y2000surveyresult

Biosystems & Agricultural Engineering

2000 Alumni Survey

The 2000 OSU Alumni Survey targeted baccalaureate alumni who graduated between spring 1998 and summer 1999. The survey instrument consisted of 16 ‘Common Questions’ that were developed by the OSU Assessment Council and given to all OSU alumni who participated in the survey. In addition, Biosystems & Agricultural Engineering alumni were asked questions that were developed by Biosystems & Agricultural Engineering faculty. The survey was conducted as a telephone interview and was administered by the OSU Bureau for Social Research in January 2000. The following is a summary of the responses of Biosystems & Agricultural Engineering alumni. Survey methods and overall results for OSU are described in detail in the main part of this report.

Response Rates

Number of alumni in the initial sample¹:	16
Number of alumni who were ‘unreachable’²:	1
Number of completed surveys:	14
Response Rate (%)³:	87.5
Adjusted Response Rate (%)⁴:	93.3

¹Baccalaureate alumni who graduated between spring 1998 and summer 1999

²Alumni who could not be contacted because a valid phone number could not be determined

³Number of completed surveys / number of alumni in the initial sample

⁴Number of completed surveys / number of ‘reachable’ alumni

Common Questions

Q1. Are you currently employed or enrolled in a graduate or professional school

program?

	Biosystems & Ag Eng Alumni		All CASNR Alumni		All OSU Alumni
	n	%	n	%	n	%
Employed	5	35.7	210	61.4	1053	66.5
Grad./Prof. School	5	35.7	79	23.1	277	17.5
Empl. & Grad. School	4	28.6	28	8.2	148	9.3
Neither	0	0	25	7.3	106	6.7

Q2. Are you employed full-time or part-time?

	Biosystems & Ag Eng Alumni		All CASNR Alumni		All OSU Alumni
	n	%	n	%	n	%
Full-time	6	66.7	216	90.8	1112	92.7
Part-time	3	33.3	22	9.2	88	7.3

Q3a. Which of the following best describes your employer?

	Biosystems & Ag Eng Alumni		All CASNR Alumni		All OSU Alumni
	n	%	n	%	n	%
Large corporation	0	0	73	30.7	490	40.8
Small corporation	4	44.4	45	18.9	212	17.7
Small business	0	0	42	17.6	152	12.7
Federal government	1	11.1	9	3.8	40	3.3
State government	1	11.1	9	3.8	46	3.8
Local government	0	0	4	1.7	27	2.2
Nonprofit organization	0	0	8	3.4	54	4.5
Educational	3	33.3	28	11.8	137	11.4
Self-employed	0	0	20	8.4	43	3.6

Q3b, Q3c. What is the name of your employer? What is your position title?

*This was an open-ended question. Responses are given in the alumnus’ own words.

Name of Employer	Position Title

Bureau Of Indian Affairs	Civil Engineer
Charles Machine Works	Design Engineer.
Day-Pro Rubber	Lab Assistant
Mazzio's Pizza	Customer Service Representative
Mfg Inc.	Staff 2, Agricultural Engineer
Oklahoma Department Of Agriculture	Environmental Consultant
Oklahoma State University	Grad Assistant
OSU - Biosystems and Ag Engineering Department	Research Engineer
University Of Kentucky	Research Assistant
Bureau Of Indian Affairs	Civil Engineer

Q4. How closely is your current position related to your major?

	Biosystems & Ag Eng Alumni		All CASNR Alumni		All OSU Alumni
	n	%	n	%	n	%
Highly related	3	33.3	126	52.9	620	51.7
Moderately related	4	44.4	50	21.0	273	22.8
Slightly related	1	11.1	22	9.2	144	12.0
Not at all related	1	11.1	40	16.8	163	13.6

Q5. What is your approximate annual salary range?

	Biosystems & Ag Eng Alumni		All CASNR Alumni		All OSU Alumni
	n	%	n	%	n	%
<$15k	3	33.3	31	13.0	119	9.9
$16-25	1	11.1	62	26.1	302	25.2
$26-35	1	11.1	95	39.9	400	33.3
$36-45	4	44.4	29	12.2	254	21.2
>$45k	0	0	15	6.3	106	8.8
Refuse	0	0	6	2.5	19	1.6

Q6. In general, how well did your undergraduate studies prepare you for your current position?

	Biosystems & Ag Eng Alumni		All CASNR Alumni		All OSU Alumni
	n	%	n	%	n	%
Very well	5	62.5	87	43.9	431	41.56
Adequately	3	37.5	104	52.5	536	51.69
Not very well	0	0	6	3.0	56	5.40
Not at all	0	0	1	0.5	14	1.35

*does not include alumni who stated their current position was "not at all related" to their major

Q7a. If you are enrolled in graduate or professional school, what degree are you pursuing?

	Biosystems & Ag Eng Alumni		All CASNR Alumni		All OSU Alumni
	n	%	n	%	n	%
Masters	8	88.9	66	61.7	282	66.4
Doctoral	0	0	7	6.5	21	4.9
Medical (MD, DDS)	0	0	5	4.7	31	7.3
Law	0	0	6	5.6	36	8.5
Business	0	0	0	0	16	3.8
Vet School	0	0	17	15.9	18	4.2
Other*	1	11.1	6	5.6	21	4.9

*The Biosystems & Ag Eng alumnus who listed ‘other’ was working on a teaching certificate

Q7b. What is the name of your graduate or professional school?

*This was an open-ended question. Responses are given in the alumnus’ own words.

Name of Graduate / Professional School	n
Oklahoma State University	6
Iowa State University	1
Northeastern Oklahoma State University	1
University Of Kentucky	1

Q8. In general, how well did your undergraduate studies prepare you for your graduate

school or professional school program?

	Biosystems & Ag Eng Alumni		All CASNR Alumni		All OSU Alumni
	n	%	n	%	n	%
Very well	8	88.9	55	51.4	231	54.4
Adequately	1	11.1	47	43.9	170	40.0
Not very well	0	0	3	2.8	16	3.8
Not at all	0	0	2	1.9	8	1.9

Q9. How satisfied are you with your overall educational experience at OSU?

	Biosystems & Ag Eng Alumni		All CASNR Alumni		All OSU Alumni
	n	%	n	%	n	%
Very satisfied	11	78.6	252	73.7	1111	70.1
Somewhat satisfied	3	21.4	85	24.9	439	27.7
Somewhat dissatisfied	0	0	4	1.2	31	2.0
Not satisfied at all	0	0	1	0.3	3	0.2

Q10. How satisfied are you with the quality of instruction you received in your major field of study?

	Biosystems & Ag Eng Alumni		All CASNR Alumni		All OSU Alumni
	n	%	n	%	n	%
Very satisfied	11	78.6	240	70.2	953	60.2
Somewhat satisfied	3	21.4	94	27.5	556	35.1
Somewhat dissatisfied	0	0	8	2.3	66	4.2
Not satisfied at all	0	0	0	0	9	0.6

Q11. How well do you think your OSU education prepared you in your ability to use a computer?

	Biosystems & Ag Eng Alumni		All CASNR Alumni		All OSU Alumni
	n	%	n	%	n	%
Very well	13	92.9	149	43.6	694	43.8
Adequately	1	7.1	166	48.5	702	44.3
Not very well	0	0	22	6.4	143	9.0
Not at all	0	0	5	1.5	44	2.8

Q12. How well do you think your OSU education prepared you in your ability to write effectively?

	Biosystems & Ag Eng Alumni		All CASNR Alumni		All OSU Alumni
	n	%	n	%	n	%
Very well	7	50.0	178	52.0	894	56.4
Adequately	7	50.0	151	44.2	630	39.8
Not very well	0	0	10	2.9	37	2.3
Not at all	0	0	3	0.9	23	1.5

Q13. How well do you think your OSU education prepared you in your ability to identifyand analyze problems?

	Biosystems & Ag Eng Alumni		All CASNR Alumni		All OSU Alumni
	n	%	n	%	n	%
Very well	10	71.4	214	62.6	1040	65.7
Adequately	4	28.6	123	36.0	513	32.4
Not very well	0	0	4	1.2	26	1.6
Not at all	0	0	1	0.3	5	0.3

Q14. To what extent did your OSU education contribute to your understanding of diverse cultures?

	Biosystems & Ag Eng Alumni		All CASNR Alumni		All OSU Alumni
	n	%	n	%	n	%
Very much	3	21.4	81	23.7	554	35.0
Somewhat	9	64.3	202	59.1	800	50.5
Very little	1	7.1	47	13.7	192	12.1
Not at all	1	7.1	12	3.5	38	2.4

Q15. To what extent did your OSU education contribute to your understanding of current social and political issues?

	Biosystems & Ag Eng Alumni		All CASNR Alumni		All OSU Alumni
	n	%	n	%	n	%
Very much	3	21.4	93	27.2	370	23.4
Somewhat	9	64.3	195	57.0	944	59.6
Very little	2	14.3	45	13.2	208	13.1
Not at all	0	0	9	2.6	62	3.9

Q16. To what extent did your OSU education contribute to your understanding of responsible citizenship?

	Biosystems & Ag Eng Alumni		All CASNR Alumni		All OSU Alumni
	n	%	n	%	n	%
Very much	3	21.4	139	40.6	583	36.8
Somewhat	8	57.1	159	46.5	778	49.1
Very little	2	14.3	36	10.5	158	10.0
Not at all	1	7.1	8	2.3	65	4.1

Biosystems & Agricultural Engineering Questions

BAE1. Which of the following best describes the field you are currently employed in?

	n	%
Agricultural or biosystems engineering	6	50.0
Other engineering discipline	4	33.3
Other non-engineering discipline	2	16.7

How well prepared do you think your OSU education prepared you in each of the

following areas? Would you say you were prepared…

BAE2. To apply mathematical, physical, and engineering principles to understand, analyze,

and effect solutions to problems.

	n	%
Very well	11	78.6
Adequately	3	21.4
Not very well	0	0
Not at all	0	0

BAE3. To use modern engineering tools.

	n	%
Very well	9	64.3
Adequately	3	21.4
Not very well	2	14.3
Not at all	0	0

BAE4. To work independently.

	n	%
Very well	10	71.4
Adequately	3	21.4
Not very well	1	7.1
Not at all	0	0

BAE5. To work effectively in teams.

	n	%
Very well	11	78.6
Adequately	3	21.4
Not very well	0	0
Not at all	0	0

BAE6. To understand professional and ethical responsibilities.

	n	%
Very well	10	71.4
Adequately	4	28.6
Not very well	0	0
Not at all	0	0

BAE7. To be prepared for lifelong continuing education.

	n	%
Very well	8	57.1
Adequately	6	42.9
Not very well	0	0
Not at all	0	0

BAE8. To understand the social, environmental, safety, and economic consequences of your work in a global context.

	n	%
Very well	6	42.9
Adequately	6	42.9
Not very well	2	14.3
Not at all	0	0

BAE9. To understand the business consequences of your work.

	n	%
Very well	5	35.7
Adequately	7	50.0
Not very well	2	14.3
Not at all	0	0

BAE10. To understand the importance of uncertainty and risk in engineering analyses.

	n	%
Very well	10	71.4
Adequately	3	21.4
Not very well	1	7.1
Not at all	0	0

BAE11. To understand the necessary agricultural and/or biological sciences and/or natural resource topics related to your work.

	n	%
Very well	12	85.7
Adequately	2	14.3
Not very well	0	0
Not at all	0	0

BAE12. What would you say was the primary strength of the Biosystems Engineering program at OSU?

*This was an open-ended question. Responses are given in the alumnus’ own words.

The one on one interaction between professors and students, the small department size

Faculty student relationship

Student faculty relationships

The professors and a smaller size of classes and personal time with professors and the research is the best

Professors who are interested in developing well- equipped engineers and not simply passing on knowledge.

Preparation for working in teams, understanding cultural diversity, engineering knowledge

The number of students is quite small the professors can be approached easily.

Design topics and applications, basic analytic and math concepts, mentorship program, presentations of design concepts

The professors

Low student to teacher ration

Willingness of professors to help the students on homework, etc.

The professors

Hands on experience and interaction with the faculty

The small classes and individual attention that he received

BAE13. What would you say was the primary weakness of the Biosystems Engineering program at OSU?

*This was an open-ended question. Responses are given in the alumnus’ own words.

None / don't know / not applicable (n=3)

The higher ups had a tendency to choose favorites, which ran off a lot of needed students

Assistance in finding a job after graduation

They need to publish more of research finding and what we do

The inability of the dept to self-promote and to help undecided engineers see the promise that ag engineering represents.

Not enough classes in the biosystems engineering department b/c she had to take classes from other engineering departments

Don't really have a lot of minority students.

The visibility and the way they choose to recruit

Doesn't focus on a specific area (too broad)

Students finding a job after graduation

I think we need to know more real-life, hands on, what employers need, real life applications, especially having to do with permits, etc

Not enough choices in the undergrad or professional school courses.