Oregon University System Engineering Education Roundtable

1. Oregon University System Engineering Education Roundtable Workplace Readiness Survey Results April 1, 2002

2. The Engineering Education Roundtable is the centerpiece of our efforts to develop an ongoing and disciplined approach to identifying and serving the education needs of Oregon engineers and their companies. EER surveys are managed by Conkling Fiskum & McCormick, Inc. to ensure our efforts are consistent with the best practices of market research.If you are a member of the EER, thank you for your participation. If you would like to join and help guide engineering education in Oregon, you may enroll by filling out the EER new member form at: http://www.oregonengineer.org/advisory_groups.htm Robert Dryden Vice Chancellor

3. Methodology • Internet-based survey • March 1 - 8, 2002 • Engineering Education Roundtable members • 124 completed surveys • 65% response rate

4. 3.76 Mean 3.7 3.67 3.59 3.53 3.5 3.47 3.45 3.3 < 10 11-20 21+ ALL In State Out-of State YRS EXPERIENCE DEGREE Perceptions of Overall Quality How would you rate the overall quality of recent OUS graduates? 1= Poor 5= Excellent

5. Mean 3.84 3.8 3.65 3.6 3.49 3.4 ALL In State Out-of State DEGREE On-the-Job Performance Compared to graduates from other universities, rate the on-the-job performance of recent OUS graduates 1= Poor 5= Excellent

6. Mean 3.7 3.7 3.63 3.62 3.52 3.5 3.44 3.4 3.3 < 10 11-20 21+ ALL In State Out-of State YRS EXPERIENCE DEGREE Work Place Readiness How prepared for the work place are recent OUS graduates? 1= Poor 5= Excellent

7. 3.9 3.74 3.58 3.6 Mean 3.49 3.3 3.19 3.0 Computational skills Familiarity w/ technologies Collecting, analyzing reporting data Experimental design 1= Poor 5= Excellent Rating Technical Skills How would you rate the following skills of OUS graduates you have recently hired? OR grads rate skills higher than out of state grads

8. 3.9 3.75 3.71 3.65 3.6 3.56 Mean 3.55 3.3 3.0 Open to new ideas Team- work Working in small groups Sole contributor Problem solving Rating General Skills How would you rate the following skills of OUS graduates you have recently hired? 1= Poor 5= Excellent Higher ratings given by OR grads and those with less experience

9. 3.45 3.32 3.29 3.27 3.25 3.30 Mean 3.09 3.15 3.0 Working under time limits Working in large groups Verbal skills Shift priorities Writing skills Rating General Skills How would you rate the following skills of OUS graduates you have recently hired? 1= Poor 5= Excellent Higher ratings given by OR grads and those with less experience

10. A large share of EER members aren’t familiar with OIT and U of O graduates Work Place Readiness Don’t Mean Know • OSU3.73 28% • OIT3.69 58% • UO3.62 58% • PSU3.46 35% How would you rate the overall work place readiness of graduates from these OUS Universities? Too few are familiar with EOU, SOU, and WOU grads to analyze results

11. Recent Hiring Software Engineering 34% Computer Science 30% Electrical & Computer Eng 27% Information Technology 23% Mechanical Eng 23% Civil Engineering 19% Planning 14% Ind & Mfg Engineering 13% In which fields have you recently hired new staff? Top 8

12. Hiring Forecast Increase 39% Stay about the same 55% Decrease 6% Do you expect hiring of recent graduates in technical fields to…?

13. Out-of-State Recruiting U of Washington 25% Stanford 14% Purdue 10% UC Berkeley 10% Washington St 10% MIT 8% Texas A&M 7% Arizona St. 6% Carnegie Mellon 6% From which out-of-state schools do you recruit for new engineering or technical employees? Demand for technical skills will increase but competition for jobs will be with graduates across the nation

14. Concerns with OUS Graduates Lack real work experience 26% Knowledge limited/out of date 17% Lack basic business skills 13% Lack specific technical skills 7% No hesitations 12% What hesitation or concern do you have about hiring OUS graduates?

15. Who are EER members Software Engineering 30% Computer Science 18% Mechanical Engineering 16% Information Technology 16% Elec and Computer Engr 16% Civil Engineering 15% Planning 13% Human Resource Manager 12% Ind and Mfg Engineering 10% Environmental Engineering 6% Top 10

16. Who are EER members Professional Experience 10 yrs or less 22% 11 - 20 yrs 28% More than 20 yrs 50% Graduated from OR University Yes 40% No 60% Degrees Earned Associate’s 8% Bachelor’s 84% Master’s 46% Doctoral 10%

17. Engineering Education Roundtable Workplace Readiness Survey Results April 1, 2002