Does Student Satisfaction Breed Student Success?

Half of the adults in the U.S. are dissatisfied with their job, according to a January, 2010 survey
by the Conference Board. A recent CareerBuilder survey and the Conference Board report that
one in five workers plan to leave their job within a year - despite our current economic conditions.
Job satisfaction can be achieved if certain criteria are met. When they aren't, job satisfaction negatively impacts employee retention and productivity - a recipe for trouble. Understanding
what is and isn't working is important.

So let's look at the early end of the career pipeline - the traditional college years - and the
importance of student satisfaction. What is the impact of their satisfaction or dissatisfaction? And what factors increase student satisfaction?

The college-to-career connection is vital to success
Research by the higher education consulting firm Noel-Levitz found that the predictors of student retention differ for each class level. In their report, "Linking Student Satisfaction and Retention" ,
they found that first-year students are adjusting to a new living and learning environment, so
campus climate is the best predictor of retention. "Communicate care," is their advice for
colleges. First-year students are also more likely to persist in college if they have easy access to advisors and if they like the course content in the major they have chosen or are considering.

For sophomores, retention factors include academic success (GPA), satisfaction with advising,
and liking the course content in their major. It is important to note that what also significantly increases the probability that sophomores will persist is "meeting their expectations for career services." So the Noel-Levitz advice to colleges is "Connect them [sophomores] to their future."

They continue, "Through an advising process that helps them explore potential careers, settle
on a rewarding major, and successfully enroll in the necessary courses at an appropriate time, sophomores can begin to envision a possible future that energizes them and positions their institution as the place where that future can become reality." We suggest that parents can also support this process for their children, and can actually begin to do so while students are still in
high school.

Satisfaction with college major
Students who were most satisfied with their academic majors were those with the highest
self-efficacy - those who believed that they could make good career decisions, do well, and
accomplish their goals, reports Illinois State University researcher, Margaret Nauta. Students
who were less satisfied were those who reported anxiety about career choice and general indecisiveness. This coincides with research by Virginia Gordon and George Steele who found
that students' limited knowledge of academic major requirements and relatedness to careers
often result in idealistic initial choices and anxiety. No wonder that students change majors so frequently and often avoid the decision about a major because of a lack of career information
and the stress that produces.

The website StudentsReview.com solicited over 15,000 alumni to report on their satisfaction
with their major, as well as if they were still working in their related field. Though not a scientific survey, it is interesting to see how the voting went: tops in job satisfaction were those who
majored in Naval Engineering, Kinesiology, Astronomy, Telecommunications, Political Science, Finance, and Biology. Least satisfied were those who majored in Nutrition, Physical Therapy/Exercise Science, Video/Media, and Automotive Engineering. The highest percentage
of alumni who were still in the field related to their majors were Pharmacy, Pre-Vet/Veterinary, Nursing, Industrial Engineering, and Computer Science. The lowest? Industrial Design,
Philosophy, Zoology, and History.

"Students who select a major tailored to a specific profession, such as business, health, engineering, or education, have persistence rates [i.e. achieve a bachelor's degree] higher than those students with other majors," according to research by Maura J. Dunn. She also notes, "If
a student picks a major based on salary potential but finds the classes boring, he or she may
take longer to persist to graduation." Underscoring the findings of others' research, she states
that students who have not selected a major upon entering college are at a greater risk for
attrition than those who have selected a major.

Recipe for young adult success
As the pieces of research are woven together, it is evident that when students know how to investigate careers, and choose a college major and career aligned with their natural strengths, interests, values and personalities, they are more satisfied with their majors and overall college experience, and persist to graduation at higher rates. The clarity that can emerge from a comprehensive and personalized career assessment, interpreted by a credentialed career professional, provides students and parents the information and tools that can make these important decisions easier, more accurate - and more fun.

What are colleges doing?
There are signs of a growing commitment in higher education to ratchet up the assistance provided students for career and college decision-making. Many higher education institutions
still focus primarily on their educational mission and give scant attention to career planning for students.

However, there is hope on the horizon. Some colleges and universities are beginning
to demonstrate that they are more committed in this arena. They have implemented intentional interventions to assist first-year students in making academic and career planning decisions
more effectively. The most progressive schools have instituted programs to proactively identify students with undecided or undeclared majors (and therefore, lacking academic or career
goals) and provide more intensive assistance to help these students make those key decisions
and get themselves on track. Their student advising practices, career planning courses and
first-year experience programs are systematically structured to help students identify realistic
and achievable academic and careers goals and develop a plan to persist to graduation and
launch a successful career. Those students - engaged, motivated and directed - become the successful alumni that would make any institution of higher education proud.

© Copyright 2010, Career Vision. Article may be reprinted with permission.

Direction. Decisions. Satisfaction.