southern Oregon College, Ashland, Oregon. It was assumed that former students of the Business Division could make a rational evaluation of their college education and so state the effectiveness of the preparation in actual life situations. This study is based on the responses of 237 graduates. The majority (79.1 per cent) of the respondents felt that the education that they had received in the business program was from "good" to "excellent". Those graduates who had majored in accounting were generally quite pleased with the education that they had received in accounting. Other graduates who had majored in business, but not in accounting, selected accounting as the one course in the business program that they wish they had taken. The graduates selected the discussion, lecture, and assignments methods as those methods of instruction that were most beneficial, Films and field trips were regarded as being least beneficial as a method of instruction. Several suggestions were made for improving the business program at Southern Oregon College. The general view was that the courses should be less theoretical in nature; and that effort should be made to hire professors with a business background. The strongest aspects of the business program were determined to be good professors, small classes, the accounting courses, and good student/professor relationships. Interest and opportunity were selected as the major factors for majoring in business. Eighty-three per cent of the respondents indicated that they would again choose the major in business. Those graduates who would select a different major indicated that they were dissatisfied with the business world and matters that affect people. Thirty-six per cent indicated that they would prefer teaching to a business degree. A vast majority of those graduates who are leaving business for teaching commented that they felt that even though they would have to take a cut in pay that they would be doing something meaningful with their lives if they taught school. Very few of the graduates were of the opinion that their education did not prepare them for the business world. Of the 227 responses to this question, only 12.3 per cent were of the opinion that their education did not prepare them for the business world. And only 9.7 per cent felt that they were not competitive with graduates of other colleges and universities. Apparently there is a correlation between income and happiness with the job. Those graduates who thought their job was "great" were averaging $9, 160 a year; whereas, those graduates who "hate" their job were averaging but $7,000 a year. The more positive the attitude about the job the higher the average earnings. The average beginning salary for men in 1969 was $7,389. The beginning salary for women in 1969 was $5,050. This is a difference of $2,339 or 46 per cent greater for men than for women. The average beginning salary for the six years shows that women made 24 per cent less than men. Those students who were employed during the school year while attending college were able to attain a higher grade point average than were their peers who were not employed during the school sessions. Also, it was found that the higher the grade point average the higher was the average earned income. One glaring weakness that was mentioned by several of the employers was the problem that the new graduate/employee has with written communications.