UW-Madison launches collection of post-graduation plans

What are your plans after graduation?

No doubt, the approximately 1,500 University of Wisconsin–Madison undergraduates walking in commencement ceremonies on Sunday, Dec. 21, have already been asked and answered this question many times.

But for the first time, the university is also about to begin asking graduating students about their future plans. A brief electronic questionnaire will ask about jobs, employers, salaries and fields of future graduate or professional study.

The confidential responses will play an important role in telling prospective students and the citizens of Wisconsin more about the contributions graduates make after obtaining a UW–Madison degree. The information will also be used to improve the university’s academic programs.

“Like any large organization, it’s important for us to have this information, so we have a better idea how we’ve served our students,” says Jocelyn Milner, director of the Office of Academic Planning and Analysis and leader of the pilot program. “All graduating seniors will be asked to updates us on their plans in order to help other students and the university as a whole.”

Currently, the university has no centralized method to gather information on immediate post-graduation plans of new graduates.

Graduating students will be invited to provide information in an e-mail message with a link to the brief questionnaire. The questionnaire will be posted at a Web site that will require the student to use their NetID and password to log in.

In addition, the questionnaire can be accessed through the My UW Portal where eligible students will see a module inviting them to participate.

All records are collected under the same confidentiality and privacy rules that govern student records. The collection site will be live until the beginning of the spring semester.

Among the questions asked are:

• What is most likely to be your principal activity upon graduation?
• Which of the following best describes your employment plans at this time?
• Which occupation category best describes the position you have accepted or are seeking?
• Is there anything else you’d like to tell us about your future plans?

Students can use drag-down boxes to answer and will also be asked for a contact e-mail address for the future.

Aggregated results will be available next year and can be accessed by current students as well as faculty, staff and administrators who will use it to describe and improve the educational experience. These reports will also be available to the public.

“This information may be especially useful to prospective and enrolled students who are considering a range of possible majors,” says Robert Ray, associate dean in the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences. “For example, the information may be used to demonstrate that certain majors are a gateway to a range of first-job possibilities. Or this information may be useful to illustrate that students in many majors find work in a particular employment sector.

“By giving students a better sense of the range of occupation or grad and professional schooling options associated with different educational paths, it may help them make better decisions,” he adds. “Both academic and career advisers may find this information useful as they work with students.” Ray chaired a planning committee for this project.

In addition to being useful for the university, the 2008 Higher Education Act (HEA) mandates that universities make post-graduation plans of recent graduates publicly available.

The university has also voluntarily engaged in projects that make the commitment to the collection of and reporting of this information.

In 2007, UW System administration and the UW chancellors agreed to participate in the Voluntary System of Accountability, which requires that information on post-graduation plans be shared publicly.

If a graduate attempts to take the survey and encounter problems with the link or the login, contact the DoIT Help Desk, 608-264-4357, help@doit.wisc.edu.

For questions about the collection or use of this information, contact the project director at plans@provost.wisc.edu