LECNA POLL: High School Student Awareness, Consideration and Perceptions of Higher Education

1
LECNA POLL High School Student Awareness,
Consideration and Perceptions of Higher Education

• Findings of the LECNA National High School
  Student Research
• January 2004/June 2004

2
Two Projects

• The following charts comprise findings related to
  two different research projects conducted for
  LECNA by HardwickDay
• Fall 2003 national quantitative study in which
  916 high school students participated in a
  20-minute telephone survey on various topics
  regarding the college consideration process.
  613 juniors and 303 sophomores were interviewed.
  An over sample of 200 Lutheran juniors were
  interviewed from lists obtained from ELCA and
  LCMS. The number of Lutheran students
  interviewed were proportionate to region of the
  country and Synod.
• June 2004 a qualitative study consisting of
  five focus groups, four of which were student
  only sessions and a fifth for which the
  participants were parents of college bound high
  school students. In each of the groups,
  participant recruitment was structured to include
  both Lutherans and persons of other, or no, faith.

3
Two Avenues for Implementation

• To inform and direct marketing activities of
  LECNA on behalf of the member colleges of the
  association
• To inform/direct recruitment and marketing
  activities at, and on behalf of, individual
  member institutions

4
Our agenda for today

• Topics recap
• Communication with individual students
• Communication with the larger market
• Financing
• Dissemination
• Complete report for quantitative study to be sent
  via email
• Already sent complete videotape series of
  qualitative series
• Todays objectives
• Highlight a selected number of findings from both
  to illustrate
• Inter-connectedness
• Utility
• Harness the brainpower of LECNA members for
  future projects

5
Students Expect to Participate in Many Activities
in College

• Students were asked to list extracurricular
  activities in which they plan to participate.
• Over half listed athletics, especially
  intercollegiate athletics.
• This percentage of intercollegiate participation
  is unrealistically high if they attend a public
  institution.
• Sophomore males are especially likely to think
  they will participate in intercollegiate sports
  by the junior year the males percentage drops
  somewhat to be similar to females.
• Academic clubs or band/orchestra appeal to a
  similar number, at about one in six.
• Just less than one in ten plan to be involved in
  choir, and this percentage is not different for
  Lutherans.
• Other activities not shown are mentioned by less
  than 5.
• Religious studies or youth ministry are mentioned
  by 2 of sophomores and 4 of juniors and
  Lutherans.

Q. 9 While at college, what are some of the
extracurricular activities in which you plan to
participate?
6
There is opportunity to influence the college
consideration and selection process among high
school sophomores and juniors.
7
At This Point, Most Students Have Not Made a
Definite College Decision

• Two in five sophomores do not have a clear idea
  of the type of college or university theyd like
  to attend.
• By the junior year, this has reduced to less than
  one in three.
• One in ten sophomores and one in seven juniors
  already know which college or university they
  want to attend.
• Of these, two-thirds of sophomores and half of
  juniors name a large public institution.
• One in five in each age group name a private
  college or university.
• The remainder mention two-year colleges or other
  unknown institutions.
• One junior already plans to go to a Lutheran
  college.
• Lutheran juniors respond similarly to the junior
  group as a whole on this question.

Q. 3 Which of the following best describes how
much thought youve already given to what college
or university you might attend? If students
havent given it any thought (6 of juniors), or
have decided not to attend college (2), they
were not included in the study.
8
From the focus groups

• Provide understanding of the use of filter/screen
  in college choice process
• All students were utilizing some sort of screen
  to ascertain which colleges they would or would
  not consider. Screeners appear to be based upon
  some sort of prior knowledge not fact and are
  open to shaping by word of mouth and innuendo
• Students employed a screen or filter as well when
  deciding what to share with parents
• Sharing with parents was usually done in an
  exceedingly informal way, utilizing casual forms
  of transmission. The preferred method was to
  leave brochures of interest in a location easily
  accessible to parents (kitchen counter).
• Campus visits were unanimously the selection tool
  of choice

9
From the focus groups

• Colleges must recognize that all campus visits,
  regardless of student age, reason for visiting,
  or sponsor of visit, contribute to individual
  perceptions of campuses and programs.

10
One in Three Students Has Attended Some Form of
Extended Learning Experience on a College Campus

• Students were asked if they ever attended a camp
  or other extended learning experience on a
  college campus.
• One in three students say they have attended such
  an experience.
• There are no differences by income or region of
  the country.
• Junior males (and Lutheran males) are less likely
  than females to have participated this was not
  the case for the sophomores.
• Students with higher GPAs, those with at least
  one parent who is a college graduate, and
  Caucasians are also more likely to have
  participated in an extended campus experience.
• Christians (other than Catholics or Lutherans)
  are more likely than students with no religious
  affiliation to have participated on a campus.

Q. 29 Have you ever attended a camp or other
extended learning experience on a college campus?
11
From the focus groups

• Students put great emphasis on the look of a
  campus not only for its beauty, but rating the
  quality of maintenance as well well-kept not
  run down were very important descriptors.

12
From the focus groups

• At all stages photographs are important. Must
  be in color, of the campus, casual and candid,
  not posed and not cute. Photos should be unique
  to the campus and not able to be used by any
  other college.

13
Ample evidence exists to justify, or even demand,
segmented communication streams to
sub-populations.
14
From the focus groups

• Early in the consideration process, students
  prefer materials which address the Jack Webb
  factor just the facts clearly stated with
  no hype or puffery.

15
Sophomores Are More Likely to Say Theyd Like a
Lot of Extracurricular Options

• Students were asked if they had to make a choice,
  which would they choose, having a lot of
  extracurricular options or a higher likelihood
  that theyd have a chance to participate.
• Sophomores are looking for lots of options, while
  juniors are fairly evenly split.
• Lutheran juniors are somewhat more likely to lean
  toward having a chance to participate.
• Other groups more interested in having a chance
  to participate include lower income juniors,
  Midwest residents, and those whose parents are
  college graduates.

Q. 8 If you had to make a choice, which is more
important to you ?
16
Sophomores and Juniors Agree on How They Would
Like Colleges to Help Them Grow As a Person

• Students were asked to rate the importance of
  different skills.
• Two in three rate the ability to think
  independently as very important--the highest
  of all skills rated.
• Acceptance of different people and improving
  self-confidence are also very important to a
  majority.
• Lutherans are less likely to place great
  importance on developing teamwork skills through
  participation in music or sports, or to have the
  ability to adapt to different settings.
• Developing spirituality and growing faith are
  very important to about three in ten overall,
  especially Lutherans.
• However, there is a very different pattern
  between the two items females are nearly twice
  as likely as males to find developing their own
  spirituality as important, but a roughly equal
  number of males and females wish to grow their
  faith through worship and service.

Q. 5 In addition to academics, some colleges also
strive to provide opportunities for you to grow
as a person. Please tell me how important each
of the following skills is to you. (Rating a 5
on a five-point scale, where 1not at all
important and 5 very important to you).
17
Junior Females Are Most Likely to Be Interested
in Good Faculty Advising
There are no gender differences among Lutherans

• Students were asked if they had to make a choice,
  which would they choose, having a lot of majors
  from which to choose, or good faculty advising to
  help them choose a major that is right for them
  from a smaller list of options.
• While sophomores are fairly evenly divided,
  juniors tend to lean toward good faculty
  advising.
• However, the good faculty advising is more
  important to junior females than males, by a wide
  margin.
• Interestingly, this gender difference did not
  appear among sophomores or Lutheran juniors.
• Good faculty advising is also more important to
  Lutheran juniors than having a lot of majors.
• Other groups more interested in good advising
  include lower income juniors and Southwestern
  residents.

Q. 8 If you had to make a choice, which is more
important to you ?
18
From the focus groups

• Understand parental level of interest and
  understandings of college consideration process
• Parents generally expressed interest in, support
  for, and concern about their childs college
  selection process
• Those with older children who had already
  negotiated the process were more well informed
• Parents were able to express some explicit
  criteria for college choice that they had shared
  with their children, but it appeared that
  additional criteria went unspoken. None of the
  parents in the group were receiving communication
  directly from colleges or universities

19
There Are Many Regional Differences in Expected
Participation in College Activities

• For juniors living in the West, sports are less
  important, and band, choir, dance and clubs are
  more important.
• For Midwestern juniors, only sports stand out as
  more important.
• Southwestern juniors are less likely to be
  interested in sports and list the fewest
  activities of all groups.
• Of all groups, Northeastern juniors are most
  interested in sports, and they are also more
  interested in drama or theater and community
  service.
• At 23, Southeastern juniors are twice as likely
  as other groups to be interested in academic
  clubs they are also more interested in community
  service.
• Students with higher GPAs are interested in
  slightly more activities.

20
RecapChanges Between Sophomore and Junior Year

• There is a significant increase in the percentage
  who have taken advanced placement and college
  courses from the sophomore to the junior year.
• Juniors are nearly twice as likely as sophomores
  to work. Among those who work, the hours are the
  same, about sixteen hours per week.
• There is a shift in thought about college with
  10 fewer juniors saying they have no clear idea
  yet of the type of college theyd like to attend.
  
• Sophomore males have unrealistically high
  expectations for participation in intercollegiate
  sports in college this drops by the junior year.
• Similarly, sophomores prefer many extracurricular
  options in college, while juniors begin to
  believe having a chance to participate is more
  important.
• By the junior year, females may begin to develop
  a preference for private colleges. They are
  significantly more likely than males to favor
  good faculty advising to lots of major options.
• Juniors are less likely to agree that small
  colleges provide substantial scholarships that
  make them affordable. Although junior males are
  lowest on this characteristic, it is not
  significant.
• When seeking college information, juniors have
  significantly more experience with
  college-initiated interactions and marketing, but
  the gap is much smaller when it comes to
  self-initiated interactions, indicating that
  sophomores are actively seeking available
  information
• From the sophomore to junior year there is a
  increase in the number of students who indicate
  they have talked to their parents about how to
  pay for college, and especially additional
  consideration of financial aid. It is during the
  junior year that the strategy of choosing a less
  expensive college emerges.
• Although the number remains low, twice as many
  juniors as sophomores have spending limits
  imposed by their parents and/or have eliminated
  colleges because of price.

21
RecapHow Lutherans Differ From the Total Junior
Sample

• Lutheran families are more highly-educated,
  church members, and Caucasian. Lutheran juniors
  are more likely to live in small towns or rural
  areas, attend smaller high schools and have
  higher GPAs.
• Lutherans are more likely to place importance on
  growing their faith through worship and service,
  and less likely to believe adapting to different
  settings and learning leadership skills through
  music or sports participation is very important.
• Lutherans are more likely to agree with small
  college attributes they are more interested in a
  chance to participate in extracurricular
  activities and good faculty advising than having
  a lot of options in extracurricular activities or
  majors.
• However, more than in the random population,
  there is a segment (especially higher-GPA
  Lutherans) who say an enrollment of under 4,000
  makes them LESS interested in a college.
• Lutherans are more likely to say a religious
  affiliation makes them more interested in a
  college (35 vs. 20 of the random population).
• Lutherans are more likely to consider a college
  because someone they know has attended that
  college especially friends, or
  boyfriend/girlfriend.
• Lutheran juniors are more likely to indicate
  private colleges have an emphasis on values and
  ethics and a higher likelihood of finishing in
  four years.
• Lutheran juniors are less inclined than the
  random population to say they will choose a less
  expensive option, then transfer.
• Lutheran juniors, as compared to any other
  religious group, indicate the highest level of
  student contribution to college costs.

22
RecapRegional Differences

• The largest demographic differences between
  regions are in ethnicity and income.
• For juniors living in the West, sports are less
  important, and band, choir, dance and clubs are
  more important. Acceptance of people who are
  different from them is a highly important skill.
  Western juniors place more importance on several
  characteristics, including faculty that get to
  know them, developing career skills, attending
  with involved students, an emphasis on values and
  ethics, and a campus where music has a presence.
  Western juniors are more likely to say state
  university funding was recently cut in their
  state they are highest of all regions to claim a
  negative impact of the cuts.
• For Midwestern juniors, only sports stand out as
  more important. Midwestern juniors are one group
  that is more likely to say a religious
  affiliation would make them more interested.
  They are somewhat more likely than other regions
  to indicate a public university as best in the
  state. Midwestern juniors are most likely to
  agree there has been large tuition hikes in their
  state.
• Southwestern juniors are less likely to be
  interested in sports and list the fewest
  activities of all groups, however, they are far
  more likely than other groups to be interested in
  growing their faith through worship and service,
  and to say a religious affiliation would make
  them more interested in a college. Southwestern
  juniors are least likely to agree living on
  campus enriches the college experience, but are
  most likely to agree that small colleges provide
  substantial scholarships to make them affordable.
  Southwestern juniors differ from other regions by
  often attributing the private college
  characteristics--faculty that get to know them,
  courses taught by actual professors, and an
  emphasis on values and ethics--to public
  universities. Southwest residents are more
  likely to have spending limits imposed on them.

23
RecapRegional Differences (Continued)

• Of all groups, Northeastern juniors are most
  interested in sports, and they are also more
  interested in drama or theater and community
  service. They are least interested in developing
  their spirituality or growing their faith through
  worship and service. Northeastern juniors are
  more likely to say that a private school, one
  located in another state, or a state school would
  make no difference in their consideration.
  Accordingly, they are lower than most other
  regions in saying these attributes would make
  them more interested in a college. They are the
  only region to mention a private college or
  university more often than a public as best in
  their state. They are least likely to agree
  large universities can be overwhelming, are less
  likely to believe it is important to attend with
  students who are motivated, and are more likely
  to say there is no difference between private
  colleges and public universities on most
  attributes measured. Northeast residents are more
  likely to have spending limits imposed on them.
• Southeastern juniors are twice as likely as other
  groups to be interested in academic clubs they
  are also more interested in community service.
  They place greater importance on a program with a
  good placement record for jobs and grad school.
  Southeastern juniors are more likely to say state
  university funding was recently cut in their
  state.

24
Word-of-mouth, often generated by basic public
opinion, is critically important.
25
Many Students Rely on Others Experience for
College Advice

• Students were asked if they are considering any
  colleges because someone they know attended or is
  planning to attend that college.
• Over two in five sophomores and random juniors,
  and half of Lutheran juniors are considering a
  college because someone they know attended that
  college.
• This is significantly lower among students whose
  parents did not graduate from college (32).
• This is more prevalent for all religious groups
  monitored, and significantly less for those with
  no religious affiliation (31).
• However, influencers are primarily family members
  and friends, and rarely specifically people from
  church (detail on next slide).
• Another one-quarter of students are considering a
  college because someone they know is planning to
  attend that college.
• This is especially true for lower income
  sophomores (36), but not juniors, where there is
  no difference by income.

Q. 30 Are you considering any colleges because
someone you know ?
26
Friends and Relatives Lead the List of People Who
Will Have Some Influence Because they Attended or
Will Attend a College

• Students who are considering colleges because
  someone they know attended or is planning to
  attend that college were asked to name that
  person.
• Friends, including boyfriends and girlfriends,
  top the list.
• Family members follow, including siblings,
  parents, and other relatives (primarily cousins
  and aunts or uncles).
• Family friends receive some mentions (2-3).
• Very few students mention a high school teacher.
• Less than 1 of any group mention a youth group
  leader or someone else from church.
• Friends from church could be included among
  friends or friends of the family, however.

Q. 31 And, who is that person? (based to total)
27
From the focus groups

• All of the students, regardless of the college
  search stage they self-identified, were evidently
  reacting not only to specific recruitment
  materials from colleges, but also to impressions
  and attitudes garnered from other, earlier,
  experiences.

28
Self-Initiated Interactions Indicate that
Sophomores Are Hungry for College Information

• Students were read a list of information sources
  and asked which ones they had used so far to
  gather information about colleges.
• The gap in usage between sophomores and juniors
  is much smaller on those items that are either
  self-initiated or open to everyone.
• About three in five students have talked to
  someone high school counselors (23), friends
  (19), parents (16), and teachers (8) lead the
  list.
• More than two in five juniors have visited a
  college campus and one in three rely on college
  rankings.
• Church is a prominent source for Lutheran juniors
  (39). Comparatively few juniors of other
  religions noted this source Catholics (10),
  other Christians (27).
• However, only 3 Lutheran juniors (1) voluntarily
  mention speaking to a pastor, and 1 spoke to a
  youth group leader about college.

Q.19A Please tell me what communication sources
you have used so far to gather information about
colleges. Have you used
29
Most Useful Sources for College Information?
Word-of-Mouth and College Marketing Materials
Top the List

• Students were asked which one of the information
  sources they had used so far they found to be
  most useful.
• The most common response for all groups is
  talking to someone high school counselors (6),
  friends (4), and current students at a college
  (3) lead the list.
• 1 of Lutheran juniors mention talking to a youth
  group leader as most useful.
• The importance of college-generated marketing
  materials is seen in the next two items college
  websites and brochures/ viewbooks.
• High school visits and college fairs are also
  high on juniors list of useful sources, followed
  by general websites, campus visits and letters
  from colleges.
• All other sources are mentioned by less than 3
  of juniors. Only 1-3 of students say none of
  the sources has been useful.

Q.20 Which one of the sources youve used so far
did you find most useful?
30
Students expect timely responses.
31
Most Students Expect an Answer to an Email Query
in One Week or Less

• Students were asked how quickly they would expect
  an answer to an email question.
• Nearly half of juniors and 40 of sophomores
  expect a reply in less than one week.
• Nearly one in five juniors expects a response
  within one day.
• Another one-quarter of students expect a reply in
  one week, for a total of two-thirds of sophomores
  and three-fourths of juniors who expect a reply
  in one week or less.

Q. 27 If you asked a college a question
electronically, how quickly would you expect a
response?
32
Personal contact is effective and welcomed.
33
Sophomores and Juniors Have Similar Preferences
for College Communication Methods

• Students were asked which of four different
  methods of communication with prospective
  students they most prefer.
• Sophomores and juniors have remarkably similar
  responses.
• Mail from the admissions office is the most
  popular method, especially among those with
  higher GPAs.
• One in four prefer calls from admissions
  counselors and emails from different entities at
  a college.
• Students whose parents did not graduate from
  college are more likely to prefer calls from
  admissions counselors over other methods.
• Fewer students prefer calls from current college
  students.

Q.28 Im going to read you four methods colleges
use to communicate with prospective students.
Think about how you prefer to be contacted.
Which of these do you most prefer?
34
From the focus groups

• Personal communication is preferred BUT
• Must be error free (name correct, no
  misspellings, etc.)
• Must genuinely address areas in which student has
  an interest
• If electronic sender must be a recognized name
  or institution
• Subject line descriptive, accurate and not cute
• Email is preferred for short communication only
• Not one student had forwarded an email from a
  college to a parent
• Strongly negative reactions to communication
  streams that just kept coming

35
Pricing and financing issues are swamps of
misinformation.
36
From the focus groups

• Develop greater understanding of parents
  financial considerations and picture of ideal
  college financing process/system
• Parents were aware of the existence of financial
  aid and financial planning for college, generally
  unaware of how to access that information.
• Even those who were aware of the pathways for
  accessing financial information had not done so.
• Most had no financial plan for the cost of
  college but yet appear to have devised a
  strategy (we pay two thirds, student pays
  one-third we pay direct costs, student to pay
  personal expenses)
• Parents expressed high level of frustration with
  their inability to truly understand college costs
  prior to the admit/enroll decision in the spring
  of the students senior year

37
The Majority of Students Have Multiple Strategies
to Help Pay for College

• Students were read a list of strategies they
  might use to pay for college. On average,
  students will use five or six of the eleven
  choices given.
• The vast majority plan to use work earnings, both
  from college and high school.
• More than two of three will use students and
  parents savings.
• Families where both parents are college graduates
  are more likely to have parental savings.
• Juniors are more likely to mention applying for
  financial aid, indicating they perhaps have a
  more evolved plan.
• This is especially true of lower-income students,
  rising from 64 of sophomores to 83 of juniors
  who say they will apply.
• Three in five hope to use college classes taken
  in high school to reduce some college
  requirements.

Q.36 Have you already, or will you do any of the
following to pay for college?
38
A Minority of Students Have Discussed How They
Will Pay for College with Their Parents

• Students were asked if they had talked
  specifically to their parents about how they will
  pay for college.
• Two in five juniors have talked to their parents
  specifically about how they will pay for college.
• This is especially true of juniors with higher
  GPAs (44 vs. 34 of lower GPAs).
• There are no differences between sophomores and
  juniors on this question.
• Few (7 of juniors) say their parents have set a
  spending limit.
• There is a marked increase since the sophomore
  year in limit-setting, from 3 to 7.
• Among juniors, Southwest and Northeast residents
  are most likely to have spending limits imposed.

Q. 35 Have you and your parents talked
specifically about how you will pay for
college? Q. 40 Have your parents set a limit on
how much theyll pay?
39
Although Tuition Will Impact the College Choice
Set for Half, Fewer Juniors Have Already
Eliminated Colleges on Price

• Students were asked if the total tuition will
  have any impact on the set of colleges to which
  they choose to apply, and if they have already
  eliminated any colleges because of price.
• Half of juniors indicate that the total published
  tuition will impact their college application
  choices.
• This is somewhat (but not significantly) higher
  than sophomores (43).
• Interestingly, juniors who have had an extended
  campus learning experience are more likely to
  indicate the tuition will NOT have an impact
  (57) on their decision.
• One in five juniors (and 12 of sophomores) say
  they have already eliminated colleges because of
  the tuition price.

Q. 41 As you consider colleges, will the total
tuition as stated by the college in their
materials--that is, their published price, have
any impact in determining the colleges to which
you apply? Q. 42 Have you eliminated any colleges
primarily because of price?
40
The Majority of Students Expect to Pay at Least
Half of their College Costs Themselves

• Students were asked how much of their college
  costs they expect will be paid by their parents.
  There are no differences by age group.
• Nearly half (46) of juniors say their parents
  will pay all or most of their college costs.
  
• One in ten say all, and this percentage is
  higher among the higher income group (13 vs. 4
  of the lower-income group).
• One in four juniors expects to split the costs
  equally with their parents.
• Another one in four juniors expects their parents
  to pay some, but less than half of their
  expenses.
• One in twenty expects their parents to pay
  nothing at all.
• At 8, junior males are twice as likely as
  females (3) to fall in this group.
• Among lower-income juniors, 43 expect to pay all
  or most of their college expenses without their
  parents help (parents will pay some or none),
  compared to 21 of higher-income juniors.

Q.37 How much of your college costs do you think
will be paid by your parents?
41
Opportunity exists to trade upon the value
perceived in the characteristics of LECNA member
collegesbut
42
The Vast Majority Agree with Statements
Positively Showcasing Small, Private Colleges

• Students were asked if they agreed or disagreed
  with these statements.
• The groups are similar in their agreement that
  living on campus enriches the college experience,
  it is easy to make friends at a small college and
  large universities can be overwhelming.
• Sophomores and Lutheran juniors seem more
  optimistic about the availability of scholarships
  and affordability of private colleges.
• Although large universities are less likely than
  small colleges to be thought of as places where
  it is easy to make friends, students tend to
  agree large universities provide more
  opportunities to participate outside of class.
• Males are especially skewed toward large
  universities in terms of opportunities outside of
  class.

Q. 7 Please tell me if you agree or disagree with
the following statements about colleges or
universities.
43
From the focus groups

• Provide understanding of role of implicit or
  explicit parental parameters/guidelines in
  college choice process
• Students shared general explicit parameters
  expressed by their parents, most of which related
  to distance from home
• More involved discussion later in the groups
  revealed the existence of other, often covert,
  parameters established by parents (usually
  assumptions about either family finances,
  religious preference or location)

44
Several Characteristics Juniors Rate as Very
Important In College Consideration Are Done Best
by Private Colleges

• Students were read a list of characteristics and
  asked to rate their importance in their
  consideration of colleges.
• There are no differences by group.
• About half of juniors rate finishing in four
  years, faculty that get to know you, courses
  taught by actual professors, a program with a
  good placement record for jobs and graduate
  school, and attending with students who are
  motivated to do well as very important.
• The characteristic, faculty that really get to
  know you is more important to females and lower
  income students.
• Lower income students also put more importance on
  the schools job placement record.
• An emphasis on values and ethics in campus life
  is very important to one in four, and is also
  more important to females than males.

Q.32 Im going to read you a list of
characteristics about a campus or college in
general. For each one, tell me how important it
is in your consideration of colleges. (Rating a
5 on a five point scale, where 1not at all
important and 5 very important to you).
45
From the focus groups

• Elicit candid response to common LECNA college
  attributes and elicit, if possible, alternate
  descriptive language from students
• Six separate attributes were presented to
  students. Regardless of age (rising senior vs.
  rising college freshmen) or gender (girls vs.
  boys) all students had great difficulty
  determining meaning and value from the statements
• Most were unable to express any alternate
  descriptors for the attributes

46
For the Most Part, Juniors See No Difference in
Where These College Attributes Will Be Found

• Students were asked where they thought theyd be
  most likely to experience each characteristic, at
  a smaller private college, a larger public
  university, or if there is no difference.
• Juniors recognize small private colleges for
  faculty that really get to know you and courses
  taught by actual professors.
• For all of the remaining characteristics, the
  majority see no difference between private
  colleges and large public universities.
• This is especially true for the most important
  characteristic, finishing in four years.
• Even so, more juniors think private colleges than
  public universities are likely to provide
• an emphasis on values and ethics in campus life
• attending with students who are motivated to do
  well
• attending with students who are involved, not
  just spectators
• developing career skills like writing or critical
  thinking.
• And more juniors think public universities than
  private colleges are likely to provide a
• program with a good placement record
• campus where music has a major presence

Q.33 Are you more likely to experience that at a
larger public university, a smaller private
college, or do you think there is no difference?
47
Students with Higher GPAs, College Graduate
Parents, and Caucasians Give More Credit to
Private Colleges

• Juniors with higher GPAs, from families where
  both parents graduated from college, higher
  income, and Caucasians generally cite private
  colleges in higher percentages for faculty that
  get to know them, courses taught by actual
  professors, and an emphasis on values and
  ethics.
• Caucasians are also more likely to cite private
  colleges as a place for attending with students
  who are motivated to do well, and involved
  students.
• Lutheran juniors are more likely to indicate
  private colleges as having an emphasis on values
  and ethics and a higher likelihood of finishing
  in four years.
• Southwestern juniors differ from other regions by
  often attributing the private college
  characteristics--faculty that get to know them,
  courses taught by actual professors, and an
  emphasis on values and ethics--to public
  universities.
• Northeastern juniors are more likely to say there
  is no difference between private colleges and
  public universities on most attributes.

48
Your assignment

• Meet briefly in small groups each to identify
  at least one avenue for visibility/awareness to
  be pursued by LECNA
• Reporting back