Majority of Ball State alumni satisfied after college, survey shows

More than 80 percent of graduates from 13 Indiana public and private colleges say their education was worth the cost, according to the results of the first Gallup-Indiana Graduate Satisfaction Survey released by the Indiana Commission for Higher Education.

The survey reached out to more than 22,000 college graduates from Indiana colleges that volunteered to participate in the survey, which gave a statewide look at alumni satisfaction.

Ball State University was one of the schools to participate in the survey.

Results from 4,216 Ball State surveyed alumni who received their undergraduate degrees between 1970 and 2014 found that the majority — around 94 percent — are satisfied with their personal lives after college.

The survey also found 84 percent of Ball State alumni strongly agreed or agreed that their education was worth the cost, 81 percent strongly agreed or agreed that their job gives them work to do that interests them and 75 percent said they were extremely satisfied or satisfied with their organization as a place to work.

Kay Bales, Ball State’s vice president for student affairs and enrollment services, said she thought the results from Ball State alumni directly reflect the quality of programs and opportunities offered at Ball State.

“I believe Ball State offers a great value to our students. The fact that 93 percent of our graduates are employed or in graduate school within six months of graduating is a positive indication of the high-quality education students receive,” Bales said. “Our academic programs and student engagement opportunities offers students a world-class education and excellent experiences.”

Stephanie Wilson of the Indiana Commission for Higher Education said Ball State was impressive among the other universities.

“Ball State University showed great leadership by being among the first colleges in the state to sign on to participate in the first Gallup-Indiana survey,” Wilson said. “They understand the value of gathering data directly from graduates about their experience in terms of highlighting the positive experience they already provide as well as identifying areas for improvement in the years ahead.”

Major Indiana colleges and universities that did not participate will be negatively affected, she said.

“Colleges that did not participate in the Gallup-Indiana Survey will have incomplete data for their scorecards on all areas that include qualitative input,” Wilson said. “Without this data on alumni satisfaction, the index will leave out the more intrinsic benefits of higher education, providing only quantitative data, such as degree completion rates and earnings after graduation.”

In general, Ball State’s results are in line with other colleges regarding “worth the cost” and “interesting work,” she said. 

While most alumni believe their higher education was worth the cost, that doesn’t always translate into work that interests them. Wilson said the survey does not reflect everything.

“What is not yet reflected in the Gallup-Indiana Survey results is the work that many colleges — including Ball State — have done in recent years to provide students more work-based experiences and career support,” Wilson said. “This is because the average age of the survey respondents is high — about 50 years old for Ball State." 

She said the ICHE is working now to take a closer look at how more recent college graduates responded to the questions — particularly those about college support, internships and work satisfaction.

Though Ball State scored well and was impressive, Wilson said it and the other Indiana universities aren't necessarily the best they could be.

“There is room for improvement at all our colleges — most notably, ... making sure college students have the kinds of experiences that prepare them for life after graduation,” Wilson said. “In recent years Indiana’s colleges have implemented policies and programs designed to give students more of the support and career-focused experiences they need to be successful in college and afterward. We believe the alumni-feedback provided by the Gallup-Indiana Survey provides valuable insights our colleges will use to drive even greater improvements.”

The Gallup-Indiana Survey results will be an important part of the Indiana College Value Index released this fall, according to the Indiana Commission for Higher Education. The index is a first-in-the-nation, comprehensive measure of higher education value that brings together ICHE’s existing data on college readiness, college completion, student debt, employment, average earnings and this qualitative data on graduate satisfaction.

“The commission’s goal is to get these results, and the Indiana College Value Index coming this fall, into the hands of families and students to help them make more informed decisions about where to attend college and what to study,” Wilson said.

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