EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Entering Student Survey:
Longitudinal Study

Purpose
Preface
Overview
School Choice Influence
General Information
Area of Need for Success
Impression of UNT Student Service
Comments
Summary

Purpose:

• A typical freshman came to UNT because it was close to home (64%), because UNT offered reasonable cost (63%), and based on the advice from a current or former UNT student (47%).

• For the most part, students did not come to UNT because of accreditation from national organization (9%), current students GPA and SAT scores (9%), or because one or both their parents attended UNT (8%).

• The greatest change in influential characteristics from 1998 to 1999 were: Alumni who are successful in their fields from 6% in 1998 to 16% in 1999. Second was advice from counselors from 29% in 1998 to 21% in 1999. Third was publications that were received about UNT from 20% in 1998 to 27% in 1999.

• Out of the 4,454 entering freshmen who participated in the Entering Student Survey, 2,773 (62%) were female, 3,415 (77%) were White Non-Hispanic, and 3,320 (75%) had not complete a college course.

• Most students came from families that the father had some amount of college (74%). The mother has college experience as well (71%). Only 18% of the student’s brother or sisters had college experience.

• Of the entering freshmen 2,836 (64%) chose UNT as their first choice, 4,024 (90%) intends to stay at UNT and complete their degree in 6 yrs or less, 2,553 (57%) plan to attend summer school at UNT.

• Half (2,151) of the entering students plan to work 20 hours or less, 54% plan to work in the city of Denton or Denton county, and 2,415 (56%) plan to utilize the services of the UNT student employment.

• Half of the students feel they will need assistance in the area of math in order to succeed in their courses. Another one-third feel they will need help in time management.

• Ninety-five percent of the students believe that UNT admissions responded to their request for information in a timely manner. Ninety percent believe that freshman orientation was helpful in introducing them to college life.

Preface

The Entering Student Survey was designed to gather information from first time freshmen who are entering UNT. The survey results provide an understanding of how students select UNT as their college of choice, their family academic background, their academic plans for the future, their areas of academic weakness, and their impression of UNT student services.

The Entering Student Survey was developed by the Office of Institutional Research and Accreditation and was distributed during the New Student Orientation. Once the forms were completed they were returned in the orientation packet. Then the forms were returned to the Office of Institutional Research and Accreditation.

This report assess students’ responses across three academic years, 1997-98, 1998-99, 1999-2000. The data associated with the section dealing with the areas of influence is only for the two academic year 1998-99 and 1999-2000. This section of questions was not available for the 1997-98 survey. The other three areas of the survey are for the three academic years listed above.

Overview

Of the 8,146 new from high school freshmen who have enrolled over the past three years, there were 4,454 students who completed the Entering Student Survey. With a response rate of 55% to Entering Student Survey this allows for valid and reliable inferences from the survey population to the overall student population. The purpose of this report is to present the trends or patterns indicated by responses on the Entering Student Survey across three academic years. Table 1 presents the demographics of the respondents and the corresponding percentages by academic year.

Table 1: Percentage and Demographic Data for Respondents to the Entering Student Survey 1997-2000

School Choice Influence

This section of the Entering Student Survey provides information regarding the areas of influence for students and their choice of UNT as their preference. There is only two years of information for this section because it is a recent addition to the Entering Student Survey. However, these two years of analysis reveals some statistically significant changes in influence areas.

The largest change in percentages was for "Alumni who are successful in their field." Students in 1998 said that there was 6% who were influenced by this reason when they chose UNT as their college. In 1999, 16% of the students said that they were influenced for this reason. The second largest change was a negative change. In 1998, 29% of the students said they were influenced by a counselor to come to UNT. In 1999, 21% said they were influenced by a counselor. Another positive change was the 7% positive difference for students who were influenced by publication they had received at UNT.

Those areas with the greatest influence on students and their choice of UNT were: close to home (64%), reasonable cost (51%) , advice of current of former UNT student (45%). Each of these influence had positive changes in their percentage of influence except for the influence of "close to home" which remained the same. Table 2 is the results of this section. 

Table 2:

General Information

The Entering Student Survey response was weighted over the past three years by female students. The percentage of female students who completed the Entering Students Survey ranged from 58% in 1998 to 69% in 1999. This is a 15% greater difference between the actual class attendance of freshmen for each of the given years. Indicating that more females as a proportion have completed the survey than the university’s proportion of females.

The proportion of caucasian students completing the survey has been higher over the past three academic years than the university freshmen student population. However, the difference between those students choosing caucasian as a race in the Entering Student Survey has decreased by a difference of 5% since 1997. There has been a 3% difference in the percentage of African-Americans first time freshmen who have attended in 1997 (9.4%) versus those first time freshmen in 1999 (12%) who have completed the Entering Student Survey. Percentages for all other races have remained the same.

Three question asked the educational status of the first time freshmen family members academic level of education. No statistical significant difference could be found in any of these past three year responses. The same can be said for the question asking if the parents had attended UNT. Four percent have said that their mother or father has attended UNT. A difference of 3% from 1997 to 1999 of the entering student indicated that they had taken a college course from a community/junior college before entering UNT. A negative difference of 9%, between 1997 to 1999, of the survey respondents plan not to attend summer school at UNT.

As far as entering students plan to work, the longitudinal analysis reveals a 4% increased difference between 1997 to 1999. Forty-eight percent of the student planned to work 20 hours or less in 1997. Now 52% of the entering students plan to work 20 hours or less, and 8% more plan to utilize UNT Student Employment as a source for their employment.
Table 3 is a summary of the general information from this survey for the past 3 years.

Area of Need for Success

The only area that has seen a significant change in the amount of assistance required by entering students over the past three years has been a 9% difference between 1997 and 1999 for those students needing help in the use of the library. All other areas have not had a major change in assistance areas. Table 4 is a summary of the assistance areas.

                                                                                                                                                                                        

  Impression of UNT Student Service

Only three of the 12 questions on the 1999 survey were similar for all three years. There was no statistical significant difference between these three questions. Table 5 is a summary of the impression of UNT student services.

Table 5:  

Comments

Five questions allowed for written responses. This section compares these written responses over the past three years of reporting the Entering Student Survey.

The first question asked students what was their college of choice if UNT was not their first choice. The responses over the past three years, 1997 to 1999, have not changed significantly. The top colleges of choice remains to be Texas A&M, UT Austin, Texas Tech, TCU, and Baylor.

Second, The most common reason for not attending their first college of choice have not diverted over the past three years. The main reason for not attending the first college of choice were: cost, distance from home, various personal reasons, and not being accepted.

Over the past three years the college most frequently planned to transfer to was UT. There were a few who planned to transfer to Texas Tech and Texas A&M. Most transfer colleges were colleges with majors that UNT did not offer. Also, the most frequent reason for planning to transfer to another college was because it was perceived that the secondary school had a better academic reputation in the students major of choice.

The common reasons students gave for their parents not attending orientation was because of work, other obligations, and didn’t want to. There has not been a major change in these reasons for the past three years.

Summary

A typical entering freshman who came to UNT over the past two years and was surveyed stated it was because it was close to home (64%), because UNT offered reasonable cost (63%), and based on the advice from a current or former UNT student (47%). Entering freshmen students did not come to UNT because of accreditation from national organization (9%), current students GPA and SAT scores (9%), or because one or both their parents attended UNT (8%). The greatest change in influential characteristics from 1998 to 1999 were: Alumni who are successful in their fields from 6% in 1998 to 16% in 1999. Second was advice from counselors from 29% in 1998 to 21% in 1999. Third was publications that were received about UNT from 20% in 1998 to 27% in 1999.

Out of the 4454 entering freshmen who participated in the Entering Student Survey, 2,773 (62%) were female, 3,415 (77%) were White Non-Hispanic, and 3,320 (75%) had not completed a college course. Most students came from families that (50%) of the fathers completed a four-year degree or graduate degree. Forty percent or the mothers had completed a four-year or graduate degree. Only 18% of the student’s brother or sisters had college experience.

Of the entering freshmen 2,836 (64%) chose UNT as their first choice, 4,024 (90%) intends to stay at UNT and complete their degree in 6 yrs or less, 2,553 (57%) plan to attend summer school at UNT. Half (2151) of the entering students plan to work 20 hours or less, 54% plan to work in the city of Denton or Denton county, and 2,415 (56%) plan to utilize the services of the UNT student employment.

Half of the students feel they will need assistance in the area of math in order to succeed in their courses. Another third feel they will need help in time management. However, use in library skills had reduced by a difference of nine percent over the past three years. Ninety-five percent of the students believe that UNT admissions responded to their request for information in a timely manner. Ninety percent believe that freshman orientation was helpful in introducing them to college life, and 42% of the students brought a parent to attend orientation.

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