Students still find jobs, but debt increases

A study released by the Oregon University System found that graduates of the class of 2005 are more pleased with their college experience than their predecessors, yet carry more financial burdens.

A similar study of OUS graduates was taken for the class of 2003. The 2005 study found that the rate of employment for graduates has stayed the same (at 66 percent) since 2003, but graduates of the class of 2005 were found to be more likely to continue their education with or without a job.

The OUS survey found that 93 percent of those interviewed are now employed or are continuing their education. The survey was conducted in 2006 and interviewed 1,762 graduates of the class of 2005 from the seven Oregon universities. The total enrollment in the Oregon University System was 12,187 last year, and the survey results were weighted to ensure that responses were proportionate to the different universities.

The study found that the percentage of students unemployed and looking for work has gone down by 3 percent. Dee Thompson, director of the PSU Career Center said she thinks the change was caused by the shift in the economy.

“It was tough a few years ago,” said Thompson. The career center currently has about 1,200 jobs active, when two years ago there were about 1,000. Now the career center is finding jobs a little more quickly for recent grads.

“Employers are reconnecting with us,” said Thompson.

Thompson said that retiring baby boomers have made room in the economy for recent graduates, and changing technology ensures that continued education would remain important.

Though questions about debt were changed from the 2003 survey, making it impossible to compare with earlier numbers, Thompson said that debt has gone up among students. The average debt students graduated with last year was greater than $23,000. Eight percent of students were more than $40,000 in debt.

Ruth Keele, the report’s principal investigator, said that extra debt might be connected to the economy. Students going to school in a weaker economy are more likely to continue education, bolstering their credentials and deferring loan payment.

“One possibility is that more people have a sense that an advanced degree will give them the type of job or income they want,” Keele said. Eighty-eight percent of graduates also reported working during their undergrad years, 14 percent of which worked full time.

Experiential learning opportunities, like internships, helped students to practice skills learned in the classrooms, Keele said. Eighty-four percent of students had an experiential learning experience, such as an internship, student project or research with a professor. Twenty-six percent of those said that the opportunity led to their current job.

Although women make up a higher percentage of the student population, the study found that they earn less after graduation and are more likely to work in jobs unrelated to their degree. Despite this, the study found that women are more likely to rate their academic experience as “excellent.”

About 35 percent of graduates reported they were first-generation students-the first in their immediate family to go to college. This number increased from 2003, when nearly half of all graduates entered as transfer students rather than as freshmen.

“What’s reflected in the survey about first-generation and transfer students sheds some light on how these students experience college,” Keele said.

She said affordability and ease of transferring are areas the Oregon University System needs to focus on.

Graduates were more likely to report a close correlation between their degree and their job than respondents in 2003. More graduates are now working in fields such as education and health care, and less in the private sector.

The study had refined questions from the 2003 survey to address more closely learning outcomes, debt and experiential learning. Keele said that the survey was still likely to raise more questions than it answered.