VOLUME XIII, NUMBER 24

38 INNOVATION ABSTRACTS

  

- PUBLISHED BY THE NATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR STAFF AND ORGANIZATIONAL DEVELOPMENT (NISOD), COLLEGE OF EDUCATION,
THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN « WITH SUPPORT FROM THE W. K. KELLOGG FOUNDATIONIAND THE SID W. RICHARDSON FOUNDATION

   

Implementing a Point-of-Leaving Survey

The increasing amount of research on college stu-
dents in recent years is an indication of the importance
many educational institutions are now placing on social
research. For many administrators, student input has
become an important ingredient in formulating and
implementing institutional policies.

Surveys on college students are conducted for a
number of reasons: to monitor student concerns, to
assess and change institutional policies, to evaluate
program effectiveness, to assess students’ perceptions
of their training, and to monitor quality assurance in
academic training. Since job placement of graduates is
an overriding concern of all vocational/technical
programs and is one indicator often employed to
evaluate program effectiveness, an annual job place-
ment survey of former students has become a modus
operandi for many colleges.

In recognition of the salient role of student follow-up
surveys in the academic environment, any systematic
effort to evaluate the quality and success of vocational/
technical programs must look beyond student follow-
up surveys. A point-of-leaving (POL) survey can be
valuable in evaluating the effectiveness of a vocational
program from the student’s point of view.

Alberta Vocational College, Lac La Biche

Alberia Vocational College (AVC), Lac La Biche, is
located in rural northeastern Alberta. The college is one
of four provincially administered vocational colleges
operating under the Alberta Department of Advanced
Education. The college provides educational opportu-
nities for adult Albertans, particularly the “disadvan-
taged” (i.e., the unemployed and the educationally,
economically, or socially disadvantaged). The mandate
of the institution includes the provision of “educational
opportunities for adult learners (people who need a
second chance) to improve their academic qualifica-
tions, to develop skills suitable for employment, and to
enhance those skills necessary for successful living.”

To fulfill this mandate, Alberta Vocational College in
Lac La Biche offers a broad spectrum of academic and
skill-oriented training programs which are reflected in
its four divisions: Adult Basic Education/ Academic

Upgrading, Human Services /Business Careers, Trades/
Technical, and Community Programs and Services.
AVC provides support services to its students in the
form of counseling, family support and housing,
financial support, and recreation/leisure programs.

Point-of-Leaving Survey

A point-of-leaving survey, as the name suggests, is
an annual in-class survey of all prospective graduates of
the Alberta Vocational College. The survey is adminis-
tered by the office of Planning, Research & Develop-
ment in the last week of class. The purpose of the
survey is to gather empirically based data for adminis-
trators to use in counseling prospective graduates and
in guiding potential students who are considering a
program. Specifically, the survey solicits students’
perceptions of their training program, employment
prospects, and future educational plans.

The Instrument

The POL survey utilizes a generic questionnaire
jointly developed by the four Alberta Vocational
Colleges and designed to capture the following infor-
mation from prospective graduates: (a) opinions
regarding their experience while attending AVC; (b)
employment prospects; (c) future educational plans;
and (d) general comments about the college—such as,
changes they would like to see at AVC or what they
would tell current or future students about AVC.

The instrument contains a total of four sections:
Section One provides demographic information such as
age, address, gender, and number of dependents.
Section Two measures respondents’ perceptions of their
training program using a Likert Scale (i.e., “strongly
agree” to “strongly disagree”). There are as many as 12
statements to which students must respond about their
program: (a) “I believe my program at AVC prepared
me well for entry into my career,” (b) “My program
prepared me for other things besides a job,” (c) “I
believe AVC prepared me for future advancement in
my career,” and (d) “I would recommend AVC to a
friend.” Student perceptions of teacher effectiveness are
included in this section, as well.

 

 

THE NATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR STAFF AND ORGANIZATIONAL DEVELOPMENT (NISOD)
Community College Leadership Program, Department of Educational Administration 4
College of Education, The University of Texas at Austin, EDB 348, Austin, Texas 78712