Most of the respondents in the Alumni Survey were female (64%), white/European American (96%), lived in the Midwest (74%), had no advanced degree (Table 1), and the most commonly reported annual income was between $25,000 and $50,000 (Table 2).

Respondents were asked to identify in which community and service organizations they participated and/or served as leaders (Table 3). These items were taken from Bowen and Bok’s (1998) book The Shape of the River. The instrument is designed to gauge civic participation. The most frequently cited organizations in which Hope graduates reported participation were local churches (72%), service organizations such as Rotary or Junior Achievement (40%), and literary/art/cultural (30%). The least frequently cited were environmental/conservation activities (13%) and political clubs (12%). Nine in 10 Hope graduates participated in at least one civic or community organization (Table 4), and slightly more than half (52.8%) reported that they served as leaders in these organizations (Table 5).

Perceptions of Academic Program
In addition to the survey questions regarding civic participation, we also asked graduates to write open-ended comments regarding perceived strengths and weaknesses of the academic and co-curricular programs. The responses resulted in 70 pages of written feedback (which you are invited to read by coming to the Frost Center!). Responses to the strengths of the academic program indicated four common themes: 1) high quality courses (both major and core, although especially the major), 2) quality of teaching and relationships with professors, 3) library, and 4) off-campus and internship experiences. With respect to courses, students mentioned how well prepared their major made them for graduate school and also how well-rounded their core courses made them. Excluding reference to specific courses, graduates mentioned over 50 particular majors, programs, or off-campus locations/programs. With respect to professors, graduates spoke of excellent teaching and caring, nurturing relationships with faculty. Without prompting in the question, across all open ended responses in this section of the survey, graduates mentioned a total of 31 different faculty members by name. With respect to library resources, graduates mentioned the up-to-date resources, user-friendly search devices, and helpful staff. With respect to off-campus and internship experiences, graduates mentioned many programs and how helpful they were in preparing them for work or future study.

Perceptions of Co-Curricular Program
Responses to the strengths of the co-curricular program indicated four common (and related) themes: 1) clubs and organizations, 2) campus-sponsored activities, 3) residential life, and 4) chapel. Graduates mentioned various clubs and organizations, probably most frequently fraternities and sororities, but also non-Greek groups such as FCA and various student media. Graduates mentioned multiple campus-sponsored activities, including intramurals, intercollegiate athletics, and traditional Hope events. Graduates praised residential life for establishing life-long friendships among fellow dormitory residents and the variety of housing options available to students.

EMPLOYERS EVALUATE HOPE GRADUATES
We also conducted a survey of employers. For this evaluation, graduates from the 1999 – 2001 classes who received an Alumni Survey were asked to identify the name of their current employer in order that we may ask these employers to evaluate Hope College graduates. Of the 80 graduates who provided names of employers, 60 of those employers responded (75%). The purpose of the Employer Survey was to gather employer evaluations of Hope College graduates on the skills and dispositions that are central to a Hope College education. The criteria on which we asked the employers to evaluate graduates were taken from the goals of the General Education curriculum. Employers made these evaluations on a five-point scale: very strong, strong, average, weak, very weak.

Employers evaluated Hope graduates the highest on moral discernment and responsibility, intellectual courage and honesty, and ability to work in groups (Table 6). The percentage of employers indicating that Hope graduates were either very strong or strong was 93% for moral discernment and responsibility and for intellectual courage and honesty, and 86% for ability to work in groups. Employers evaluated Hope graduates the lowest on mathematical thinking and leadership. (Interestingly, mathematical thinking is a skill that Hope graduates have also self-reported as being a weakness in Senior Exit Surveys conducted by the Assessment Committee.) A total of 70% of employers rated Hope graduates as either very strong or strong on leadership and 60% of employers rated them as either very strong or strong on mathematical thinking. Thus, even on the criteria on which employers rated Hope graduates the lowest, our graduates were still rated by a majority of employers as being either strong or very strong.

When asked if the employer would be open to hiring other Hope graduates in the future based on what he or she knows about this particular graduate, 95% of the employers replied that they definitely would or probably would hire other Hope graduates (Table 7).

I believe that we know a lot about what our students do and know while they are at Hope. I think we know much less about what happens to our students when they leave. I believe that the approach taken in these two surveys provide a preliminary answer to the question of what our graduates think of the college and what people who have supervisory responsibility over our graduates think of the people we are sending out. I am hopeful that this first attempt at assessment beyond our walls will open up new and interesting avenues of evaluation of the quality of the Hope College experience. The Assessment Committee welcomes your input as we move forward in this line of research.