Note 2008 employer satisfaction survey results Results from the 2008 Employer Satisfaction Survey are in, and results show that employers of UND graduates report being very satisfied with UND graduates! As part of state-mandated accountability measures, the North Dakota University System contracted with Noel-Levitz to administer this survey to determine the level to which North Dakota institutions of higher education are meeting the needs of current employers. The survey asks employers questions relating to their experience with employees who are recent UND graduates. The questions ask how well these employees are prepared in four general areas important to success in the work place: knowledge and understanding of information, qualities generally expected of employees, general skills, and specialized skills. Employers rate their satisfaction on a 5-point scale, with 1 = Not at all satisfied, 2 = Not very satisfied, 3 = Somewhat satisfied, 4 = Very satisfied, and 5 = Extremely satisfied. Mean scores are calculated to determine an overall level of satisfaction. When asked about overall satisfaction, employers of UND graduates report the highest level of overall satisfaction in the area of employees demonstrating the qualities expected of a college graduate, which scored a mean of 4.29 out of 5. This is closely followed by the satisfaction reported for employee general skills as they relate to requirements of the job which reported a mean score of 4.28. Employers also report being very satisfied with the overall knowledge and understanding shown by UND graduates both within their major field of study and general knowledge outside the major field. These items scored means of 4.08 for knowledge of the major and 4.07 for general knowledge outside the major. In the end, employers are asked how likely they are to hire other graduates of UND based on their experience with the current employee. Employers of UND graduates report being very likely to hire other UND grads based on their experience, reporting a mean score of 4.30 out of 5. UND scored the highest mark in this category when compared to all other NDUS institutions. A complete survey report can be found on the Institutional Research Web site at http://www.und.edu/dept/datacol/reports/subFolder/ess2008/ess2008.htm For questions about this survey, contact me at 777-2265. -- Sue Erickson, Research Analyst, Institutional Research, sueerickson@mail.und.nodak.edu, 7-2265