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Last summer, the Office of Institutional Research, Planning & Assessment (IRPA) – which supports University leadership by providing information and services that enhance decision-making and strategic planning to advance BC’s mission – conducted an online survey of Morrissey College of Arts and Sciences graduates from the Classes of 2003 through 2012. This survey was commissioned by then-Dean of the College and Graduate School of Arts and Sciences David Quigley, now University Provost and Dean of Faculties, and conducted in collaboration with the Office of University Advancement and Office of Marketing Communications Executive Director and Special Assistant to the President Ben Birnbaum.
The survey was undertaken to gather feedback from young MCA&S alumni about the impact of their Arts and Sciences’ education, particularly in the areas of personal and professional growth. The response rate was 33 percent and IRPA conducted analyses to ensure that the respondents were representative of the larger young alumni population.
“I’m pleased and encouraged by the results of the survey, which provide strong support for the value of a liberal arts education,” said MCA&S Interim Dean Gregory Kalscheur, SJ. “A principal purpose of the survey was to understand more clearly how our graduates have experienced their Boston College education preparing them for work and for life. I am most grateful to the 2,000 alumni who took the time to respond to the survey and to offer their thoughtful comments and suggestions.
“It is clear that our graduates value the ways in which their BC education developed their ability to think critically and communicate effectively. These are important skills in today’s world.
“Our alumni have also given us constructive feedback on ways in which we can improve, such as strengthening the link between the academic environment and the skills needed to pursue a career post-graduation,” he noted. “I’ve shared this feedback with our MCA&S department chairs and directors of undergraduate studies, and it has led to good conversations about what we might do to help our students better understand and articulate the ways in which their BC liberal arts education provides a strong foundation for the creativity, imagination, and breadth of intellectual engagement that employers value in today’s rapidly changing world.”
IRPA Institutional Research Director Jess Greene, who did the survey development and analysis, discussed the findings with Rosanne Pellegrini of the Chronicle.
Q: Why is this survey of particular interest, and importance, to the University?
GREENE: Liberal arts institutions have received quite a bit of criticism in the media lately because there is such an emphasis on job placement and careers. Many outside of higher education have a difficult time seeing the connection between the cost of a liberal arts degree and a successful career. In this survey, we wanted to hear the voices of our young alumni to better understand how they were navigating the world beyond BC, and how the experiences while they were enrolled at BC helped prepare them for their careers and personal lives. Through the survey, we received an overwhelming endorsement of the BC educational experience from our young alumni. Many wrote pages of heartfelt comments about the importance of what they had learned, academically, socially and spiritually, during their time here.
Q: Give us an overview of the fields represented by respondents, and what this range of professions says about the versatility of a BC liberal arts degree.
GREENE: Our MCA&S alumni are working in a variety of fields and attending a wide range of graduate schools. We have communication majors who are practicing law, history majors who are working in finance, sociology majors pursuing careers in market research, and math and philosophy majors in the process of earning their medical degrees, for example. When asked what they especially value about their undergraduate MCA&S experience, over 1,000 alumni offered comments on the themes of enhanced critical thinking and communication skills, the formation of key relationships and a deeply sincere appreciation of how their liberal arts education exposed them to a broad world view.
One respondent wrote: “My undergraduate experience enabled me to explore several interdisciplinary connections, strengthen my oral and written communication skills, think in very critical and reflective ways, and have the ability to adapt to a range of professional settings and experiences. The ability to be agile in professional, workplace settings, as well as life, is a large reflection of becoming immersed in a rich liberal arts education.”
Q: What do these findings say about the value of the liberal arts educational experience offered by the University?
GREENE: The survey’s results are an overwhelming endorsement by important constituents – those alumni who recently acquired a MCA&S Boston College degree and are navigating careers or graduate school shortly after their time with us. It was extremely encouraging to hear the voices of these alumni wholeheartedly supporting their BC education from a holistic standpoint, and stating clearly how it had affected them on many dimensions.
Q: What were some of the themes of those responses?
GREENE: The dominant response was gratitude for the richness of the BC experience, not only in the acquisition of the skills cited earlier, but for learning about the importance of service and how to live a good life. One quote that was particularly compelling yet also representative of many: “My liberal arts degree gave me a larger perspective to care for the world around me and the people in it; most importantly, it gave me the skills to use my knowledge for the benefit of others.”
Q: This response underscores the mission of Boston College. Are there plans for your office to undertake surveys among young alumni of other BC undergraduate schools?
GREENE: We would love to administer versions of this survey with the other undergraduate schools because all of our students take the core curriculum and have important formational experiences while they are enrolled at BC. Arts and Sciences was the initial focus in that the other schools often have more direct paths to careers after college while MCA&S is more varied. We wanted to better understand how our MCA&S students were using the skills and knowledge they acquired through their liberal arts degrees.
Q: In what ways will the results of this survey assist faculty and administrators with efforts to enhance the programs and services offered by MCA&S to undergraduate students?
GREENE: Our alumni asked for a greater and earlier connection between the strong skills they were developing in their liberal arts classes, and how these could be translated to various career paths. Many of them made this connection after graduation but stated that it would have been helpful to articulate this earlier to prepare them for the job search. They suggested a stronger link between the skills developed in our liberal arts education to some practical skills and early mentorship.
Although the survey respondents expressed the desire for Arts and Sciences to balance a commitment to liberal arts with career planning, they stressed that it should not be at the expense of an authentic liberal arts education, grounded in a broad world view and “cura personalis” perspective.