Loading
Print This Issue
Subscribe:
E-Almanac

Council Meeting Coverage
PDF
May 6, 2008, Volume 54, No. 32

At last Wednesday’s final Council meeting of the spring semester, half of the meeting was devoted to the summaries of year-end committee reports by the chairs of the committees, and the other half of the meeting was devoted to a presentation by Associate Provost Andy Binns on the results of the Senior Survey, followed by questions and discussion.

See the eight-page supplement to this issue for the reports of the following Council committees: Academic and Related Affairs; Campus and Community Life; Diversity and Equity; and Facilities. Also, there is a report from the Committee on Committees on the Functioning of Council Committees During Academic Year 2007-08.

The Senior Survey—run by the Consortium on Financing Higher Education (COFHE), an institutionally supported organization of 31 private colleges and universities including all the members of The Ivy League—is given to graduating seniors to gauge their satisfaction with their undergraduate education, their sense of community and the climate for minority students. The survey was given at Penn in 1989, 1994, 2002, 2006 and 2007.  In the last two instances, Penn added questions related to safety and security.

Of the 2,137 seniors surveyed in 2006, 915 responded—43% of the group. Comparing overall satisfaction from the earlier surveys to the more recent ones, shows an increase in senior satisfaction. Compared to the other Ivy League institutions in the 2006 survey, on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being very satisfied, Penn students rated their education 4.26 vs. 4.21 for the other Ivies.

Three Things Most Liked About Their Penn Experience: Top Answers in 2006—Fellow Students; Campus/facilities/resources; Faculty; Academics/intellectual stimulation; Philadelphia. Three Things Seniors Would Change: Personal/self-reflective; Advising; Housing; Diversity/climate.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Almanac - May 6, 2008, Volume 54, No. 32